Petition to Keep Ms. Atwell at Marshall High School

Martha Atwell, an English teacher of 25 years at John Marshall High School, is going to be removed from the school and forbidden to teach in person on October 15th. Ms. Atwell cannot receive her second Covid vaccine due to an underlying health issue that puts her life at risk. She received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine in March 2021 and consequently suffered a severe reaction with cardiovascular and neurological symptoms. As a result, her doctors have forbidden her from receiving a second dosage. Because of the recent LAUSD policy stating that all in-person teachers must be fully vaccinated by October 15th, Ms. Atwell is going to be displaced to City of Angels, a fully online campus where teachers are minimally involved in students’ learning and there are no honors or AP courses. 

 Ms. Atwell is an incredible English teacher, and if she were to be displaced she would be incredibly missed. It is rare to meet a teacher so passionate about her students and her work. She truly wants the best for all of her students and makes every lesson interesting and engaging. Not only will Ms. Atwell have to suffer the fate of returning to online teaching against her will, but her students will suffer the consequences too. If Ms. Atwell is removed from the school, her students will be bombarded with random substitute teachers for months until they can find someone suitable to teach the class. Complicating this even more, it will be hard to find a long-term substitute for her AP classes because that teacher must be AP certified. AP Literature and AP Lang are both hands-on, difficult classes that need an experienced teacher. Even If a sub is found for Ms. Atwell’s classes, the change in curriculum and teaching styles will be problematic and strenuous for her students, not to mention having to suffer the pain of losing one of the greatest English teachers we will ever meet. 

Ms. Atwell has done everything in her power to be allowed to stay at John Marshall High School, but her hands are tied. The school district has not responded to her complaints and explanations, and while UTLA is sympathetic, they are unable to provide Ms. Atwell with full support after fighting so hard to implement a vaccine requirement in the first place. Thus, we students have decided to use our voice to make an impact. We are asking for your support to get the district to come to an agreement to allow Ms. Atwell to be exempt from a second vaccination considering her health circumstances. To further clarify, this isn't a tall tale on the part of Ms. Atwell's medical team. Our beloved teacher is more than willing to receive a second vaccination and would do so if her health allowed for it. As well as this, the vaccine that Ms. Atwell did receive, Moderna, gives recipients higher antibodies than the other two leading vaccines, Pfizer and J&J, according to WebMd. For those concerned about COVID safety, Ms. Atwell is willing to be regularly tested beyond the current policy, even every day if necessary.