D-205 Leader Deletes 'Take Your Mask Off' Tweets

ELMHURST, IL — Dave Moyer, superintendent of the Elmhurst public school system, mixed it up with one of the district's teachers the other day on Twitter. Then he apparently thought better of it and deleted his tweets — but not before screenshots were taken.

The issue involved teachers wearing masks in their classrooms while they are teaching students remotely on Zoom.

Last week, District 205 technology teacher Jennifer Leban tweeted, "Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I feel like parents would much rather have teachers talking to students via Zoom WITHOUT masks on instead of WITH... Seems like an obvious choice?"

Moyer responded, "Then take your mask off."

But Leban, a 2020 Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist, said she does not have her own room, so state regulations bar her from taking off her mask.

In response to a Twitter message from Patch, Leban said she shares her room with two other employees. She was one of the majority of 143 employees whose requests for remote assignments were rejected.

"Even if I didn’t (share the room), I’m extremely uncomfortable with removing my mask due to the poor air circulation in the school buildings and my own immune-compromised status," Leban said in her response to Patch. "I submitted a letter from my doctor that stated that I should be given a remote placement, but the district ignored it completely. My 'notification' that my request wasn’t approved was to receive no individual notification at all."

In the Twitter discussion, Kim Gwizdala, an English teacher from Glenbard West High School, said it was "absolutely wild to me that your own superintendent would suggest a thing when it is in direct violation with health guidelines and science."

Moyer took exception to that comment.

"Excuse me. The attorneys have indicated that the interpretation from the State is as follows: Teachers can take their mask off when they are in their rooms by themselves facilitating remote learning. Get your facts straight before you pontificate."

To Leban, he wrote, "Your entire media center isn't good enough? OK then."

Moyer later deleted his tweets.

In a statement Monday afternoon, Moyer said recent state guidance confirms that teachers may remove their masks when they are in the classroom alone.

"There are some situations in which teachers and staff have to share a room, and I do not support removing a mask under those circumstances," the superintendent said. "In school matters, my communication and messages should only be interpreted as seeking a balance between safety for all and creating the healthiest learning environment for students. It is time for all of us to move beyond the negativity and keep the focus where it belongs."

Last September, District 205 released a video about Leban when she was up for the state's Teacher of the Year.

The school district had hoped to begin the school year with a mix of in-person and remote learning last Monday. But the teachers union came out against that plan. Because many teachers sought remote assignments, the district delayed in-person learning to Sept. 14, three weeks into the school year.

In a timeline released late last week, Moyer did not list Sept. 14 as the first day of in-person learning for first- through 12th-graders. He only said parents would be provided more information Sept. 10. He did not answer a Patch inquiry why Sept. 14 was excluded from the timeline.

The union, Elmhurst Teachers Council, told Patch last week that it was in negotiations with the district and could not comment on the beginning of in-person learning. The district has about 600 teachers and more than 8,000 students.

In his statement Monday, Moyer said District 205 has invested nearly a half a million dollars in ensuring that employees, students and campuses are safe. He encouraged residents to watch the district's safety procedures video, which outlines its plan.