Last resort plan if DCPS / WTU doesn't do full-time IPL after all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You speak The Truth, PP! DCPS does not, and has never, given a shit about the people you refer to. DCPS does not perceive its purpose, in any aspect, to groom smart kids for the possibility of a post-graduate education. DCPS aims for the middle -- which, under the circumstances, is laudable goal, imo. Now, that goal should not exclude a secondary goal of promoting academic excellence, but Tell It To The Judge, it ain't gonna get you anywhere, noway. So the high-education parents GTFO. Always have, always will.

DCPS’s fundamental purpose is a jobs program. Educating children, to the extent it happens, is just an incidental byproduct.

That's more than a bit mean. I don't agree at all. DCPS actually does decent work for kids who need a lot of help.

Yes, but their special snowflake is the only one that matters, so they don't care about other kids.

There is quite a gap between making objectively blunt observations and unhinged. You've jumped the chasm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talk me down. Last night I woke up at 2am worried about this and never went back to sleep. We are a PK family and never got an IPL spot last year. Our school was among the worst in the city in terms of IPL last year (I am specifically not naming it because it's a struggling school for a variety of reasons and the failure is not necessarily about incompetence but more some terrible circumstances). We tried to lottery out of the school but have failed thus far and our numbers are not looking good. Our kid spent the second half of last year in a part time PK program that was great in many ways but really only a few hours a week and just not sufficient for our childcare needs. We can't afford that plus childcare, and we need childcare, so we didn't re-enroll this year. We're waitlisted at another private PK with a more comprehensive schedule that we think we can swing on our budget (it will be tight) but no guarantees we'll get in.

I am so scared things are going to shut down again. I think it will finally break me. We would have moved last year but we are in a condo and the market is not great -- we have a neighbor who has been on the market for months and we were hoping that would sell quickly and then we'd list but now I don't know. I am holding onto my job by a thread but I don't think I can do this another year. I feel like it's all going to happen again -- the last minute announcement of closure, the pointless DL for kids who can't really do it, the promises of reopening and it never materializing. I feel so stuck. Our families live very far away and don't have room for us if we went there. We'd have to rent something near them and I don't know how we'd do that if we couldn't rent our place out as well, which is no guarantee.

I'm just venting. It feels like it's all happening again.

I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

No.

This proposal is not unreasonable. Middle school - fully open. High school - fully open. PK-2nd - fully open. 3rd-5th - virtual is an option until a vaccine is available, which will help to keep the school population low to make it safer for PK-2nd. After vaccine for this age group is available - fully open.

Yes, it is unreasonable to subject elementary schoolers of any grade to any more DL. Enough. They need school. Rising 3rd graders were second graders last year, and missed that important year of social growth and learning. They cannot take another year of this. Nor can anyone else.

Who is saying a year?

It will be nearly a year until the vaccine is available and kids are fully vaccinated.

Who is saying this???

FDA recently said they want until mid winter to decide on EUA.

So you meant kids cannot take the rest of 2021 off because September to January or February will not be a whole year of remote learning.

Well, if the EUA is approved in February, it will be another six weeks before kids can be fully vaccinated. That puts us in March or April. Pretty close to a whole year, and it will have been two full years since they were last in school. It’s silly to nitpick about this, it’s too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You speak The Truth, PP! DCPS does not, and has never, given a shit about the people you refer to. DCPS does not perceive its purpose, in any aspect, to groom smart kids for the possibility of a post-graduate education. DCPS aims for the middle -- which, under the circumstances, is laudable goal, imo. Now, that goal should not exclude a secondary goal of promoting academic excellence, but Tell It To The Judge, it ain't gonna get you anywhere, noway. So the high-education parents GTFO. Always have, always will.

DCPS’s fundamental purpose is a jobs program. Educating children, to the extent it happens, is just an incidental byproduct.

That's more than a bit mean. I don't agree at all. DCPS actually does decent work for kids who need a lot of help.

Yes, but their special snowflake is the only one that matters, so they don't care about other kids.

Oh please. My kid needs help and got none. The past 2 years absolutely show that the interest of kids ranks lower than the interests of teachers in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You speak The Truth, PP! DCPS does not, and has never, given a shit about the people you refer to. DCPS does not perceive its purpose, in any aspect, to groom smart kids for the possibility of a post-graduate education. DCPS aims for the middle -- which, under the circumstances, is laudable goal, imo. Now, that goal should not exclude a secondary goal of promoting academic excellence, but Tell It To The Judge, it ain't gonna get you anywhere, noway. So the high-education parents GTFO. Always have, always will.

DCPS’s fundamental purpose is a jobs program. Educating children, to the extent it happens, is just an incidental byproduct.

That's more than a bit mean. I don't agree at all. DCPS actually does decent work for kids who need a lot of help.

Yes, but their special snowflake is the only one that matters, so they don't care about other kids.

Oh please. My kid needs help and got none. The past 2 years absolutely show that the interest of kids ranks lower than the interests of teachers in DCPS.

