This is at least the fourth “sick-out” organized by Detroit Federation of Teachers union members in three weeks. “It would be so much more productive to actually do something to fix Detroit schools rather than file restraining orders against those who expose the miserable conditions”.
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The union issued a clarion call on its website to “fight for Detroit kids struggling in schools with hazardous environmental and safety issues”.
Teachers are looking for city and state government officials to step in and take action to improve school conditions.
While the “sick” teachers have many grievances, the exact solution to the sickout crisis isn’t clear.
The timing – on the day of Obama’s visit to the Detroit auto show, with the national media attention that it brought – was no coincidence.
Obama’s visit was to highlight progress in the city and the auto industry.
“People couldn’t miss the opportunity for us to say, this is what’s happening and we really need help”, Mitchell told The Associated Press.
We reached out to a representative for Detroit schools and will update this post if we hear back.
Detroit teachers have backed up their words with mass sickouts, starting January 11, when 62 schools closed as a result.
“The students have been forced to go to school in conditions that are not very good conditions for a learning environment, there’s black mold, there’s no hot water”, Michigan State Rep. Sherry Dagnogo told RT.”All of this has taken place under state control”.
And last week, Duggan ordered inspections of all the city’s public schools.
Shanay Watson-Whittaker has seen fallen ceiling tiles, cold classrooms and leaking ceilings. “They are doing homework”, Watson-Whittaker said Wednesday afternoon.
“I think we should have better schools and better stuff for the children”.
Mayor Mike Duggan is calling for teachers in the city’s troubled schools to stop staging sick-outs and return to their classrooms while state legislators work on solving the district’s financial crisis. Detroit public schools are among the worst-performing in the country. “Lansing needs to act”.
Watson-Whittaker said her anger is not toward the teachers but with the “emergency manager and how the state has run the education” in the district. The school district listed the shuttered schools on its Facebook page Wednesday morning. “Emergency Management is not working”, she said.
About 200 teachers, nurses and others are protesting outside Cobo Center today, demanding the ouster of Gov. Rick Snyder.
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President Barack Obama heads to a vehicle after getting off Air Force One at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Wednesday, Jan. 20.
