Elgin teachers and supporters plan to rally for safe school return

The Board of Education (BOE) of the School District U46 is going to hold a meeting. The teachers and community decided to gather at a safe social distance to call for a more robust return to learning plan ahead of the BOE meeting. Barb Bettis, the president of the Elgin Teachers Association (ETA), said, “We are calling for our safety plan to be strengthened, specifically by creating a collaborative system to monitor compliance.”

The ETA includes more than 2700 teachers and other staff members. They work in the second-largest school district in the state, U46. Over 40000 students are studying in 57 schools in School District U46. “All stakeholders need to know what protocols will be in place to make sure the safety plan is being followed,” added Bettis.

Bettis clarified that they were not against in-person learning. The ETA is committed to providing a safe learning environment to everyone, according to the ETA president. He was concerned about the safety of almost 42000 students, teachers, and other staff members who attend schools in the second-largest school district in Illinois. “If U46 cannot conduct in-person learning safely, we are putting families in 11 different communities at risk,” said Bettis.

The teachers and community members will hold the Rally for Safe Schools at 4:00 pm on January 11, 2020, at the U46 Administrative Building. The ETA president is planning to make a statement during the BOE meeting. The BOE meeting will have an open session at 7:00 pm. The administration urged the participants of the rally to wear masks and follow all guidelines issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

“We want to be part of the solution. Teachers want to continue to collaborate with our administrators and board members to come up with the safest plan possible,” noted Bettis. The ETA has a responsibility of ensuring the safety of students, teachers, and other certified staff members.