Teachers’ fears of returning to their classrooms in the face of the coronavirus threat have spawned a number of social media groups. One is Texas Teachers United Against Reopening Schools, founded by Austin-area high school art teacher Lauren Senibaldi. She initially invited 20 colleagues to join the group. The group now has almost 12,500 members, she said.
“I genuinely think that if we just gave students a stack of books, some art materials and a journal, we could have gone forward with remote learning,” Senibaldi said Friday.
Teachers’ fears of infection with the return to in-person instruction has led to a wave of resignations. Texas teachers who resign during the school year face a one-year suspension of their teaching certificates and possible blacklisting by the district from which they are resigning.