Reaction from Center for Education Reform's Jeanne Allen, Partnership Schools Superintendent Kathleen Porter-Magee, and former teacher Tim Huelskamp.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
On to you, Griff
Griff, Emily Thanks
New York schools getting the
green light to return to the
classroom. This fall
once the pertinent of the
pandemic. The governor is now
giving the go ahead to reopen
highlighting the states
progress in reducing the
infection rate.
Joining me now to react is our
education panel center for
education reforms, Jeanne, Allen,
Catholic votes, senior, political
advisor and former teach, and the
superintendent for partnership
schools, which is a network of
several catholic schools in New
York City, Kathleen Port Erma
Gee
good morning to you all.
This is big news:
Governor Cuomo, announcing a
reopening and lets start with
you, Jean whats, your reaction
to his decision
on the surface, its really
good news that he is giving the
green lifetime achievement. We
know across the country its
fits and starts all the time.
So many caveats
if the infection rate goes above
five percent, that certain region, if
certain things happen,
who knows maybe like Montgomery
County Maryland Health officer,
wake up one day, oops, we are
pulling you back and closing
private schools too.
The problem is, we cant keep
making policies based on entire
cities and regions without
parents making that
determination where their kids
should go,
Griff Kathleen. Let me send it
to you.
Not only do you have that
problem, you know. Will this
change and Governor Cuomo said
that he will monitor as he goes
along
what about the teachers not
wanting to be in the classrooms
as well?
Yeah
the teachers are having a really
tough time.
They are scared. They are
worried.
The rhetoric across the country
has been incredibly heated.
I think the challenge, though, is
there is a difference between
teachers, fears and worry, and
teacher union demands.
I think whats concerning about
the rhetoric. Right now is that
teacher union demands are not
just along health and safety
guidelines.
We see teachers unions around
the country asking for a
moratorium on charter schools
asking for moratorium on
vouchers and tax cuts.
Those things have nothing to do
with public health.
I really think its important
that we have to especially in
this moment separate politics
from public health.
Griff TIM is politics. The
problem here,
I think its part of the
problem.
I think its probably not a
coincidence that card no dollan
and the main competition to the
New York public schools have
announced they are going to open
and do it safely and securely,
and so we finally have some
response from the political
folks meeting the demands of
parents.
They need to send their kids
back to school.
The kids need to go back to
school and their main
competition catholic schools.
They are already doing that.
Thats, really a good sign its
indication, actually that our
public schools need more
competition and not less
Griff yeah
Jeanie. Let me ask you, as TIM
pointed out, and Cardinal Dolan
was on Fox AMP friends this week.
Talking about the need to
reopen,
let me show you some of the
demands for reopening
classrooms,
police, free schools,
canceling rents and mortgages
moratorium or new Sowmps
programs,
taxing billionaires and Wall
Street. This is from the demand,
safe schools, DOT, Org Wall Street. Is
it going to work?
You know if ever there was a
cry for personalized learning
for every child, it was now,
as Kathleen pointed out, we have
been seeing unions by the way
this isnt new.
This has been happening for
years.
They are stepping up their
demands. They are threatening,
strikes
our poor parents and kids out
there and rank and file teachers.
Dont know whats going to
happen.
They are using this as leverage
they are using this, not just as
leverage but extortion to try to
get policymakers to do things
that they have always wanted
them to do,
and you know what
theyre behind the times here.
This is time for everybody to
come together and recognize that
our kids need to go to school in
whatever way, shame or form
that their parents and the
people closest to them think
its effective
lots of different ways. We
shouldnt stop and rely on
cities and stays and countries
to make that decision.
Griff, you put your finger on it.
There jeany
as a parent of two teenagers. I
cant overstate the anxiety
about whats going on
what are you saying to parents
so in New York, City and
Cleveland, where I run urban
catholic schools, we have
offered parents two options: a
five day a week in person, option
and also a remote learning
option for parents who either
cannot or are not ready to send
their children back.
Because we understand parents
need to have options,
so I agree with Jeanne
completely.
We need to bring parents into
the conversation as well.
I think that the schools that
have been best able to
anymorably respond to the needs
of their communities and of
their parents have been the
smaller schools,
the private catholic and
charter schools around the
country who, in the spring, when
the nationwide shut down hit,
were able to quickly adapt to
the new world
they were able to serve student
and community needs
its time to do that again,
Griff in the remaining time
TIM. Let me give you the last
word:
are you confident we are going
to get where we need to go?
We are going to have to at
the end of the day. Hopefully I
pray that the parents will be in
control in making those
decisions.
I think its abundantly clear
that our private catholic
schools are responding to the
needs of the parents, and teacher
unions are looking out for
themselves.
Hopefully continue to move
forward. Get these schools open,
let the parents get back to work
and safely and securely educate
them for the future.
Transcript generated on 2020-08-08.