"
We demand the urgent and temporary closure of the establishment, with a total switch to distance education to ensure pedagogical continuity
".
Thus begins the long letter sent on Friday March 26 to the President of the Republic by the teachers of the Eugène Delacroix high school in Drancy, in Seine-Saint-Denis, reports France Bleu.
In particular, the teaching staff reported an "
alarming health situation
" within the establishment since the start of the school year on March 1.
Read also: Antoine Flahault: "Closing schools for two weeks can have a very big impact"
For several weeks, the teachers of the Lycée Delacroix have set up a ritual: at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., all meet in the teachers' room to take stock of the health situation.
"
We want to alert on the drama that some families are going through and on the very anxiety-provoking atmosphere that has reigned in our school for a few weeks
", reports to
Figaro
Fabrice Morel, teacher at the Lycée Delacroix and delegate of SNES-FSU 93. In the room, a large picture is hung on the wall, to mark the absences.
“
I have never seen this table so full, there is not even room to write the names of all the absent teachers.
We constantly see the number of absent students and colleagues increasing drastically,
”says the professor.
Parents of students on the front line in Seine-Saint-Denis
“
We teachers are worried, but so are the students and parents.
There is a real shared anguish
", testifies Fabrice Morel, who notes that the secondary schools in Seine-Saint-Denis constitute real"
clusters
".
“
There is a very high population density at Lycée Delacroix with students who come from underprivileged populations.
Here, the risk of contamination is increased compared to other establishments, since the parents of students have jobs in which they are exposed:
the first lines
are the parents of our students,
”says this high school teacher, who confides in having a student whose mother has three jobs in one day.
"
There is a real co-morbidity between these high-risk jobs, where parents are in contact with many people, and the circulation of the virus within establishments in 93
", continues the teacher.
At Lycée Delacroix, every day 2,000 students pass each other in the corridors, and around 70 teachers per day.
But, since Monday March 22, more than thirty of them have exercised their right of withdrawal.
In question: the growing number of cases of contamination.
This is evidenced by the twenty or so students whose parents have died of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
"
We are up against the wall
", deplores Blandine Paulet, co-secretary of SNES-FSU 93, "this
is why we are asking for a temporary closure to then resume work with fewer students and teachers, to prevent the epidemic is not spreading so quickly
”.
Right of withdrawal: "teachers want to stop lying"
Yesterday evening, Fabrice Morel listened attentively to the statements of the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer: "
knowing that the classes will now close from the first positive case, this means that Monday, I have two second classes that I will no longer see for 15 days and 3 groups in first and final year that will no longer be present,
”explains the professor, who, like most of his colleagues, is skeptical of the measures.
“
For a long time we heard that the virus did not circulate in schools, which is false.
Teachers want to stop lying,
”comments Blandine Paulet.
“
No, we are not protected by a reinforced health protocol.
No, social distancing is not respected in the classes where we sometimes end up with 35 students.
No, mixing the students is not possible.
No, there is no real cleaning of the premises since it requires additional staff which we never saw coming.
Finally, the notion of half-gauge is very vague and applied in a very disparate manner.
This is why we wish, by exercising our right of withdrawal, that the Minister take his responsibilities and that decisions be taken in a clear and above all binding manner
", she continues, stressing that the teachers"
care about their health and health. of their relatives
”.
Read also: Covid-19: school doctors demand the closure of schools for four weeks
According to the weekly report published on Friday March 26 by the rectorate quoted by France Bleu, 3,696 students are currently infected within the Créteil academy and, among the teaching staff, 857 people are positive for Covid-19.