honest question - what do we do with our kids after May 29?

[Anonymous]

I'm not buying that DCPS is closing school early to help close the achievement gap. The leadership knows that many families, high AND low SES, are struggling to homeschool, and that their teachers are also struggling. They're moving on to an on-line summer school program geared toward poor kids. They know that most UMC families in the system will find a way to provide adequate learning opportunities to their children until school starts up again.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I think it’s terrible that middle class families have to find ways to supplement their kids all in the name of equity. It’s BS. DCPS should be able to meet the needs of all the kids they service. It’s unethical to penalize higher performing kids, because basically that is what they are doing.

But that basically has been their motto all along. Don’t meet the needs of the higher performing kids then the achievement gap won’t be as wide.........

[Anonymous]

Hope everyone that is so angery with closing early or how they distance learning is isn't working just right for this kids gets over it in time for the shock that is coming in the fall.
Look at what Denmark is doing what California is planning, heck even Nebraska is talking about drastically changing how school work. They are talking about splitting students alternating days, staggered start times, or Am /Pm for in class room lessons, no cafeterias, no sports, an so forth.
Y'all might not be getting your drop them at 8am, pick up at 3 or 5-6pm back everyday. Their will be days of at home learning for most, their will be major changes for nearly every school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:41
Sounds like you’ve identified the things in your life that need to change. You set your a life totally dependent on 2 incomes & away from all family. Sounds like choices have consequences...

I am so glad you are so rich and smug!

On the contrary. We made tough choices to manage the needs of our family. Walked away from many things we felt entitled to, so we could accept 100% responsibility for our kids 100% of the time.
If we made more $$, we’d have more kids. If I’d stayed in a high demand job- we’d have fewer kids ect. If we lived closer to family, that would have played in too. And smug, no. Just tired of parents blaming their work/life balance on no one picking up more of the ‘life’.

So when it’s not a pandemic, you sit at home doing nothing....

Nope. Like I said earlier, I work. But I work a job that isn’t high paying or incredibly demanding. By choice. We had to move when our family made that choice. We gave up lots of things when I made that choice. We stopped having kids when I made that choice. We don’t panic every time the nurse calls from school, or the car pool is late, or after care closes.
The amount of stress parents put on outsourcing everything- so they can work more is astonishing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:41
Sounds like you’ve identified the things in your life that need to change. You set your a life totally dependent on 2 incomes & away from all family. Sounds like choices have consequences...

I am so glad you are so rich and smug!

On the contrary. We made tough choices to manage the needs of our family. Walked away from many things we felt entitled to, so we could accept 100% responsibility for our kids 100% of the time.
If we made more $$, we’d have more kids. If I’d stayed in a high demand job- we’d have fewer kids ect. If we lived closer to family, that would have played in too. And smug, no. Just tired of parents blaming their work/life balance on no one picking up more of the ‘life’.

So when it’s not a pandemic, you sit at home doing nothing....

Nope. Like I said earlier, I work. But I work a job that isn’t high paying or incredibly demanding. By choice. We had to move when our family made that choice. We gave up lots of things when I made that choice. We stopped having kids when I made that choice. We don’t panic every time the nurse calls from school, or the car pool is late, or after care closes.
The amount of stress parents put on outsourcing everything- so they can work more is astonishing.

Your are a sanctimonious fact hunt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:41
Sounds like you’ve identified the things in your life that need to change. You set your a life totally dependent on 2 incomes & away from all family. Sounds like choices have consequences...

I am so glad you are so rich and smug!

On the contrary. We made tough choices to manage the needs of our family. Walked away from many things we felt entitled to, so we could accept 100% responsibility for our kids 100% of the time.
If we made more $$, we’d have more kids. If I’d stayed in a high demand job- we’d have fewer kids ect. If we lived closer to family, that would have played in too. And smug, no. Just tired of parents blaming their work/life balance on no one picking up more of the ‘life’.

So when it’s not a pandemic, you sit at home doing nothing....

