VIDEO

AUDIO

PTT

COVID 19 HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST DISRUPTIONS TO EDUCATION THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN

Mike: (07:21:10)
And of course the big thing was just students that poof, where did they go? They disappeared.

Tina: (02:53:08)
I felt I transitioned to being a principal, the assistant principal, the teacher, the lunch lady, the bus driver

Yeo Park Infant School

PTC -  As we prepare to open schools in Australia Ð parents and educators alike are all wondering how itÕs going to unfold

In Florida, itÕs happening amid a surge in cases of the more contagious delta variant

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Kelsey: (10:55:52)
and anxiety is through the roof right now

And thereÕs a growing divide amongst parents and educators over how to keep kids safe and in classrooms during a pandemic

Tayari: (11:35:27)
When I tried to take my daughter to school, um, they wanted to force her to wear a mask, but I told them not, not to do that.

Maggie: (02:01)
We have parents acting like having their child wear a mask is child abuse.

KEEPING HOWARD BISHOP SAFE

Sunrise over Gainesville

POND 5 if Bruno didnÕt shoot one

EXTERNAL MIKE HOUSE

UPSOT

Mike: ÒAlways double knot. I like symmetryÓ

VO: Here in Gainesville, Florida, SCHOOL Principal Mike Gamble IS UP EARLY

AND GETTING READY TO FACE A MAMMOTH TASK

09:20:18

ÒCanÕt have scuffed shoesÓ

HEÕS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING 700 KIDS Ð COVID SAFE

Mike entering school

THOUGHT TRACK

Mike: (06:57:03)
I became principal of Howard Bishop where I'm at now in 2010

Actuality

CHRIS_FOOTAGE

01:44:30 mike spreading tables out

Upsot Mike spacing desks out

Mike: 01:44:58

ÒWe can save ourselves in trouble. If we can space things out a little bitÓ

THOUGHT TRACK

Mike (07:17:29):

With this, the hard thing is to get students to realize the seriousness of it, especially you're talking about adolescents kids, 11 through 14 years old,

Mike: (07:17:45)
And they're kids, it's just very hard to keep them apart. they're like Cheerios in a bowl of milk. They're always going to clump together.

What was supposed to be a joyful start to the school year Éhas become an anxiety-inducing experience for students, parents and educators

THOUGHT TRACK

Mike: (07:09:48)
Towards the end of the summer, things looked like they were on the decline with the coronavirus number of cases going down, of course, hospitalization, and no kidding, we thought we were going to be back to normal

Mike: (07:10:14)
and then boom, right? Right as school is starting, we're getting this surge.

EMPTY HALLS AND CLASSES HERE Ð MAKE IT FEEL LIKE AN HOUR BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS AND THE TEACHERS WORKING  HARD ALREADY.

In August, when all students were ordered back to classrooms, Florida was averaging over 20,000 Covid-19 cases a day

EVERY DAY -  MIKE MEETS WITH THE STAFF OF HOWARD BISHOP TO TALK ABOUT THE LATEST ON-CAMPUS CASES

(FADE UP)

Mike: (01:22:10)
On our COVID cases, you know, been staying on top of that. And, um, there was another one today

Mike 1: (01:22:50)
So I've been keeping a running tally myself and about students and staff. And since school began, we're up to 26 students.

Mike 1: (01:23:16)
and then a total of seven staff members, which includes one of our cafeteria workers

Mike 1: (01:24:07)
but you know, masks help. So that's why we're going to keep wearing them and keep them on

Mike Zoom IV

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C0011_1

01:13:11 Ð 01:13:26

Mike walks into classroom from hallway

A RANGE OF COVID PROTOCOLS have been recommended by AMERICAÕS CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL TO keep everyone safe AT SCHOOL

INCLUDING DOCUMENTED SEATING PLANS Ð TO HELP WITH CONTACT TRACING

Actuality

Mike speaks with teacher Chloe as he contact traces in her classroom

01:10:30 Ð 01:12:14

Possible cutaways

01:13:20

Mike: (01:10:31)
Morning. So got another one. Okay. Sorry. So this student right here is in your second period class, right?

