Colleagues, Defying the collective wisdom of the overwhelming majority of parents and teachers, the Rochester City School District decided to push ahead with reopening schools before they are ready - thus disrupting the education of our students and playing Russian Roulette with their lives and the lives of their educators. As if we needed more proof that common sense is not so common at Central Office. I’m sure that eventually they’ll do the right thing - but not until after they’ve tried everything else. While themselves meeting remotely, the Board of Education and Central Office administrators are putting children, teachers and families in harm’s way. The irony and hypocrisy is not lost on us. Apparently optics matter more to them than reality. Rather than taking the time to get more ready with safety measures and with an instructional plan that would be actually doable, the Superintendent is promoting the false narrative that teachers are “leading the charge to keep schools...

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