Statement in Solidarity with Educators, School District Staff, and Families
February 8th, 2021
Juntos stands in solidarity with Philly educators, school district staff, and families who are united across the city today fighting for a safe reopening.
At Juntos, we have seen and experienced firsthand the systemic barriers and issues of access that virtual learning holds for our immigrant families. We all want schools to open as soon as possible, but not at the expense of our children, their parents, and our larger community. We have already lost too much over the last year due to a system that values maintaining the status quo over people’s lives.
Since the beginning of this pandemic, Black and brown immigrant communities have borne the brunt of the hasty and negligent decisions made by those in power. We will not accept a reopening plan that chooses to gamble with the lives of those in our community instead of addressing the systemic issues caused by years of disinvestment, disenfranchisement, and criminalization.
The School District’s reopening plan does not adequately address longstanding issues that made our school buildings unsafe for students and staff since before this pandemic began. We urge the district to connect directly with impacted families and staff to develop a plan that offers solutions to these longstanding issues and the impact of the pandemic, and to take tangible steps towards an agreement that is built on trust and transparency. Nothing about us without us!
We support the following demands of teachers and staff:
Every school room that will have kids, teachers or staff in it for any purpose must have its ventilation plan and other safety measures approved by PFT;
Every school staff member who wants or needs to be vaccinated can do so before going back into the classroom;
There is a clear COVID testing and contact tracing protocol laid out for parents, teachers and others that reflects the current best practices and up to date guidance based on new variants and that allows for the fast release of data and information about COVID rates within and across schools once buildings reopen;
Immediate changes to district and Board of Education processes and policies that allow for increased transparency, two-way communication, and real community engagement moving forward.
In solidarity,
Erika Guadalupe Núnez, Executive Director of Juntos