Chloe: yes

BUTT TO

Mike: (01:11:45)
That one's safe. Uh, so right. Just the students at this table

Principal Gamble says schools are walking a tightrope Ð trying to keep kids Covid safe AND keep them learning

BUT HE SAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL  -  IS  FACE MASKS

Mike Zoom IV

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Mike: (07:28:22)
in my view, masks are important because that's this one mitigation strategy we have. I mean, we really don't have a lot of weapons

JASMINE GETTING READY

Actuality DELTA_170921_C1

Morning routine in the Days household. Tina days and her daughters Camryn and Jasmine sit in their living room before school

02:25:39 Tina setting table

02:26:30 Jasmine table

02:29:15 Jasmine with backpack

02:28:50

Tina: YÕall bring your backpacks in here get ready to go to school

TINA IS A SINGLE MUM OF THREE

TODAY ELDEST DAUGHTER CAMRYN IS GOING BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL

AND 11 YEAR OLD Jasmine is off to Howard Bishop MIDDLE SCHOOL

BOTH HAVE BEEN  in and out of home schooling over the last year

SUBREEL 1

THOUGHT TRACK

Tina: (02:52:26)
when the pandemic happened, I had my 13-year old and my 11-year old at the time and it seemed like it happened overnight É

Upsot Camryn awkward chuckle

Butt to

Jasmine: You lizard. YouÕre literally just embarrassing yourself

TINA THOUGHT TRACK

ÒÉand then all of a sudden, this hit, nobody knew what was happening, and then the school shut down.Ó

Tina: (02:53:08)
I felt I transitioned to being a principal, the assistant principal, the teacher, the lunch lady, the bus driver because then, I had to make sure that they get their work. Then I had to fix lunch, I had to make sure they were getting their work. I had to stay on them, all at the same time trying to work, trying to provide.

A study of kids across the US revealed, on average, those in grades 1 to 6 Éfell 5 months behind in maths and 4 months behind in reading during home schooling

But FOR African American and Hispanic  students  -  or those  from lower come families ...the outcomes can be even worse

ACTUALITY

Jasmine: 04:32:57

ÒThe experience of home schooling was just kind of hard for me in general because I didnÕt really know how to do a lot of stuff and I didnÕt even have a computer, I had a phone to work on.Ó

BUTT TO Jasmine: 04:36:30

ÒMost of the time I just went and played in my room.Ó

DESPITE THE EXCITEMENT OF BEING BACK TO FACE-TO-FACE LEARNING

Upsot 02:45:25

Tina: YÕall come on

Éthe family is still readjusting to the old morning routine

SUBREEL 1

Actuality

Tina walks outside 02:45:08

Jasmine gets in car 02:45:55

Car pulls out 02:46:10

170921_Osmo 0005_1

Int car pulls out of driveway

00:00:01

Tina: YÕall get out the same time

Jasmine: We get out 3:37

Camryn: Yeah what time you start

Jasmine: 9:15 is when we start.. 9.15 is the morning

Main Zoom IV

Darren: (03:42:24)
If schools close again, what would that mean for Jasmine?

Tina: (03:42:37)
I believe she will fail.

Tina: (03:42:39)
I don't know how I would handle it, I don't know how she would handle it. It's just not an option.

Tina: (04:00:37)
That's why I'm masking. That's why I'm encouraging vaccine because I'm looking out for my kids' future and that starts with a good education

170921_Osmo

0006_1

Arrive at school

02:27

Tina: All right Jasmine

(Jasmine puts mask on and gets out of car

CUT TO MIKE OUTSIDE SCHOOL IN MORNING

So far IN ALACHUA COUNTY, 1,300 students OUT OF 30,000 and 200 teachers  OUT OF ALMOST 2000 - have tested positive for Covid-19 since classrooms reopened

The vast majority experiencing minor symptoms

Though two workers and one student have died

Generic non identifying shots of kids, back of heads, school bags, school

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09:12:20 mike outside school

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07:06:40 mike hallways humming to himself

Upsot outside school?