Nope. Like I said earlier, I work. But I work a job that isn’t high paying or incredibly demanding. By choice. We had to move when our family made that choice. We gave up lots of things when I made that choice. We stopped having kids when I made that choice. We don’t panic every time the nurse calls from school, or the car pool is late, or after care closes.
The amount of stress parents put on outsourcing everything- so they can work more is astonishing.

Your are a sanctimonious fact hunt.

She's a better person than you are, dearie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:41
Sounds like you’ve identified the things in your life that need to change. You set your a life totally dependent on 2 incomes & away from all family. Sounds like choices have consequences...

I am so glad you are so rich and smug!

On the contrary. We made tough choices to manage the needs of our family. Walked away from many things we felt entitled to, so we could accept 100% responsibility for our kids 100% of the time.
If we made more $$, we’d have more kids. If I’d stayed in a high demand job- we’d have fewer kids ect. If we lived closer to family, that would have played in too. And smug, no. Just tired of parents blaming their work/life balance on no one picking up more of the ‘life’.

So when it’s not a pandemic, you sit at home doing nothing....

Nope. Like I said earlier, I work. But I work a job that isn’t high paying or incredibly demanding. By choice. We had to move when our family made that choice. We gave up lots of things when I made that choice. We stopped having kids when I made that choice. We don’t panic every time the nurse calls from school, or the car pool is late, or after care closes.
The amount of stress parents put on outsourcing everything- so they can work more is astonishing.

I work too, because I CHOOSE too. We would be fine on my husbands I come alone but I like the challenge of my job, recognition and making my own money and being a role model. And I hate being trapped at home. Any parent who tells you this time with their is “special” or they are enjoying the extra snuggle time are lying. Only a brain dead person wants to spend 24/7 with their family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not buying that DCPS is closing school early to help close the achievement gap. The leadership knows that many families, high AND low SES, are struggling to homeschool, and that their teachers are also struggling. They're moving on to an on-line summer school program geared toward poor kids. They know that most UMC families in the system will find a way to provide adequate learning opportunities to their children until school starts up again.

Sounds fine to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, I think it’s terrible that middle class families have to find ways to supplement their kids all in the name of equity. It’s BS. DCPS should be able to meet the needs of all the kids they service. It’s unethical to penalize higher performing kids, because basically that is what they are doing.

But that basically has been their motto all along. Don’t meet the needs of the higher performing kids then the achievement gap won’t be as wide.........

It's nothing to do with equity, it's do with safety and security and only 3 weeks left in the school year. Please don't be _______ and believe everything you read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:41
Sounds like you’ve identified the things in your life that need to change. You set your a life totally dependent on 2 incomes & away from all family. Sounds like choices have consequences...

I am so glad you are so rich and smug!

On the contrary. We made tough choices to manage the needs of our family. Walked away from many things we felt entitled to, so we could accept 100% responsibility for our kids 100% of the time.
If we made more $$, we’d have more kids. If I’d stayed in a high demand job- we’d have fewer kids ect. If we lived closer to family, that would have played in too. And smug, no. Just tired of parents blaming their work/life balance on no one picking up more of the ‘life’.

So when it’s not a pandemic, you sit at home doing nothing....

Nope. Like I said earlier, I work. But I work a job that isn’t high paying or incredibly demanding. By choice. We had to move when our family made that choice. We gave up lots of things when I made that choice. We stopped having kids when I made that choice. We don’t panic every time the nurse calls from school, or the car pool is late, or after care closes.
The amount of stress parents put on outsourcing everything- so they can work more is astonishing.

I work too, because I CHOOSE too. We would be fine on my husbands I come alone but I like the challenge of my job, recognition and making my own money and being a role model. And I hate being trapped at home. Any parent who tells you this time with their is “special” or they are enjoying the extra snuggle time are lying. Only a brain dead person wants to spend 24/7 with their family.

