Schools
Teachers Union Chief Airs Concerns; Parents Say He’s A Fearmonger
Parents are slamming the head of District 303's teachers union for fearmongering after his comments at a recent school board meeting.
ST. CHARLES, IL — Parents in St. Charles District 303 are accusing a teachers union leader of fearmongering after he asked the school board to “visit the front lines” to understand the “painful reality” of in-person classes amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Kane County Chronicle reports.
Joe Blomquist, president of the St. Charles Education Association, spoke Monday at a District 303 board committee meeting about the “rapidly increasing” number of coronavirus cases within the district.
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The SCEA has never called for a full return to remote learning and “I’m not here calling for us to pull the plug on what we’re doing in this district,” Blomquist said.
“But I am asking that before you pile on more initiatives and expectations on our already full plates, before you ask to receive more reports on what our teachers and staff are doing instead of letting them actually do it, before you stand up and say that in-person instruction will not impact whether staff members get hospitalized or not, come visit the front lines,” Blomquist told the board.
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“Come hear the stories of what D303 employees are going through,” Blomquist continued. “Come hear the amazing things that they are doing to reach their students and the painful reality that they face when they are not able to get a student through their academic or real world obstacles. Come talk to them about the sacrifices they make and the isolation that they are taking from their own family members who need them at this time.”
Since students returned to school in mid-August, St. Charles District 303 has recorded more than 100 coronavirus cases, including 77 students and more than two dozen employees, according to the district's coronavirus dashboard. Forty-five of those cases were active as of Tuesday.
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Cases within the district rose by more than 60 percent in just a week, with the district reporting 64 total cases Oct. 20.
District 303 brought back some elementary and middle school students Aug. 19, while students at St. Charles North and East high schools were welcomed back to class on a hybrid schedule earlier this month for the first since March.
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A group of parents who have been protesting for the district to let students attend in-person classes five days a week responded earlier this week to Blomquist’s comments, saying “the data supports remaining open,” the Kane County Chronicle reports.
"There will be cases just like the common cold and flu,” the group said in an email to the Chronicle. “Our safety measures are proving effective at keeping case numbers low. Fear mongering by Union President Joe Blomquist is unacceptable. It is detrimental to our students who want to be in school to use fear rather than facts to determine if our school should remain open.”
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