Fox Cities News

Colleen Stepanek of Oshkosh, a substitute teacher in several different districts, is glad schools are reopening in Wisconsin.

“I think the biggest problem with having schools open right now is that in some counties, they are ready to shut them down as quick as they get open,” she told Fox Cities News. “They are just waiting for something to happen.”

Everyone in her area wanted schools to reopen, Stepanek said.

“They thought kids were being deprived of learning and that they were really going to backslide,” she said. 

Educators have figured out how to make schoolwork amid the unprecedented threat of COVID-19, said Stepanek.

“Two days they go virtual, two days they are in the classroom, but the school is open all the time,” she said.

Wisconsin school districts are taking different approaches, with some offering students the choice of in-person and online instruction or even a hybrid of both, TMJ4 reported in August.

But Stepanek fears that educators will panic if there are a few COVID-19 cases in schools.

“The kids need some kind of normalcy,” she said. “In my opinion, this really is taking a toll on them.”

Yet she does not believe schools will close because of seasonal flu as the winter approaches.

“I don’t see how they can,” she said. “You would never have school again.” 

As a substitute teacher, she frequently goes into classrooms where children are sick.

“Parents have no place to put their children,” she said. “You have children coming to school sick with the flu. Sometimes if they’re really sick, they go home, if there is somebody [who] can get them.” 

Shutting down schools for the flu would be like not getting into a car because you might have an accident, she said.

“You can’t do it,” said Stepanek. “Face it. Our world has risks.”

Teacher’s unions are getting pressure from teachers who are afraid to go to the schools and others who oppose school reopening for political reasons.

“I think there’s a general fear,” she said. “It’s legitimate for teachers to be concerned. It’s going to be disruptive, no matter what.”

She does not believe that property owners should get tax refunds if schools can’t fully reopen.

“We’re still paying teachers,” she said. “We’re still paying for property. Actually, I think teachers need a raise.”