But itÕs not just masks, vaccines and education returning students must contend with

ThereÕs also been significant mental health challenges

CHRIS_FOOTAGE

Shot of Ann Musselman in her office typing

01:56:57 filmed through door

01:55:40 Student Counsellor placard

Upsot typing

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In situ Qs outside school

CHRIS_FOOTAGE

01:56:36 Ann walking to KelseyÕs office

01:57:26 Ann and Kelsey talking at desk

THOUGHT TRACK

Counsellor: (10:55:52)
anxiety is through the roof right now. Like a lot of these kids have only been interacting with their families. And so having to be around all of these people is so hard for them. We're seeing so much more social anxiety, so much more depression.

SUBREEL 1

CHRIS_FOOTAGE

Actuality

Ann and Kelsey are in an office which has been set up as a student safe space

Speaker 1: (01:59:55
So this will be the mindfulness area for the restart room.

Speaker 2: Yes. And so we can have some like relaxation music playing we have

(FADE UNDER)

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In situ Qs outside school

THOUGHT TRACK

Speaker 1: (10:55:05)
I mean, we do suicide risk assessments on a pretty regular basis in middle school, but our numbers have increased so much, even just this year, the two of us have already conducted a bunch because so many of these kids have been isolated for so long.

Zoom IV with Mike at home

Mike IV Ð DARREN REVERSALS

Darren: (07:18:52)
why is it so important that there was a return to classrooms for in-person learning for students?

Mike: (07:20:36)
There were kids that you could tell that just not being around their peers, it really affected them. They were withdrawn. Like, "Wow, what happened to that kid?

Mike: (07:21:10)
And of course the big thing was just students that poof, where did they go? They disappeared.

Darren: (07:21:40)
How many missing students were there at Howard Bishop?

Mike: (07:22:03)
It's hard to tell just how many we'd lost. Probably 20 to 30

Darren (07:22:50)

ThatÕs really concerning isnÕt it, that there are dozens of students whose education essentially just stopped at such a crucial part of their education?

Mike: (07:22:56)
Oh, are you kidding? Yes. Yes. Yeah. That is concerning. I mean, it's scary. It's like, what's going to happen with them? How they going to make that up? What are their prospects for the future?

1^st grade teacher... loss of learning dis-enrolment

2 mins

Missing out on one of the most foundational years of education.

Drone Gainesville breath

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School establishing shots

Sharon Weissmann walking with elementary students

Across the United States, around one million public school students disappeared from school roll calls altogether when classes went digital Ð they were simply not enrolled for the new semester

One third of those kids were kindergarten students

NOW THAT SCHOOL IS BACK - TEACHER SHARON WEISSMAN IS WITNESSING A CONCERNING AMOUNT OF LOST LEARNING

Zoom IV

Strap

Sharon Weissman

Alachua Learning Academy

Sharon: (13:05:01)
Some of them don't even understand that you read from left to right. Uh, they, they weren't reading at home. They didn't have that, um, kind of attention, uh, that a teacher would be able to give them, uh, to learn all of those skills.

Actuality

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Ms Yeargin sits at a desk in a green field with two young students, from K and 1^st grade practicing reading

12:30:31 Ð 12:30:58

Teacher: so who wants to read the title of our passage?

Kid1: I want to.. Tiny tardigrades .. teeny tiny tardigrades

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Wide shot 12:33:25

Another wide shot option

12:34:10

Elementary teacher Nancy Yeargin has taken todayÕs reading lesson outside É TO GIVE STUDENTS SOME FRESH AIR AND A BREAK FROM MASK WEARING

Actuality

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12:31:50 - 12:32:25

FUNNY UPSOT FROM KID

12:34:58 Ð 12:35:10

Kid1: Do they eat air? (giggles)

Teacher: I donÕt know it just says creatures that are smaller than they are

Kid1: (Looks at camera) Wow thatÕs pretty small (smiles)

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In situ grabs from teacher

Strap

Nancy Yeargin

Alachua Learning Academy

Actuality

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Kid reading passage at table with teacherÕs help

Speaker 1: (12:45:29)
It's nice having them in the classroom when they're struggling, we can see it a lot faster

Teacher: (12:45:07)
The biggest thing is the social interaction with their classmates and being able to still work together and being around the teacher.

