KARK reported last night about the source of a bubbling student protest at Central High School, the resignation of AP literature teacher Jacob Morris because the school wouldn’t allow him to continue to teach remotely.
Central returned to in-person classes today after virtual learning because of COVID-19 cases.
Reported KARK:
Morris has taught his AP students remotely since August over Zoom, hoping to keep his family safe as COVID-19 spreads across Arkansas.
“We are taking a pretty hard line on our family’s exposure and we are keeping our kids home,” said Morris.
The educator says his decision was met with opposition from LRSD after he refused to return to the classroom to instruct his students in-person.
“I’m not willing to take those kinds of risks that are unnecessary,” said Morris.
The school district responded:
“The Little Rock School District (LRSD) will continue to work within state and federal regulations with respect to employees who seek any form of leave. Unfortunately, the District is not able to accommodate undocumented health issues. There are nine areas under which employees can be provided leave. Due to privacy laws, we are limited in our ability to share information regarding specific personnel matters. The District is committed to adhering to providing a safe educational environment for students and staff, and one that is conducive to learning for both in person and virtual students. “
His students think the forced resignation unfair.
Thousands have signed a petition and the student body presidents of Central, Anna Yates and Cecelia Schneider, have written a letter of protest. Students will protest at the Capitol at 4:30 p.m. today.
This seems like a good place to share a remarkable slide show produced independently by an Arkansas teacher that digs deep into Arkansas’s response in public schools to COVID-19 as compared with other states. It shows Arkansas is a rare outlier in requiring a five-day in-person school week. It shows the state pivots to remote instruction only when community spread is established, rather than to prevent it. It is deficient compared with many others on social distancing rules. And so forth. So maybe there’s a reason Governor Hutchinson’s Ready for Business strategy has us 8th in the country in the Democrat-Gazette’s daily tally for coronavirus cases per capita.