When I called up Randy Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers,

I couldn't help but notice that every couple of minutes, our conversation would be interrupted by sirens.

I think what's happening is that in New York, what you're starting to hear again, like we heard in March and April, is an ambulance every few minutes.

Randy lives just on the other side of the Bronx next to a big hospital run by Columbia University.

So uptown has a very, very high COVID rate right now.

The COVID rate, it was part of why I'd wanted to talk to Randy.

Because in spite of those numbers ticking up,

many of the teachers she represents in New York City

returned to the classroom this week.

It was the latest twist in a rocky start to the city's school year.

First, school was delayed, and then in-person learning was shut down completely a few weeks back,

as the city scrambled to meet the demands of union leaders, people like Randy.

So I wanted to hear from Randy herself.

What changed?

We now have the data that shows that schools, that younger kids have followed the rules and they

don't transmit and that teachers in schools have followed the rules and they don't transmit, and that teachers in schools

have followed the rules. And so there's not the transmission in schools in early ed schools

that people had feared. That's really good news. But Randy still isn't making a lot of

promises about how long school buildings can stay open.

It scares me, but I think part of the dilemma right now and part of why all of us are concerned is basically, you know, when does the damn break in all of this stuff?

Schools are not an island.

At one point or another, the community spread issue is going to be an issue.

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