UPSOT

12:33:14 Ð 12:33:32

Kid1: Small

Teacher: Smaller

Kid1: smaller than É. (kids continues reading)

(FADE UNDER)

THOUGHT TRACK

Teacher: (12:40:49)
There were lots of challenges during the last year

Teacher: (12:41:04)
students having trouble with catching up with reading. We've noticed that they've been behind a lot in comprehension and phonics, especially for the younger students. Learning letters, letter sounds, blends, diagraphs, all of those basics that they have to have in the older grades to be able to fully read a passage

OTS piece of paper GVs

12:32:39 Ð 12:33

VO And all elementary school teachers now have the twin tasks of catching-up their students Ð and keeping them masked WHILST INSIDE

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In situ kid grabs

Kid1: (12:52:39)
I been trying to keep it on. It is hard and sometimes you have to like, take it off for two seconds and then put it back on to get the fresh air.

Kid2: (12:55:18)
COVID is hard and masks are hard to breath in sometimes. And, um, but you just got wear it

Speaker 1: (12:56:22)
It's not a big deal.

Ms Weissman walks through the playground as children play

13:29:50 Ð 13:30:17

Upsot playground noises

Kids laughing

RON DEANTIS VS SCHOOL 1

30 sec

Stopping government overreach - politics vs public health

Mask protests/signs

RTV

Placards

MUSIC - pacey and dramatic

VO: But not all parents are so keen on their kids masking up...IN THE CLASSROOM

As Covid-19 cases surged in August É(pause) so too did a hyper-politicised stoush over masking in schools

UPSOT PARENT YELLING AT OTHER PARENT

Drone/GFX/archive cut with DeSantis grabs

BRIEF HERE

Gainesville town drone shot moving along long street

DJI 0148, DJI 0153, DJI 0155, DJI_0137, DJI 0138, DJI 0140

Use street like a GFX timeline

Fauci/CDC presser appears in floating, transparent box

DeSantis presser appears further up on other side of the road

The Centre for Disease Control says regular handwashing, social distancing and masks worn inside can protect students and teachers

But the Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis said this wasnÕt a matter for federal authorities to decide and came up with his own rules

3^rd party CLEARED BY DESANTISÕ MEDIA REP CHRISTINA PUSHAW 4/10

EMAIL PDF IN TEAMS

00:07

As many of you know thereÕs been talk among the CDC and American Academy of Paediatrics to force masks on school children

BUTT TO 00:50

this should absolutely not be imposed. It should not be mandated.

Box with child wearing mask further up the road

DeSantis again in another box

DeSantis did not want mask wearing required in government funded schools

He issued and signed the ÒParentÕs Bill of RightsÓ.. a legal safeguard to take the decision away from school boards and give it to parents

TAYARI IN THE PARK

Actuality

Family doing exercise drills in the park

Kids doing star jumps

Upsot 05:26:05

Tay giving kids personal training sessions

TAY: Ready!... One, two, three

Kids respond

VO: ItÕs two weeks into the new school year and Tayari AppiahÕs kids have not gone back to the classroom.

UPSOT

HeÕs continuing with home schooling (UPSOT) starting with some PE

THOUGHT TRACK

Tayari: (05:55:33)
I have a wife, I have three children. We are both military, my wife and I ..everything we do is militaryÉ

Upsot training

Tayari upsot: OK, so we have three branches, right?  

THOUGHT TRACK

Tayari: (11:35:27)
When I tried to take my daughter to school, um, they wanted to force her to wear a mask, but I told them not, not to do that. And they still wanted to pressure her and put a mask on her.

Tayari: (06:21:46)
I was livid. I was livid and I think it was a violation of the law.

05:18:54  UPSOT

TAYARI: Judicial, legislative, executive

Tayari: (06:05:39)
So I went and I used the Parents' Bill of Rights

Tayari: (06:06:04)
that parents have the right to make the medical decisions for their children

UPSOT 05:18:30

TAY: If one person had control of all three, theyÕd be a dictator

Tayari: (06:06:16)
I used that law the next day, the very next day in my child's school system and my child's school said that they did not care about the law and that their policy supersedes the law. It was incredible. I never heard it before. So at that point I realized that I'm probably going to have to pull my kids out of school

Home schooling intro shots.

