JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When Whitney Reddick, 33, posted her own obituary on Facebook, she didn’t intend for it to go viral.

The Florida special education teacher made national headlines over her summer vacation when her plea to Jacksonville’s Duval County Public Schools and state officials to keep public education virtual during the coronavirus pandemic was shared over and over.

“It is crazy,” Reddick said. “I’m seeing my name in publications I’ve never even heard of. Hands down, this is not my first vocal stance, or the first activism that I’ve taken on the issue. So whenever it did take off, I was obviously humbled. I had no expectation of that whatsoever.”

Reddick’s obituary of herself said things like “she left us while alone in isolation and on a ventilator at a Duval county hospital in Jacksonville, Florida”; and “even though she shouted from the rooftops … she succumbed to the ignorance of those in power [and] returned to work.”

Since then, Reddick has been featured by news media outlets ranging from People Magazine to the “Today” show. Her goal, she said, is to encourage her Florida school district to pivot to 100% distance learning until COVID-19 cases taper instead of the hybrid in-person model the district was planning. The first day of school is set for Aug. 20. Teachers and faculty returned for planning Wednesday.

Reddick isn’t the only educator thinking about death.

With the coronavirus pandemic still hitting local communities, teachers are being forced to think about a lot more than their lesson plans – they’re considering their own mortality. Across the country, teachers are drafting their wills as part of back-to-school preparation. Some are marching to cemeteries in protest. Others are inviting officials to their looming funeral services.

Teachers in areas affected by the coronavirus who also are facing in-person school told CNN they were looking into supplemental life insurance plans and drawing up wills. On Twitter, dozens of teachers wrote about working on their wills as part of back-to-school preparations.

“I’m writing my will and I haven’t even paid off my student loans yet,” one tweet said. Another teacher tweeted: “Been feeling really off this week because I’m working on writing my will. I turned 27 last week, but I’m a teacher and I’m scared.”