GREEN BAY, Wis (NBC 26) -- From De Pere Elementary to Parkview Middle School to Bay Port High, northeast Wisconsin schools are discovering positive cases of COVID-19. On Friday, two union leaders from some of Wisconsin's largest school districts shared how staff and students are handling the kickoff to an unorthodox school year.
In late July, the five largest teacher unions in the state called on Governor Evers to ban in-person learning in the fall. Ultimately every district was left to make their own difficult decision of whether to offer in-person, virtual, or a combination of both approaches to teaching would fit their district's needs.
"Our district has our teachers reporting to buildings, to remote teach, from their classrooms" explains Angelina Cruz the President of Racine Educators United, the district's teacher's union.
"Our students started just this past Monday with an in-person option," says Tanya Kitts the President of the Kenosha Education Association, one of the largest teacher's unions in the state.
Cruz and Kitts started their school years very differently, but there is a common thread related to COVID-19 which both of their districts have encountered.
"Just this past Wednesday we learned that there have been seven positive COVID cases across five different buildings in our district," says Cruz.
"My understanding is that 119 students and 10 staff members are currently quarantined," adds Kitts.
While no students are allowed into classrooms in Racine's district, many staff members who are required to show up in person are described by Cruz as beyond stressed.
"People are really fearful.... there's a lot of anxiety on the educators right now."
And for teachers in Kenosha's school district, where an estimated 54 percent of students have shown back up for in-person learning according to Kitts, well she says many of her peers and herself are equally afraid of the situation.
"We're actually working with a local law firm who's offering free wills for educators..... So that is what keeps me up at night, that is the stuff of my nightmares right now."
And with more cases of COVID-19 sporadically popping up across school districts in Wisconsin, two union leaders representing some of the largest teacher's unions in the state say that this current education model has to be readjusted for the sake of everyone's health.
"Unfortunately, while educators are giving it our all, I agree this is not sustainable," says Kitts.
"I think it's inevitable that more and more people are going to get sick if you start putting large numbers of people in closed spaces," adds Cruz.
