For some schools, particularly in the South and West, "this fall" means a school year that usually starts a few short weeks from now, in August. I am an ESL teacher in New York City, where the school year starts a bit later, but that extra time won't mean much if teachers and staff aren't consulted about how to feel safe -- or provided with the necessary support and supplies to be as careful as possible in preventing the spread of Covid-19.

This spring, after a controversial delay in closing schools, too many teachers and education department employees died of Covid-related illnesses. According to Chalkbeat, which covers education, more than 75 education department employees in New York City -- teachers, teachers' aides, administrators, office employees, food service workers and others -- have died in the pandemic. I love my students, but I don't want to be next.

We want to be there for the kids, especially now. But who will be there for us -- the educators? The ones who, along with other school staff, are literally being asked to risk our lives so the economy could go back to normal?

My own community is in a process of reopening, but states across the nation are experiencing surges in cases and a strain on medical resources -- and some are returning to a more locked-down approach. As school boards here and elsewhere scramble to come up with a plan for returning to school this fall, and as President Donald Trump and his administration are starting to apply forceful political and funding-contingent pressure to states to open their schools for in-person instruction, one voice glaringly left out of the conversation with public officials has been the teachers'.

With a fiscal crisis upon us, once again teachers are being called on to make things right. The essential educators of your children are being drafted -- willingly or not -- to serve during this pandemic. No matter where you live, why not ask a pool of educators for their ideas? Here's mine: combine a limited in-person curriculum with online learning and stop pretending that there is a one-size-fits-all solution that will work for an entire state, much less the entire country.

First off, yes, students need to return to school in person in some way, especially the little ones. You cannot have a meaningful connection with your teacher if you've never met them in person and those face to face connections are irreplaceable. This might mean having staggered in-person orientations of classes and not returning to the classroom until teachers and students feel ready. Some school days must be virtual.

Schools that are already overcrowded cannot simply have classes in the cafeteria and gymnasium to allow for social distancing. Other facilities will need to be used if in-person teaching is adopted. Federally funded buildings such as libraries, community centers and unused government office buildings are potential alternatives to allow for students to have additional room. They can also be spaces to provide activities or childcare

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