Educators Call for a Rapid Return to Normalcy for all Children

We are educators writing to express our unequivocal support for the recommendations contained in the “Urgency of Normal Toolkit,” authored by well-respected health care professionals. We work with students in a variety of roles; we are teachers, related service professionals, pupil personnel workers, coaches, counselors, speech language pathologists, school bus drivers, administrators, and education researchers, educational trainers, and education administrators.

A return to normalcy is critical for the well-being of students, of teachers, and of our communities as a whole, which have been disrupted for nearly two years with minimal basis in evidence or consideration of the broader welfare of children. Educators have been overwhelmingly portrayed as opposing the return to normalcy in schools. This simply is not the case. The medical professionals who advocate for the Urgency of Normal Toolkit are not alone.

Mask mandates, social distancing, school closures, virtual “learning,” cancellation and restriction of athletics, lockdowns of school cafeterias to include eating outside in unpleasant conditions, mass quarantines, and myriad other unproven mitigation efforts have taken an outsize toll on students. But these excessive mitigations have hurt teachers, too. Teachers are living under the same mandates, and many of us have been transformed into mask police, a role that has sapped the joys of teaching and connecting while also taking our focus away from the important task of instruction. With two years of historic learning loss and unprecedented stress on teachers, students and families alike, draconian school restrictions have most certainly contributed to teachers quitting in unheard of numbers, as well as students dropping out, seeking therapy, and a pediatric mental health pandemic.

When deciding to become a teacher, one knows that the student comes first. There are other professions where the pay is higher and the prestige is greater, where lunches are spent chatting with colleagues, not opening milk cartons. Yet we chose our professions because of our commitment to our students and our belief in the importance of education. As teachers and other educational professionals, we entered our fields knowing that our jobs are not without risk – stress, long hours, and yes, illnesses.

After two long years, growing evidence and increasing advances in our fight against COVID-19 have ensured that we have many tools to protect our health. These include vaccines, and adult boosters. when appropriate, coupled with already-low risk for students whether they are vaccinated or not. For decades, we have accepted risk as an unavoidable part of the educational experience; on the way to school, students ride in cars and buses and cross busy streets. In the classroom, students have always been exposed to illnesses such as strep, influenza and others. Teachers accepted these small risks before and by-and-large accept it today; in fact, studies have found teachers are not more at risk for contracting COVID-19 than members of other professions. Reports that teachers are terrified to return to normal classrooms are not representative of the entire profession. The media amplifies the risks to teachers, but downplays the risk of the drastic changes brought about by “mitigation” efforts for children, our most vulnerable population.

It’s time to return to pre-pandemic normal. All adults have access to vaccines and boosters. Kids five and up have access to vaccines. Short-term mitigations that should have ended long ago--masks, social distancing, school closures, lockdowns – have no meaningful impact on the health and well-being of students, their families, and school employees, and they come at tremendous cost. Evidence is almost certain that these questionable mitigations negatively impact these same groups, and, especially, students.

Many educators have taught all year in mask and quarantine optional schools without disaster. There is no justifiable reason for millions of students in districts across the country to be afforded normalcy, while students in other districts are subject to restrictions based on political whims, harmful to their academic, social-emotional, mental health. It is time to elevate students above the political vitriol and return their lives to normalcy.

At a time when most people in the United States have returned to normal life unmasked, eating lunch inside with friends and attending concerts and sporting events by the thousands, young people, at much lower risk than adults from COVID-19, deserve the same return to normalcy. COVID-19 mitigations need to end, and the educational professionals who have signed on here are ready and willing to give students their childhood back.

We invite members of the education community to co-sign this statement. Click here to co-sign.

Dr. Adam Philipps

18 year veteran public school teacher, coach, and bus driver
North Carolina Teaching Fellow
East Carolina Scholar

Justin Spiro

8 year school social worker
New York City public schools

Vanessa Steinkamp

22 year public school educator
2002 James Madison Fellowship Recipient

*Educators’ opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations, institutions or employers.