Never formally a student of Mr. Bowen's, I can vividly recall my numerous interactions with him as a student of Edgewater High School as learning moments - profound and funny and encouraging. Educators like Mr. Bowen, who are passionate about both material and student, are a rarity. 

It is with regret, but not surprise, that I must implore the district to be accommodating, to be human, in this time of uncertainty and national grief. As COVID-19 has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands across the globe, it’s omnipresence has, for some, meant little. And as almost all of the largest school districts in the country made plans to reopen virtually, OCPS, against the warnings of its own health advisors and pleas from its faculty, committed to reopening face-to-face. 

Teachers were given the opportunity to select a preference, and like many, Mr. Bowen selected LaunchEd, the virtual learning option which would enable him to continue teaching while staying safe. However, preferences were subject to the will of the district, and so Mr. Bowen, who has received ADA status from the district itself, is currently being forced to teach face-to-face, thus working with predominantly asymptomatic super-spreaders and limited PPE.

Mr. Bowen has made several futile efforts to reverse this decision because it poses such an immense and likely threat to his life to teach in person. His alternatives are to apply for a functionally nonexistent OCVS position or take unpaid medical leave. Clearly, neither of these options are viable. 

To the district: Follow through with your statements to the public about protecting and prioritizing the ADA status of your faculty, starting with Mr. Bowen. The temporary scheduling conflicts of a few students do not outweigh the life of an individual, regardless of what some your recent decisions otherwise reflect. 

Don’t be the reason an incredible educator, a human life, avoidably dies. Do the right thing. Be human. Let Mr. Bowen teach via LaunchEd.