Downriver Today

Marietta Elliott, lead special education teacher for the Detroit Public School Community District, spoke out about returning to school during an interview on "The Frank Beckmann Show."

Elliott described to Beckmann a list of demands that she, along with a group of teachers from across Michigan's public and charter schools, are presenting to state education officials to be considered before the teachers will agree to return to face-to-face instruction.

"We all came together, different educators, and we came up with this list that we stand strongly on, and we're not willing to be moved or placated," Elliott said in the interview,

The list of demands includes: 14 consecutive days of decreased COVID-19 cases before returning to in-person learning, regular ongoing mandated COVID-19 testing and tracing for students, daily temperature checks for students, masks worn by students, required small classes sizes and social-distancing precautions, personal protection equipment and other supplies available to faculty throughout the year, an inspection by an independent agency to determine if the school building is ready for in-person learning, plastic partitions for teacher areas and student areas if possible, a bank of non-penalized sick days in case of COVID-19 exposure, and a mandated statewide Department of Education hotline to report noncompliance.

"These are the demands that must be met in order for us to return to face-to-face learning," Elliott told Beckmann.

When asked how she thought the "digital divide" that could arise from completely online learning would impact students, Elliott said that she is confident in online learning's flexibility. She stated that several philanthropists have donated funds to purchase tablets and six months' worth of internet to all Detroit students so that all children have access to the internet and to their learning programs. 

"In this country, we tend to put our money behind what's important to us," said Elliott, referencing the charitable donations. "So I definitely think that there's a way to get it done."

Elliott said that the special education department and the students it serves face their own set of unique challenges. On the one hand, some children greatly benefit from the face-to-face contact, while some would be distressed by a school environment in which they can't see the faces of their teachers, due to masks, or be near their peers, due to social distancing. 

Elliott told Beckmann that an approximately 100-car caravan of teachers would be driving through Detroit in protest of a face-to-face school return.