Tayari stands at a whiteboard under cover in a park, with his two sons (de-identified) taking in a lesson

VO:  In attacking mask mandates, FloridaÕs Governor Ron DeSantis was speaking directly to republican supporters like Tayari, who donÕt see a place for government in their family decisions

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Tayari: (06:10:42)
I think it's everybody's job as parents to protect their own children and protect yourself but I would never think it's somebody else's job to protect me.

Zoom IV

Other homework shots

05:39:45

05:40:24

05:41:35

But health experts continue to argue for every possible line of protection against Covid-19

In just one week in August, over 200,000 American children were diagnosed with the disease

And messaging that masks can save lives was lost amid the growing debate over mandates

Tayari: (06:16:03)
Not necessarily, I would need to see the actual randomized control trials that say that masks are beneficial and I don't really believe that they are.

TAYARI SAYS UNTIL HIS KIDS SCHOOL  GIVES THEM A CHOICE ON MASK WEARING  - HEÕLL KEEP THEM AT HOME

Tayari: (07:16:50)
Forever. I mean until death, until they're 18. I can do this forever.

Tayari: (07:16:50)
I mean until death, until they're 18.

Gainesville High GVs

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Throngs of students 01:21:00

Student upsot 01:21:54

Students boarding bus 01:23:00

01:20:40

The Florida GovernorÕs Parents bill of rights meant schools could not make it mandatory for students to wear masks

But many school boards defied this and ordered students to wear masks for the first 10 weeks of the school year

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

2min

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Actuality

Int school board room, hands on hearts, people recite pledge of allegiance

UPSOT 09:38:22

ÒI pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America ..Ó

Ext school board building

10:29:56, 10:30:28, 10:31:02

So Governor DeSantis withheld thousands of dollars in monthly funding from boards starting with Alachua County

(UPSOT)

Punishing a public school system already under strain

A panel of school board members sit behind a bench in council chambers, with dozens of citizens sitting in front of them

Alachua County Public Schools signage 09:45:55, 09:46:26

UPSOT 09:38:05

ÒSchool board of Alachua county, Florida is called into order.Ó

These meetings are like an open forum where locals and parents can give input on school policies

And itÕs where much of the heated debate over mask mandates is playing out on a local level

Actuality

Locals take to the podium, some very angry and shouting

10:19:43 Ð 10:19:53

MAN 1: Well Covid is a war. WeÕre losing more people than we did in those wars and all weÕre asking people to do is put something on their face.

Carlee Simon 09:44:58

Parents take to the podium, some very angry and shouting

Tayari and other republicans have come tonight to attack school board chief Superintendent Carlee Simon who led the push for student mask mandates in the county

09:52:14 Ð 09:52:25

ANGRY WOMAN 1: Carlee Marie Simon does not have any valid qualifications in the state of Florida or Ohio since 2013.

09:52:26 Ð 09:52:32

ANGRY WOMAN 1: Does anybody know what year it is?

TINA: Why are you yelling?

WOMAN: Because IÕm angry. Get over it.

CARLEE SIMON RESPONSE

09:53:50 Ð 09:54:10

I am fully qualified to serve as superintendent, I also have a doctorate in educational leadership and policy É you are welcome to look at my CV

Actuality

Tina talking

SUBREEL 1

VO Meanwhile Tina and the democratic camp praise the superintendent for standing up to the governor and putting her job on the line

BUTT TO 09:57:12 Ð 09:57:29

Because I know you have the best interests of all the kids É your leadership of mandating masks

BUTT TO 09:57:02

These parents are not speaking for all parents

BUTT TO 09:58:24 Ð 09:58:30

TINA DAYS: They donÕt wanna get the vaccine. They donÕt wanna wear a mask. Then what do they want to do? Spread Covid!

