To the editor:

A recent letter from Will Manly praised Lawrence Montessori School for remaining open during the pandemic, contrasting the “heroic” actions of LMS teachers with the “smug selfishness” of teachers unions. We also have a child at LMS and are grateful beyond words to our daughter’s beloved teachers, the director, and the staff for all they have done to safely remain open. But LMS is a small private preschool and kindergarten. It has resources and options for implementing safety measures that are less accessible for large public schools, and it serves only very young children, who have been shown to be less susceptible to the virus. Instead of blaming the teachers at other schools who teach older children and do not have the same resources, let’s advocate to get all schools what they need to safely reopen. All the public school teachers I know are doing everything they can for their students in extremely challenging circumstances. They have the right to demand appropriate safety measures in their classrooms. The real shame is not teachers unions but our society’s unwillingness to prioritize reopening schools safely. Teachers deserve our thanks right now, whether they are teaching online, hybrid or in-person, they are all heroes.

Molly Zahn,

Lawrence