41 Teachers Call Out Sick, Forcing One School Online After Student's COVID Death

A charter high school in Pennsylvania was forced to move to virtual learning on Monday when 41 teachers called out sick after a student at the school died of COVID-19.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that teachers at the Olney Charter High School have asked Aspira, the company that owns the charter school, to increase COVID-19 mitigation strategies in the school.

"The union's mass 'call out' has hindered and interrupted Olney's ability to operate and provide in-person instruction tomorrow, leaving administrators with no choice but to conduct classes virtually," the school said in a press release provided to Newsweek.

The press release also said that teachers have called for "additional safety protocols without citing any relevant detailed claim despite the fact the school administration has taken thorough open measures to protect the health and safety of students and staff."

Shortly after, Arthur Steinberg, president of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania, criticized Aspira's statement, calling it a "dishonest reaction," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

"When many students are already learning virtually due to quarantine, it is disingenuous to place blame on our dedicated educators who demand and deserve a safe teaching environment for them and their students. The union hopes that teaching remains virtual only as long as it takes to slow the spread of the virus and perform quick and thorough contact tracing," Steinberg said in a statement, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The decision by the teachers to call out sick on Monday comes shortly after a senior at the school, Alayna Thach, died last week after becoming infected with COVID-19.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, Sarah Kenney, a 10th grade African American History teacher at Olney Charter High School, and vice president of the Alliance of Charter School Employees said, "First, I want to again offer condolences to the family of Alayna Thach, the 12th grader who succumbed to COVID-19 just a week ago today. Alayna's death should have been a wake-up call for Olney Charter's corporate managers at Aspira; a sign that we need a more robust COVID mitigation strategy, which should include testing, more nursing staff, a plan for physical distancing in the lunchroom, more stringent mask compliance, and a vaccine clinic on-premises."

"Our union unequivocally did not organize what management are labeling a 'mass call out.' However, in the aftermath of a student death, dozens of students learning virtually due to quarantine, and the surging Delta and Omicron variants, Olney's management should have been more proactive in moving to fully virtual learning before late last night," Kenney's statement continued. "Our educators just want a safe environment for their students to learn and to limit their own exposure to a deadly disease. We wish that Aspira and Olney Charter management felt the same way."

A funeral and memorial service for Thach was held over the weekend, where teachers expressed concerns over the school's current COVID-19 mitigation policies, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Updated 12/20/21, 4:44 p.m. ET: This story was updated to include a statement from the Olney Charter High School.