Keep an eye on your mailbox for an important letter asking you to take action to end dual teaching.
Working together, CEA members, leaders, and staff have succeeded at getting teachers prioritized for vaccines, establishing in-district vaccination centers for educators, restoring paid quarantine leave for teachers, and more. These efforts have resulted in success because of the swift action teachers have taken and the power of our collective voices.
Now we need to ramp up those efforts and explain to legislators why dual teaching must not continue, post-pandemic. As more of the state’s population is vaccinated against coronavirus, plans for the next school year have left many wondering what role virtual learning will play.
“One thing is certain,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “Dual teaching is unsustainable.”
Fraught with disruptions and inequities, dual teaching is the delivery of instruction simultaneously to remote and in-person students by a single teacher. Educators who have had to manage this type of setting say it shortchanges students on both sides of the screen. Technical challenges, the impossible task of managing learners simultaneously in various settings, inconsistent parental support and supervision, and myriad other factors combine to make dual teaching untenable.
“Watch your mail in the coming days and look for a letter from CEA,” says Leake. The package will include postage-paid postcards to your legislators, urging them to end dual teaching. Sign and mail the postcards as soon as possible, adding a personal note if you wish.
“Legislators need to hear from teachers in their districts so that they understand why dual teaching is problematic,” Leake explains. “Your voice and your personal stories are powerful in encouraging lawmakers to advocate for the conditions you and your students need.”
