Quaker Valley makes arrangements for 10 teachers to work remotely
Share this post:
The creator of an online petition formed in response to Quaker Valley School District’s denial of 10 teachers’ requests to work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic claimed victory this week when the district announced resolutions for the teachers.
The update to the petition came Aug. 20, when only four of the 10 teachers had received accommodations to work remotely.
Over the weekend, the district made accommodations for the other six teachers, said Angela Conigliaro, the district’s director of communications.
“While confidentiality prevents us from sharing any particular staff member’s circumstance or request, I am pleased to report that all pending cases for accommodations from last week have been successfully resolved,” said Tammy Andreyko, the district’s superintendent in a letter addressed to Quaker Valley families.
Tina Bower, the woman behind the creation of the Change.org petition, said the district’s most at-risk teachers were initially denied their requests to teach remotely because of the district’s position those accommodations would pose a hardship.
“Certainly, these teachers’ lives shouldn’t be put at risk due to a ‘hardship’ on our school district,” said Bower in the petition’s description.
The petition purports to have gathered 1,740 signatures.
Bower did not respond to a request for comment.
Bower included in the petition a statement read by Darren Mariano, a high school computer science teacher, at the district’s school board meeting Aug. 13. In the statement, Mariano said he requested accommodations to teach remotely because of a “high risk” condition and that his doctors recommend he work remotely to prevent being exposed to covid-19.
“Upon my application for accommodations, I was sure that the administration would value my life. I was shocked to hear that my requested accommodations were denied. My team of physicians is equally baffled by the decision and suggested that perhaps the gravity of the situation is not understood,” Mariano’s statement reads.
Mariano said nine other teachers also were initially denied accommodations to teach remotely.
He said the district told him he can work remotely for three days but must be at the school for the other two because of the “undue hardship” that working remotely would place on the school.
“The administration has placed me in an untenable position of utilizing any and all leave in order to protect my life,” he said, adding his experience in computer science places him in a competent position to work remotely.
Mariano did not respond to requests for further comment.
The first day of school for students has been set for Sept. 8, according to the district’s website.
The next school board meeting, originally scheduled for Aug. 25, has been rescheduled to start at 7 p.m. Sept. 1, according to Conigliaro.