Jake Boeri

This interview with Jake Boeri was conducted remotely via Zoom on December 3, 2020. Jake is a special education teacher at a school in New York, NY. In the interview, he described his school's plan, which was a hybrid of in-person and online teaching, that was enacted until the end of November, when the school went fully remote. He said that there was some tension and disconnection with colleagues at his school, but that he has found solidarity through organizing in a group within the UFT. Jake talked about sustainability (or lack thereof) in areas ranging from his teaching set up, online learning, and the education system as it exists as a whole. He went into detail about the ways in which teachers are distrusted and disrespected, which led to their exclusion in planning processes. He is very concerned about the loss his students are going through and their burnout, which he also feels himself. Jake said that the Zoom funerals and his emotional exhaustion have been hard to deal with, but that having a partner who is also a teacher has helped tremendously. He still remains hopeful, especially through seeing the resilience of his students and the beginnings of vaccine rollout.