School boards like this have become the new covid-19 battle ground

Actuality

Tayari speaks and is ejected from the auditorium

Zoom

Tina: (12:56)
We got a lot of selfish people here

Tina: (03:22:33)
If you're not wearing masks, you don't want to get vaccinated, then you know your child is going to get Covid.

Tina: (03:23:26)
what will it take? Would it take somebody dying? I don't understand, to the life of me, why they are getting mad... I don't understand it.

FOOTBALL MADNESS

Town GVÕs during the football game

Unmasked fans

Upsot marching band

07:28:12

Regardless of which side of the mask debate families are on Ð Florida is living with Covid-19

UPSOT

However vaccine take-up has been slow in the state and mandates of any kind have been controversial

Fans streaming past the camera, cheering on the Gators and making funny faces

Natsot fans cheering

Street Vox

07:34:57 (Stadium signage)

07:32:14 (swarms of fans lining up)

07:36:24 (Covid warning sign)

Florida covid rules

Voxie1

07:30:44

ÒI guess itÕs a personal choice if you do wear a mask.Ó

Voxie2

07:32:55

IÕm just really excited to be back in the stadium and things going back to normal.Ó

Fans streaming past the camera, cheering on the Gators and making funny faces

Natsot fans cheering

But the way the pandemic is unfolding in Florida is far from normal

And a movement seeking to bring down the CountyÕs school board is mobilising....

Actuality Tayari walks inside building and greets Michelle and Jeff Childers

Upsot hellos

11:13:05

Tayari, Jeff and Michelle sitting around coffee table in JeffÕs legal office

They call themselves the Alliance for Responsible Government

And Tayari has come for a debrief after last nightÕs school board meeting

Actuality

Jeff, Michelle and Tayari debrief about last nightÕs meeting, sitting around coffee table

Meeting cutaways

12:03:30 Ð 12:11:01

SUBREEL 1

Jeff: (11:26:01)
Yeah. Well these public servants have forgotten who they worked for. Right. They work for us.

Michelle: (11:28:25)
so let's talk about what's next

Michelle: (11:28:34)
we want to move forward with the lawsuit against the school board of Alachua county for the masks

Jeff: (11:43:27)
So any public official who violates that injunction could potentially be arrested

Michelle: Arrested by the sheriff

Jeff: By the sheriff and put in and processed and held in jail until they get a purge

Michelle: Tay is very excited about that.

Tayari: (LAUGHS) Absolutely. They've been acting like a criminal organization.

Michelle: Yeah.

They are not just looking to take down the school board over mask mandates

With President Joe Biden pushing federal vaccine mandates, this group is also fighting vaccine requirements at the local level

JEFF IS A LAWYER AND HEÕS JUST HAD A WIN IN COUNTY COURT

REPRESENTING SOME CITY WORKERS WHO DID NOT WANT TO GET VACCINATED.

Actuality

Michelle reading off printed sheet of paper

Tayari and Jeff reacting

Tayari: Jeff, youÕre the man!

(HIGH FIVES)

Jeff: It was a team effort.

Jeff: (11:13:51)
So the City of Gainesville employees are now safe and do not have to take the vaccine or be fired by the end of the week.

BUTT TO 11:24:23

Jeff: ItÕs not me, it is all God. I couldnÕt do this.

Zoom IV

Darren:

But why masks? Why draw a line in the sand on such a benign piece of cloth?

Michelle: (12:17:32)
So we truly believe that we do not co-parent with the government.

Michelle: (12:44:40)
the line that we want to draw here is, um, taking a stand against government intrusion. So we knew that if we gave in with the masks, it would move on to vaccines

Darren:

The overwhelming evidence shows masks save lives. Why else would the majority of doctors continue to ask children to wear them in schools?

Michelle: (12:25:17)
I don't know, you'd have to ask them that. 

Darren: Over 700,000 people have already died in your country and over a thousand more die every day from Covid-19. WhatÕs left if you take away basic measures like mask and vaccine mandates?

Michelle: (12:46:22)
Um, Hmm. I think I would disagree that they're basic measures, injecting something into somebody's body is not a basic measure.

Darren: (12:46:33)
Well, it is to try and protect the most vulnerable people in society.

