Collier County teachers push for delayed in-person school return

To start the week, Collier County teachers lined up outside the school district to support the delay for in-person learning.

We went to a car parade outside the Collier County Public Schools administrative building Monday, where well over 150 teachers drove their cars through the CCPS parking lot to show their support for online learning.

Collier County teachers decided to show how they feel about in-person classes. They worry returning to class full-time Aug. 19 will do more to spread COVID-19 than stop it.

Currently, the plan for reopening schools requires students and staff to wear masks, but teacher Kelly Romer-Vettridge with Naples High School told us that’s not enough. She said in-school learning is not worth the risk.

“Schools naturally have closed spaces, closed quarters, close contact,” said Romero-Vettridge said. “In that situation, if we go back to school, we are, even with the masks, we know that lowers transmission. But yet we’re putting that responsibility on children, to stop children from passing it to each other and from adults.”

Teachers told us they will parade at CCPS again Tuesday afternoon before the scheduled school board meeting.

“I’d like my child to avoid any negative future health impacts,” Christine Fuller said. “And I know that there’s a lot of teachers that are, you know, full-time staff. They have health issues on their own; they are in multi generational households; or they have health conditions amongst themselves.”

A district spokesperson told us the board plans to review possible adjustments to the school year calendar.

This story will be updated during our 5 p.m. broadcast on WXCW and online.