LANSING, Mich — Leading education organizations are voicing their opinions following an announcement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Friday asking that schools and youth sports suspend in-person actives for the next two weeks.
The recommendation comes as positive COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Michigan, especially in younger age groups and within youth sports. A majority of Michigan schools are currently on spring break, which has caused further concern for potential surges.
Following the announcement, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) released a statement of support for the in-person pause from its president, Paula Herbart.
Herbart said, “When we say that the health and safety of our students must be our priority, that’s not just lip service or a catchy message. As educators, nothing is more important to us – which is why we fully support the governor’s call for in-person high school learning and youth sports to take a two-week break amidst rising COVID-19 cases.
“Too many students’ educations are being interrupted by quarantines and exposure to COVID-19. While switching to virtual learning is a challenge for educators and students alike, making a controlled switch is far less disruptive than individuals having to be quarantined for two weeks on a moment’s notice.”
While Herbart and the MEA — a labor union for teachers — supports the suspension of in-person classes, other organizations like the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) do not. After the recommendation was made, GLEP Executive Director Beth DeShone provided the following statement:
"The last time Governor Whitmer suggested closing things for a few weeks, her lockdown lasted a year. Now she's suggesting closing schools again just as the spring assessment window opens, with billions of federal dollars waiting to help students and schools.
“While students are locked out of classrooms, we’ve seen too many fall into a crisis of despair. Our kids deserve better from Governor Whitmer and the public school bureaucracy. They deserve safely open classrooms.”
While Whitmer’s recommendations generated strong opinions on both sides, she made it clear that she is not ordering restrictions. Rather, she is asking for voluntary compliance to slow the spread of the virus.
At this time, it is unclear how many schools will follow the recommendations.
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