Protesting teachers work from parking lot after colleague dies of COVID, GA video shows
Dozens of Georgia teachers worked from the parking lot of a Henry County elementary school on Monday to protest an in-person planning day, online video shows.
The demonstration outside Stockbridge Elementary also doubled as a memorial for kindergarten teacher LuAnn Burns, who died of COVID-19 last week, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Video taken by City of Stockbridge Councilman Elton Alexander shows several teachers standing and holding signs that opposed the county’s push for teachers to return to the classroom. “Dying was not in my job description,” one sign read, while another implored, “Don’t make me choose between my students and my health.”
“The teachers are scared of being next to die,” Alexander said, according to Storyful.
The video also showed several teachers seated in the parking lot as they worked during what was supposed to be an on-site “professional learning day,” a Henry County Schools calendar shows. Students have the option to return to class or learn from home when the semester starts Wednesday. However, teachers are expected to be in their classrooms.
Teachers participating in Monday’s protest were told by school leaders that they would have to use a sick day if they wanted to continue working from the parking lot, according to the video.
“This is an abomination. It’s ridiculous,” Alexander says in the clip. “I can’t believe I just witnessed what I just saw. These teachers are out here working.”
The councilman avoided showing anyone’s face on camera out of fear of retribution from the school system.
The protest comes nearly a week after Burns, who taught at the school for 20 years, lost her battle with COVID-19. Her death is the latest in string of teacher deaths in Georgia, including Cobb County art teacher Patrick Key, who died Christmas Day.
“One death is too many. We can’t teach from the grave,” Molly Hammer, who taught alongside Burns for 17 years, told WSB-TV. “We can get kids caught up when it’s safe, when we’re in a safe environment. We will be able to get kids caught up because we are good teachers.”
Teachers said they plan to meet with school leaders following Monday’s memorial to voice their concerns about their safety amid an uptick in coronavirus cases, according to the news station.
As of Monday, Henry County had more than 11,600 COVID-19 cases and 146 deaths, according to Georgia Department of Health data. The Peach State has recorded over 591,100 cases and 9,900 deaths since the pandemic began.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Protesting teachers work from parking lot after colleague dies of COVID, GA video shows."