As Schools Reopen, Teachers Weigh Their Career vs. Health

School districts are facing a lot of unknowns. One of the biggest questions is whether teachers with health concerns have to return to school or if they can work remotely. NHPR’s Sarah Gibson caught up with three teachers in the midst of figuring out how their districts will accommodate them, and whether that will be enough.

Beth Franke has two families. There’s her husband and relatives, and then there’s what she calls her “work family,” the teachers and students at John Stark Regional High School.

Franke runs the academic support center and teaches special education there. She’s the kind of teacher who keeps snacks for students in her desk, and always knows what homework they owe and what they’re struggling with at home.

“Many of the students call me Mama Franke,” she laughs. “I become their school mom – they call me ‘school mom.’ Some just call me ‘mom’.”

Normally Franke would be excited to see her work family again, but when she learned schools were planning to reopen, she started panicking. Both Franke and her husband have underlying conditions that could lead to serious complications if they get COVID-19.

“I can count maybe on one hand how many times I have actually gone out in the last few months, because of my risk,” Franke says.

Read the rest of this story at NHPR’s website.