Statement from Wendy Zdeb, Executive Director of MASSP on the November 15 epidemic order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The decision to suspend in-person instruction is never easy and not something that any educator can take lightly. But as infection rates climb across our state, the safety of our students, educators, their families, and our communities is increasingly at risk. Many schools have already chosen to move to remote instruction. Many others have been forced into that decision because infection rates in their community have made it impossible to staff school buildings for in-person instruction. And school staff are increasingly having to spend their time on safety issues like contact tracing. While we recognize that this decision is not what any educator would want, MASSP supports the action of the MDHHS to suspend in-person instruction for most high school students. We remain hopeful that, by acting now, we will be able to stem this tide and return to in-person instruction safely soon.