The debate about whether schools should open in-person continues to take on an unforgiving political tone. The issue is not, to a large extent, whether in-person education is more productive than virtual, a tenet with which most educators concur. The issue is how to open in a way which is safe for students, teachers and administrators at a time in which Florida has become the COVID-19 epicenter of the nation. The State of Florida Department of Education would be better served to minimize autocratic mandates and focus instead on championing a collaboration to rapidly develop statewide protocols which can actually be implemented on a local level.
Originally posted for the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida 100.
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