Wow. I was with you until the last couple lines. Being at home without our normal activities like the park, pool, library, going out to a restaurant or farmers market or community event as a family makes it hard. But I wouldn't say people are lying or brain dead because they are enjoying the extra time with their kids. There are moments it is hard, days I fall asleep within minutes of my kids, days a trade with my spouse and hide out for a bit. But I am also enjoying the extra time with my family. I love our slower mornings and evenings and yep the extra cuddles (most of the time).
I think you can be stressed and/or struggling at times and also enjoying the extra moments I get by being with my family 24/6 right now without being brain dead.
Just because your experience is different doesn't mean others is less than or false. Goodness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not buying that DCPS is closing school early to help close the achievement gap. The leadership knows that many families, high AND low SES, are struggling to homeschool, and that their teachers are also struggling. They're moving on to an on-line summer school program geared toward poor kids. They know that most UMC families in the system will find a way to provide adequate learning opportunities to their children until school starts up again.

Step outside of your experience. If 30% of families are logging I that means it is an equity issue. And 20% of the 30% is constantly b*tching. So- we’ll end & have an optional End of summer session. I’d love for them to only open sites in ward 7/8. Where everyone can attend if they choose. For the complainers and honestly mostly for the kids who are not able to log in. My guess is that very few will actually attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know, DCPS is looking pretty good after I read this article about Fairfax’s difficulties with distance learning. Their kids JUST started last week, four weeks after the schools were shut down!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-online-learning-blackboard/2020/04/18/3db6b19c-80b5-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html

I thought the same thing. I'm charter and my school is doing better than Fairfax. My friends with kids in DCPS report theirs are doing better too.

+1. For a while I was thinking about moving to Fairfax because I thought their school system was better than DCPS, but now I'm quite happy I stayed! My 3rd grader and K-er are doing quite well re: distance learning. And most of their classes are dialing in.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand this question.....what were you planning to do with the kids after June 19th in light of the pandemic? The answer is the same. Those three weeks aren't going to make a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this question.....what were you planning to do with the kids after June 19th in light of the pandemic? The answer is the same. Those three weeks aren't going to make a difference.

We were planning to put them into camps. There were no camps scheduled for the first week of June, so of course, the answer is not the same. There may not be camps at all this summer, if social distancing continues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not buying that DCPS is closing school early to help close the achievement gap. The leadership knows that many families, high AND low SES, are struggling to homeschool, and that their teachers are also struggling. They're moving on to an on-line summer school program geared toward poor kids. They know that most UMC families in the system will find a way to provide adequate learning opportunities to their children until school starts up again.

Step outside of your experience. If 30% of families are logging I that means it is an equity issue. And 20% of the 30% is constantly b*tching. So- we’ll end & have an optional End of summer session. I’d love for them to only open sites in ward 7/8. Where everyone can attend if they choose. For the complainers and honestly mostly for the kids who are not able to log in. My guess is that very few will actually attend.

Who are you accusing of "bitching" and where are you getting the optional end-of-summer session? Will this session involve an hour of two or morning live learning in virtual "classrooms" where the kids interact on Zoom or Microsoft Teams like our school provides now? My guess is No. Make that no way.

Our DCPS is doing very well on the live learning front, with a lot of innovation and tech in the mix. I'm disappointed that the school year is being cut short by several weeks because the live learning on-line we're being offered on-line, along with some good pre-recorded video instruction by familiar teachers, has been impressive. I can't plug a 7 year old into a virtual program without a good and familiar teacher leading it, or providing videos, and expect that to work.

In six weeks, DCPS will shut down the teachers and, hence, innovative live learning work some schools have been mastering despite a steep learning curve. Build on what's working, DCPS, don't curtail it in the name of "equity" in education. Not impressed.

We'll manage - we'll sign up for paid live instruction on-line outside the public system since, apparently, live learning within the public system won't be available to us for months after May 29th. Can't see how that will help the poor kids. Kids, especially those in the lower elementary grades, need live learning, whether they're high or low SES.