COMMENTS BY ANONYMOUS TEACHER GROUP From Greenwich Public Schools in CT

“DID YOU KNOW?”

1. Did you know there is a divide among students that are being vaccinated and those who are not? Students announce their status at school causing conflict among peers. Friends are being lost. Families make decisions for their own reasons and Social Emotional Learning teaches us to respect these choices. Yet there is no SEL for the divide that has been created over the vaccination in our schools. There is no reason one should think less of another because of their vaccination status. Teachers are expected to teach tolerance for diversity, equity and inclusion. Where is the SEL on medical choice / freedom? In several emails to staff, Toni Jones stated:

May 7, 2021, “As required by law, it is a privacy matter, and there is no obligation to tell a parent if a teacher or staff member is vaccinated, and in that same vein, we are not allowed to ask students who is and who is not vaccinated.

May 12, 2021, “As we’ve shared before, the vaccine is an optional, private decision for individuals and families, and as required by law, it is a privacy matter, and there is no obligation to share, and as well as no right to ask, if a student or staff member is vaccinated.”

May 14, 2021, “…obtaining the vaccine is a private, family decision.”

Privacy is not being followed by GPS staff and students.

1. Did you know that there are unvaccinated teachers eating lunch in their cars or alone in their classrooms instead of in our faculty rooms socializing and collaborating with colleagues for fear of discrimination? Yet twenty plus students are eating unmasked in classroom-sized makeshift cafeterias throughout the district?

1. Did you know that GPS parents are being discriminated against? They are not able to volunteer in our schools, join school functions, or chaperone for field trips unless vaccinated. A negative Covid test result has not been given as an option for volunteering.

1. Did you know that there are teachers going to administrators requesting NOT to work with unvaccinated colleagues? Did you know this is discrimination?

1. Did you know that there are teachers both vaccinated and unvaccinated paying out of pocket for covid testing?

1. Did you know that every day there are vaccinated teachers testing positive for Covid? The vaccinated are testing positive and the unvaccinated are testing negative.

1. Did you know that there are teachers who do not want to get the ethylene oxide-laced swab for Covid testing and are driving three plus hours each week to get a saliva test? Teachers are getting sick after repeated nasal swabs including headaches, bloody noses and sinus issues.

1. Did you know that teachers are being kicked out of classes because their negative test results have not come in on time (something that is out of a teacher’s control)? In addition, when this occurs, teachers are losing pay because of a test mandate when they are NOT sick. Administration is then scrambling to find substitute teachers to cover classes. Did you know this impacts student learning? Our contract states a need for “Good Faith” yet teachers who have been getting weekly testing for seven weeks are not being trusted when medical facilities do not follow through with their testing turnaround times. Once again, did you know that we do not have private free saliva testing for staff in the Greenwich zip code even though this has been requested since August?

1. Did you know that teachers are expected to submit test results to their school nurse often in front of colleagues and students with no privacy?

1. Did you know we need help fixing this?