Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1449741
then it hits you that nobody is coming and we are just going to ride this wave till the end. As president of the associ- ation, in addition to teaching, I had to be in constant contact with teachers to make sure they had the safest envi- ronment possible and that our safety agreements were being maintained. Then I got COVID. I'm still communicating with my substi- tute and posting things on Google Classroom. Part of being a teacher is that you never stop — even when you're sick — because you don't want your stu- dents to fall behind. My colleagues have brought work to my doorstep so that I don't get too far behind. I'm incredibly proud of all the front- line people who have been keeping our schools running despite these challenges. We have all come together — teachers, nurses, counselors, social workers, speech therapists and others. It's been exhausting, but it's also been amazing to see how peo- ple have supported each other. "I kept thinking, 'When is anybody going to step in and do something?' Then it hit me that nobody is coming and we are just going to ride this wave till the end." It's been really chaotic since vacation, with 25 to 35 percent of the staff out this week. We're talking about caf- eteria staff, janitors and ESPs. Before COVID you might have three or four teachers out on a given day. On Friday, we had 15 teachers out. Some have compromised immune systems; some have COVID; others are taking care of family members with COVID. There are not enough subs. Our district office is sending people to cover classrooms, but it's not enough. Our principal has to plead for subs. They are sending anyone with a certificated position to schools including curriculum instruc- tors, technology trainers, and anyone they can grab from the departments. I'm taking extra students into my classroom. I have to keep track of where students are sitting in case we need to contact-trace them. I'm also doing an independent study option for kids who are quarantining at home. Per an MOU with the district, I'm doing live interaction for 30 minutes and providing students with asynchronous work on Google Classroom after my in-person students leave for the day. At some of our schools, entire classrooms are home quarantining. Some kids haven't gotten their return dates scheduled yet by the district's care team because things are so backlogged. We had 37 cases before winter break, and this last week we had 416 cases. I get potential COVID exposure letters two to three times a week. But the district is pretending that things are normal and telling us literacy assessments are due. At what point can we not worry about collecting data and focus on doing the best we can? We don't have enough prep time anymore, so it means extra work on weekends and after school. We used to just drop students off in the lunch line and leave, but now we help them get their food, get them seated, and make sure they sit on their assigned "number spot " for social distancing, in case we have to do contact tracing from the cafeteria. Every time I hear a cough or a sniffle I'm wondering, "What do I do now?" I'm trying to keep things as normal as possible for students. But I think I'm going to be white- knuckling it until June. Shannon Barnes K I N D E R GA RT E N T E AC H E R Douglas K . Fletcher Elementary School Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association vice president "I think I'm going to be white- knuckling it until June." 19 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 2 2