Arlington teacher resigns over school’s COVID policy; 600 sign petition on her behalf
An Arlington U.S. history teacher resigned due to the school district’s in-person instruction policies, and nearly 600 people have signed a petition for the district to allow her to teach from home.
Michelle Nogle has wanted to be a teacher since she was in second grade. But this year, the Arlington Independent School District teacher faced a seemingly impossible choice between her career and her family.
Nogle lives with her elderly parents in Arlington and is in her fifth year of teaching juniors at Juan Seguin High School. While students had the option of returning to school or learning virtually, teachers were expected to teach from the classroom starting in late September. For Nogle, that meant putting herself and her parents at risk of catching coronavirus, she said.
On Friday, Nogle resigned from Seguin, feeling like she had to choose between her family’s safety and her job as a teacher.
“I’m not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but it’s something that needs to be listened to so that changes can be made,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a fair way to treat teachers throughout this. It’s not just this district. It’s happening across the nation.”
Arlington ISD did not immediately respond to requests to comment, but in an email — which Nogle provided to the Star-Telegram — Seguin Principal Ray Borden told Nogle that the district provided her with alternatives, and the choice to voluntarily resign was initiated by her alone.
Even with coronavirus precautions in place — students are supposed to be six feet apart, wear masks and have their temperature taken each day — Nogle worried about bringing the virus home to her 71-year-old father, who is a polio survivor, or facing long-term effects of the virus herself. Some of her colleagues worried about the virus as well, and felt like their health was not valued by a community pushing for their kids to return to school, Nogle said.
“There used to be the idea that teachers were heroes, that we were educating the future and we were the good guys,” Nogle said. “But the culture around teachers has become that we’re just glorified babysitters.”
Seguin High School has had a total of seven coronavirus cases among students, according to Arlington’s ISD’s online dashboard.
Across the country, other teachers have resigned as they face the same choice of putting their jobs in jeopardy of their loved ones at risk. Schools face the challenge of filling teaching positions amid a substitute shortage.
As of Monday, over 600 people signed a petition demanding Nogle be allowed to continue teaching virtually. The student-led petition says Nogle is “one of the greatest teachers we have ever had.”
“She, including other teachers, deserve the opportunity to teach how they seem comfortable,” the petition says. “We all love Ms. Nogle for standing by us when times are rough. Now it’s time we stand up for her, and other teachers because they have been getting treated unfairly.”
Resignation and petition
On Sept. 28, Nogle started to use her 30 days of paid time off while she continued to teach virtually every day. As her PTO dwindled, she offered to pay for a substitute out of her own paycheck until at least the end of the school year. She realized she would likely have to switch careers because of the pandemic and its uncertainties, but she hoped to remain a resource for her students for as long as possible.
However, Seguin’s administration said she would not be able to use a substitute, Nogle said. The district gave her two options: she could apply to take time off using the Family Medical Leave Act or take an unpaid, extended leave of absence.
Nogle did not qualify for the FMLA and decided she would resign. She put in her two weeks’ notice with administration on Nov. 2. On Nov. 11, Borden told Nogle that her last day of teaching would be Friday, Nov. 13, Nogle said.
On Nov. 12, Nogle sent an email to her colleagues explaining that she was leaving and why. In the email, which Nogle provided to the Star-Telegram, she wrote “the district has forced me to resign” and “there was no flexibility or grace extended to me during these very difficult times.”
Borden emailed Nogle the next day about her note to colleagues, writing that some of her comments were “inaccurate or factually unsupported,” according to the email, which Nogle also provided to the Star-Telegram.
“Providing misleading information and creating additional anxiety among staff and students during these challenging times is unethical and grossly inappropriate,” he wrote in the email. “It was the intention of the district to work with you through this process.”
Nogle said her resignation was moved up by a day, and she was not able to say goodbye to her students on Friday as she planned.
While the “Bring back Ms. Nogle” petition made her feel valued — at least by her students — Nogle said she is not holding her breath for the school to allow her to teach virtually.
“I do hope that it does change how they treat teachers,” she said. “Maybe they’ll start to realize that they need to take care of their teachers — that if they don’t want to experience enormous turnover rates come next summer, they need to listen to their teachers; they need to do right by them.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 4:35 PM.