Michelle: (12:46:39)
Okay. I mean, I guess that's where we would have to disagree

Breath Gainesville GVs

Drone shots

ItÕs clear passions run high when families feel their kids are under threat

Though the evidence is overwhelming masks and vaccines are important tools for controlling Covid-19.

MAGGIE PAXSON

3 mins

Teachers under threat

Gainesville HS ext GVs

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Students walking GVs

01:18:40

Gainesville High School sign 01:14:50

But students arenÕt the only ones at risk

Maggie Paxson has been a science teacher at Gainesville High for 10 years

THOUGHT TRACK

Maggie: (02:37:24)
Many of my co-workers are not vaccinated. Many of my co-workers do not believe in this.

Maggie Paxson walking from school back gate 00:58:06

Maggie walks to her car and gets inside

00:58:16

THOUGHT T

01:07:49

MAGGIE: I have a blood clotting condition, I had blood clots in my lungs when I was a teenager

And so Maggie has taken to eating lunch in isolation every day

Upsot Maggie in car 00:58:34

Maggie: Not a very glamourous lunch unfortunately (chuckles)

Maggie Upsot

ÒFaculty are being strongly encouraged to not eat unmasked indoorsÓ

01:03:52
MAGGIE: IÕm personally very high risk for Covid and while I was able to stay home for the first year and a half of it IÕm now back fulltime.

BUTT TO 01:08:55

MAGGIE: I wouldnÕt be willing to be on campus if it werenÕt for the mask mandate and IÕm nervous about whatÕs going to happen when it expires.

Upsot car unlocks, Maggie gets in car

Maggie gets out of car 00:10:56

Maggie walks to back gate and leaves scene 01:11:37

Because of the specific science subjects Maggie teaches, she says she was given no option for digital teaching when FloridaÕs governor ordered schools to reopen

So she has taken things into her own hands modifying her workspace to keep herself Covid safe

3^RD PARTY FILE/MAGGIE PAXSON UGC

Maggie uses her mobile phone to show us her classroom

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Maggie: (00:01)
I have my, um, little section of desks that I've used to kind of block off an independent space for me.

Classroom UGC

Purge fan and shower

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Maggie: (00:15)
what this timer does is it purges all of the air in the room

Speaker 1: (00:38)
And I have been using it to exchange air with the outside world for COVID safety

160921_OSMO

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Maggie gets in her car, sanitises her hands

Other driving Osmo shots

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DJI0003_1

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Maggie: (02:01)
We have parents acting like having their child wear a mask is child abuse.

Speaker 1: (01:34)
we have to be making every single possible choice we can that promotes safety and, and follows the best practices of the CDC, the American academy of paediatrics and other international health organizations.

Maggie marks grades in a nearby park sequence

02:58:19 Ð 02:59:45

03:00:30, 03:03:20

VO The local divide is even evident amongst MaggieÕs students

Zoom IV with Maggie

Darren reversals already filmed

Maggie: (02:15:44)
The kids who are going to politically disagree with me don't take my class

Maggie: (02:15:57)
It's foolish that it's become so politicized because it's just science, and science doesn't care who you vote for.

Darren: (01:52:00)
Are you scared going to school?

Maggie: (01:52:04)
When I think about it, if I try to rationalize it, yes, it is scary. But like I said, I just try not to think about it. There's not anything I can do about it. Sorry. (TEARS UP)

BUTT TO

Maggie: (02:13:35)
So to think about having to leave it, it's heartbreaking

AD BREAK

School drone breath

VO Covid-19 has exposed a fragile public school system that has been stretched to its limits in AmericaÉ

The challenge that educators face.... is how to keep kids in school and safe during the pandemic.

Mike Gamble is out front of his house, mowing the lawn. A Florida Gators flag hangs near his front door, and a sign that says, Ôthis is our happy placeÕ

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06:51:01 Ð 06:53:58

Upsot lawnmower

VO Just like students, studies show teachers are feeling more anxiety and more pressure because of the pandemic Ð even battle hardened educators like Principal Gamble

DELTA_190921_C1

THOUGHT TRACK

Mike: (06:55:32)
I spent four years on active duty in the Navy from 1984 to 1988.

