Coronavirus cases were rising at McKinley Technology High School, sending dozens of students into quarantine. Desks sat empty. School workers did not know where to turn.

“We are scared to go to work,” nearly 80 staff members at the school in Eckington said in an open letter to city leaders on Friday. “We are prepared to take additional measures to ensure that our voices are not only heard but understood.”

School workers threatened to “take additional action” if education leaders did not respond to the letter. They ultimately did not have to act on that threat – D.C. Public Schools announced over the weekend that McKinley would temporarily close.

The campus is one of 11 campuses the school system has shuttered in recent days because of high numbers of COVID-19 cases. Students at each of those schools will receive remote instruction through Wednesday, which is the start of their winter break.

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee also announced additional measures this week aimed at curtailing the spread of the virus in the school system as cases surge across the region. The system will delay the return of students from winter break by two days in January, so schools have time to distribute rapid at-home test kits to families.

But some parents and educators are demanding the city cancel in-person instruction for all students until winter break, and for one or two weeks after. The pleas have reached a crescendo as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus takes hold just as people are planning to gather for the holidays.

The rising case numbers forced nearly 3,470 students in DCPS to quarantine on Friday – the most recorded on a single day by far since the start of the academic year. It is also testing the resolve of teachers, some of whom feel increasingly unsafe at work.

Michael Iacovone, a veteran teacher at McKinley, said he feels the school system is endangering students and staff. He said it is impossible to enforce masking requirements in buildings – some students do not wear their masks in class or in the hallways, despite repeated reminders from staff.

“My lunch period and planning period are me in a locked room because I have to worry about me and my family,” said Iacovone, who has taught at McKinley for 17 years. “Because I know right outside that door, these kids, who I deeply care about, are not being safe.”

He said he feels the school system has not provided enough support to help carry out the masking requirement, and other safety measures.

“We’re at a breaking point,” Iacovone said. “We’re watching this happen like a train wreck in slow motion.”

Iacovone was among the dozens of staff members at McKinley who signed the open letter which urged DCPS to provide remote instruction during at least the first week back from winter break. They argue a delay will give community members time to get tested or quarantine if they are exposed to the virus over the holidays.

Educators at other campuses in the 50,000-student school system are also pushing to temporarily shift instruction online.

At Jefferson Middle School Academy in Southwest, Latisha Nero took matters into her own hands after at least 13 cases were identified at the school in recent weeks.

She wrote a message to city leaders that said “the spread of covid within our school building is out of control and will continue to get worse if we do not take immediate action.”

Nero said most of the cases at Jefferson were identified among students in the sixth grade. Fewer of her students have shown up to class over the last week because they tested positive for the virus. Others were absent because they had to quarantine after coming in close contact with a person who tested positive or because their parents chose to keep them home as a preventative measure.

Jefferson announced Monday the entire sixth grade class would shift to virtual instruction until winter break. Nero said she believes the entire school should follow suit, and does not understand why some campuses have been allowed to move all learning online.

“Teachers are afraid of catching COVID right before the break, potentially spreading it to loved ones over the holiday,” she said. “It’s also very disheartening and upsetting to see that certain schools are being closed over others.”

During a press conference on Monday, Ferebee said the school system may choose to close campuses if too many students and staff are unable to show up in person.

But he said the school system is planning to keep schools open if they can, noting the vast majority of the school system’s 117 campuses have experienced one case or less over the last ten days. Ferebee also pointed to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that prioritizes safe in-person instruction.

“Where we see cases we respond accordingly,” the chancellor said. “But we also know that school is the best place for students to be right now to learn and be supported.”

Students at Whittier Elementary School were the first in the school system to shift to virtual instruction last week. Officials have since announced closures at 10 other campuses, including Drew Elementary School and West Elementary School, which are scheduled to shift to virtual instruction tomorrow.

Some parents and students say they are going to make their own decisions about in-person learning.

A 16-year-old student at School Without Walls High School said she does not plan to attend school for the rest of the week because of rising cases. Twenty-nine cases have been identified at Walls since last week, according to a letter the school sent to families on Monday.

The teenager said she has had contact with multiple people who have tested positive for COVID in recent weeks, including a classmate in her band class.

The student, who requested anonymity because she did not want to damage relationships with school administrators, said she also attended a birthday party earlier this month where two other high school students eventually tested positive.

“There were only 15 people there and they were all vaccinated so we all kind of assumed it was OK,” the teenager said. “It all kind of came crashing back.”

David Joseph, the father of a first grade student at Powell Elementary School in Petworth, said he is keeping his son home until after the new year.

Joseph, a data analyst, has tracked coronavirus cases in D.C. Public Schools since the start of the academic year. He has watched case numbers increase since Thanksgiving, plotting the numbers on graphs and posting them to Twitter.

He said he chose to keep his older son home for the last couple days before winter break in part to protect his three-year-old son, who is not yet eligible for a coronavirus vaccine.

“It’s really scary,” said Joseph, a critic of the school system’s response to the pandemic. “There’s no reason to put my entire family’s health at risk over two days at school.”