In the midst of Anchorage reopening for in-person schools for K-12 and self-contained special education students, I wanted to express empathy for Superintendent Deena Bishop and the ASD administration. I am thankful that I am not in a position to have to make hard decisions that balance the health and safety of the community and the profound need to educate and support our children. Our time to fight to mitigate the coronavirus started in February. Our society needed to set the August start of school as a deadline for controlling the virus.
Instead, society determined that we couldn’t do without bars, casinos and theme parks. We continued with parties and holidays, and made masks a political issue. It was left to each state and city to make its own rules. When we could have been all hands-on deck and a clear goal for the start of school, we did not and failed.
We are in for a long, dark winter as we confront the consequences of our inaction and crisis of leadership. We will lose at least 500,000 neighbors, family members, and friends before a vaccine can be completed and distributed, and one of those could be me or you. It is okay and understandable to be angry. However, Superintendent Bishop, your kid’s teacher or the teacher’s union are not productive targets of that anger.
If you are angry, like me, this week and next is a chance to channel that anger productively and vote.
Joe Reser
Anchorage
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