Actuality Mike shows us his navy memorabilia, photos

DELTA_190921_C2

08:46:19 Ð 08:53:45

UPSOT 08:46:19

Mike: Here are some photos I took, from my flying days

Actuality

Mike reflects as heÕs looking through his Navy photos
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Mike: (08:49:05)
As a veteran, you get the discount at Lowe's and it's nice. And I take advantage of that, and they'd tell you, thank you for your service. And that's very nice. And most people are quite sincere. I think all public school educators should be thanked for their service, especially in the times of dealing with the Corona virus. A lot of unknown that we donÕt know and teachers step up and do their job with a risk of not know what might happen

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Mike Zoom IV

MIKE IV Ð DARREN REVERSAL

Darren: (07:35:34)
All these teachers are there voluntarily, but do you feel as a leader a little bit like you're sending them into a battle zone?

Mike: (07:36:05)
I know what it's like to lose shipmates in an accident. Naval aviation, it's a dangerous gig. Even if you do, do things right, you can pay for it with your life. And I lost six friends, shipmates during my short time in there. So yeah, I know what that's like. And teachers don't sign up to be an educator, to be a classroom teacher thinking like, "Hey, I could be putting my life on the line here."

Actuality
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Kitchen/dinner GVs

08:18:19 Ð 08:21:07

Upsot family greetings

08:17:40 Ð 08:18:05

MikeÕs not the only teacher in his family, SO WHEN THEY ALL GET TOGETHER THEREÕS ONLY ONE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION

Actuality

Family sitting around dinning table talking after eating

DELTA_190921_C2

Mike: (08:21:01)
The teacher pulled down the mask to read.

Speaker 6: (08:21:03)
Are students close or nearby?

Mike: (08:21:08)
Well, I saw an article that had kind of a diagram of the desk. So supposedly they were sitting in their desks. And it wasn't like every single kid across the front row came down with it, but like three and then another one second row off to the side.

Odallas: (08:21:25)
And they all got it from the teacher?

Mike: (08:21:26)
That's who they traced it to, yeah.

BUTT TO

Nicole: 08:21:42
The mask really muffles you .. with the elementary schoolers, they just struggle sometimes when they can't see your face, when they can't see your mouth moving.

BUTT TO

08:24:28 Ð 08:24:56

Mum: well in his school he has a teacher whoÕs hearing impaired É and she canÕt see her kids lips.Ó

08:28:24

ItÕs a political nightmare, put on the teachersÉ and now whoÕs to blame because these kids arenÕt thriving

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MIKE IV Ð DARREN REVERSAL

Darren: (07:57:21)
Do you think teachers will be driven from the profession by some of these anxieties?

Mike: (07:57:27)
I know some have and just the overall... I mean, it's like one more, one more stress factor until you get to the point of the classic straw that broke the camel's back.

Mike (08:03:05):

In spite, all that we're willing to do our jobs and carry on.

Mike (08:01:46):

we're in it for our students. We believe very much in public education being a great equalizer in society and a way to get ahead. A lot of us teach kids that come from poverty and we know that education is the way to break that cycle, so we very much want our students in school with us

End grabs

1 mins

School drone breath

A DIVIDED America is still trying to figure out what the future looks like as the pandemic continues

Cases have dropped in the months since school has returned Ð but itÕs not the first time the country has appeared to be overcoming Covid-19

There remains one thing that unites parents and teachers Ð classroom education in a safe environment

Tina Zoom IV

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Tina in the car with Jasmine

Tina: (03:56:23)
The kids are kids. They are resilient.

Tina: (03:57:06)
I do see a silver lining. Things are loosening up a bit, but we're not going to be able to get that unless everybody be a ÔweÕ instead of an ÔIÕ. We need to be a we instead of a I. Not how I feel, not how my kids feel. It's how we feel.

Statement board

On October 5, the Alachua School board voted to end the mask mandate for high school students

Next week on Dateline

We meet an international super sperm donor, fast approaching his 100th child, and investigate what the lack of regulation means for a generation of donor-conceived kids. 

And up next...The Feed