Paul Dombrowski has been teaching art at Willow Bend Elementary School in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows for 23 years, and it shows; he instinctively calls his students “my kids,” and the school, “my school.”
His voice fills with excitement when he talks about the projects he would normally be preparing for at this time of year: student self portraits, papier-mache cake slices, glazed ceramic monsters with elaborate horns and fangs.
Instead, Dombrowski is checking his phone five times a day, waiting anxiously for the response to his request to stay home and teach remotely.
Dombrowski, 57, is one of thousands of teachers throughout the Chicago area who are at higher risk from COVID-19 due to age or chronic health conditions. For many of them, this is an anxious time; while the Americans with Disabilities Act provides protections for those with the most serious health conditions, it’s still unclear exactly how schools will respond to a wide range of potential risk levels.
Dombrowski, who has diabetes, said if he isn’t allowed to teach remotely, he may make the emotionally and financially difficult decision to retire early.
“It is a matter of life and death,” he said of his request to teach remotely. “I’ve been very careful since March. I’m a mask-wearer, and I don’t go out unless I really need to.”
A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 24% of adult Americans are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, due to being age 65 or older or having health conditions such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, moderate or severe asthma; a body mass index greater than 40; or a compromised immune system due to factors such as cancer treatment.
At Chicago Public Schools, which has proposed a mix of in-person and remote learning for the fall, teachers with health conditions are expressing concerns about in-person teaching, according to Jesse Sharkey, president of the 25,000-member Chicago Teachers Union.
The ADA requires reasonable accommodations for conditions that “substantially limit major life activities,” and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services includes examples like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Still, CPS is more likely to grant remote teaching requests for those with a doctor’s confirmation that they are at particularly high risk, should they contract COVID-19, Sharkey said.
“These are people who are very dedicated to the profession, have a lot of skill, and are now, I think, really worried — even to the point of being anxious, of being freaked out — by the prospect of working during a health pandemic,” Sharkey said.
Their concerns are buoyed by grim statistics; a recent study of people with diabetes who were hospitalized for COVID-19 found that one in 10 died in the first seven days of treatment.
Dombrowski said he did a lot of soul-searching before applying to teach remotely in Palatine District 15, which is planning for both remote and in-school learning.
He was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, he said, and is aware of the elevated risk of death from the coronavirus.
On the other hand, he loves his school, where he knows all the students and teachers. He has taught students whose older siblings were in his classes over the years; sometimes, even their parents are alums of his.
After an interview with the Tribune, he sent photos of his students’ brightly colored work: a striking self-portrait of a blond boy in a red shirt; a table covered with dozens of glazed monster heads; and a handsome blue peacock, captured in vibrant watercolor. There were personality-packed felt stuffed animals and glistening plastic plates melted to look like Chihuly glassworks.
Dombrowski talked about the decision with his husband and his financial adviser. He weighed how much hands-on teaching he would be able to do under COVID-19 restrictions, and how difficult it would be to keep the school clean.
In the end, he decided remote teaching was the only way he could stay safe.
He said he understands why the school district hasn’t responded to his request for remote teaching yet — officials are working hard to meet an unprecedented set of challenges.
Still, the waiting is hard: “It’s crazy. I’m anxious. I’m thinking about it all the time,” he said.
He said also that he feels lucky to have the option of retiring early — likely without a major financial penalty — and that he has a husband who works and has health insurance.
This time of year, Dombrowski would normally be in planning mode, he said. The teachers who will teach in person are removing all excess furniture from their classes to increase open space for social distancing. Dombrowski, however, is basically in limbo, waiting to hear if his teaching career will continue.
“It would be nice to be able to plan,” he said.