Back to School, but are we Ready?

A recent national poll of teachers from NPR/Ipsos found overwhelming apprehension about returning to the physical classroom.

According to the poll, eighty-two percent of K-12 teachers say they are concerned about returning to in-person teaching this fall, and two-thirds prefer to teach primarily remotely. 

Despite a strong desire to return to the classroom to see their students face to face, educators struggle with concerns such as whether or not adequate health and safety plans will be in place to protect staff and students from COVID.  

In addition, many of our school buildings simply aren’t ready either. On average, New Jersey’s 2,500 school buildings are 50-years-old and are four times more densely populated than office buildings, often with poor indoor air quality and little ventilation making it very difficult to social distance and maintain adequate fresh air.

“We don’t want to go backwards, and we certainly don’t want to rush to find out that we were wrong, and that we started too soon, or that we didn’t have the right things in place.” Heather Sorge, campaign organizer for Healthy Schools Now, said in a recent interview with NJ Pen.

To read more about steps School Districts can take to ensure we do open safely, read our Call To Action report. We make the case as to why we call on Governor Murphy, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health to develop a comprehensive school infection, prevention, and control plan that districts can adopt with some degree of flexibility in our op-ed here.

Just, Green Recovery Virtual Assembly

On Thursday, August 20, Jersey Renews held A Virtual Assembly: A Just, Green Recovery for NJ. Ahead of the August 25th budget address.  More than sixty partners and community members gathered with us to discuss the urgent need for a state budget that centers communities and workers, not corporations and invests in a future safe from health, economic and climate catastrophe for us all. We heard from State Assemblyman Zwicker and labor, environmental, faith and community leaders on the following core principles for a just, green budget:

• Invest in clean and renewable energy -- no more raids to the Clean Energy Fund!
• Fund NJ Transit to keep workers and riders safe
• Protect workers and our environment -- fully staff our state agencies 
• Invest our public dollars in the public good, and raise that money through a just tax structure

Our next step is to make sure the state legislature hears loud and clear that New Jerseyans demand a budget that will keep us safe from health, economic and climate catastrophe. Please add your voice to our new petition.

We know that this work is just beginning, and we are in it for the long haul.  Our vision of a just, green recovery needs to leave no worker and no community behind. We want to ensure that the voices of your communities and your members are included in our Just, Green Recovery campaign; If you or your organization would like to connect, please reach out to Berenice at btompkins@njwec.org. 

Watch the recording of the Assembly on our Youtube page.

Chlorine Fire in LA During Hurricane Laura

On August 27, as Hurricane Laura ripped through Louisiana a chlorine fire erupted at BioLab Chemical manufacturing facility in West Lake. According to State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning environmental regulators didn’t detect chlorine at ground level, however a shelter-in-place was ordered because the risk to the public was unknown. 

As more extreme weather and flooding is on the horizon due to climate change, it leaves us with questions about the preparation and security of oil refineries and facilities that use hazardous chemicals. New Jersey is one of the fastest warming states. Storms and flooding that used to happen once a century, will become commonplace.

The oil and chemical industries are important to the New Jersey economy. But we must not lose sight of the health and safety of workers in those industries, or the well-being of residents in surrounding communities. No one knows when the next storm might hit, when floodwaters might rise, or when extreme heat might cause a disaster we can’t foresee. That’s why it’s more important than ever that industries that handle hazardous substances operate with full transparency and take steps to prepare for emergencies.