Now it’s two whole years? Soon DCUM will blame teachers for congenital issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You speak The Truth, PP! DCPS does not, and has never, given a shit about the people you refer to. DCPS does not perceive its purpose, in any aspect, to groom smart kids for the possibility of a post-graduate education. DCPS aims for the middle -- which, under the circumstances, is laudable goal, imo. Now, that goal should not exclude a secondary goal of promoting academic excellence, but Tell It To The Judge, it ain't gonna get you anywhere, noway. So the high-education parents GTFO. Always have, always will.

DCPS’s fundamental purpose is a jobs program. Educating children, to the extent it happens, is just an incidental byproduct.

That's more than a bit mean. I don't agree at all. DCPS actually does decent work for kids who need a lot of help.

Yes, but their special snowflake is the only one that matters, so they don't care about other kids.

Oh please. My kid needs help and got none. The past 2 years absolutely show that the interest of kids ranks lower than the interests of teachers in DCPS.

Now it’s two whole years? Soon DCUM will blame teachers for congenital issues.

shut it, loser

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You speak The Truth, PP! DCPS does not, and has never, given a shit about the people you refer to. DCPS does not perceive its purpose, in any aspect, to groom smart kids for the possibility of a post-graduate education. DCPS aims for the middle -- which, under the circumstances, is laudable goal, imo. Now, that goal should not exclude a secondary goal of promoting academic excellence, but Tell It To The Judge, it ain't gonna get you anywhere, noway. So the high-education parents GTFO. Always have, always will.

DCPS’s fundamental purpose is a jobs program. Educating children, to the extent it happens, is just an incidental byproduct.

That's more than a bit mean. I don't agree at all. DCPS actually does decent work for kids who need a lot of help.

Yes, but their special snowflake is the only one that matters, so they don't care about other kids.

Oh please. My kid needs help and got none. The past 2 years absolutely show that the interest of kids ranks lower than the interests of teachers in DCPS.

Now it’s two whole years? Soon DCUM will blame teachers for congenital issues.

NP. You are a jerk. And that’s putting it kindly. I hope you are not a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

Also, it would be temporary until a vaccine is available, which seems narrowly tailored and appropriate. The current in person waiver for medical necessity does not take into account other household members who may be vulnerable to severe illness. It’s too restrictive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

Also, it would be temporary until a vaccine is available, which seems narrowly tailored and appropriate. The current in person waiver for medical necessity does not take into account other household members who may be vulnerable to severe illness. It’s too restrictive.

Thank you for also-ing my post *and* using more accurate language!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

I'm glad that the people who want to have a virtual option will have one, but it is unfair to teachers and other students to do concurrent, or some hybrid option. We've listened to teachers here tell us how difficult this past year has been, and how overworked they are. I don't believe it is right to ask them to continue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

I'm glad that the people who want to have a virtual option will have one, but it is unfair to teachers and other students to do concurrent, or some hybrid option. We've listened to teachers here tell us how difficult this past year has been, and how overworked they are. I don't believe it is right to ask them to continue.

Your virtual option cannot come at the expense of the quality of real school.

[Anonymous]

We do not know when - or if - a vaccine will be available for kids. I hope it is available, and soon, but we have no idea how long that "temporary" will be. And these goalposts have moved so, so many times already.

If you decide to "manufacture a medical need" for your kid, yep, you've got to stick with the virtual option for the year. That is the only way schools can do right by both the virtual kids and those who want/need to attend school in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

I'm glad that the people who want to have a virtual option will have one, but it is unfair to teachers and other students to do concurrent, or some hybrid option. We've listened to teachers here tell us how difficult this past year has been, and how overworked they are. I don't believe it is right to ask them to continue.

I hear you about the impacts to teachers because I could see the toll on my son’s teacher. That said, delta is on the rise and I’m hoping we could have *some* flexibility for this narrow group of students until a vaccine is available. I am sensitive to the disruption to teachers and students and these are legit concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

So in this proposal, of all grades, only three would be screwed. I am sure that would go over well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm sorry you are feeling this. Totally understand what you are going through. I think that DCPS could do many different things and be creative about this. In the midst of delta, I don't think reopening all elementary schools for everyone, having 30 person classrooms, full cafeterias is a good idea. That said, why can't DCPS reopen for PK-2 because this is really the group that virtual makes the least sense (kids 3, 4, 5, 6 don't have the attention span or the maturity to sit through these virtual classes). Then DCPS can have a more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 to alleviate the crowding at elementary schools. Middle school and High schools should all be open because kids have access to vaccines. That is just one thought and there are probably many more, but DCSP is not thinking of alternate plans and burying their heads in the sand.

YES! A more flexible virtual/in-person for 3-5 until they can be vaccinated, soon. Considering how contagious delta is, and how much circulating virus there will be by September, it's unacceptable that the only option for cautious upper el families be to seek a fraudulent medical note and to abandon their own elementary school for a full year of virtual academy.

I'm glad that the people who want to have a virtual option will have one, but it is unfair to teachers and other students to do concurrent, or some hybrid option. We've listened to teachers here tell us how difficult this past year has been, and how overworked they are. I don't believe it is right to ask them to continue.

I hear you about the impacts to teachers because I could see the toll on my son’s teacher. That said, delta is on the rise and I’m hoping we could have *some* flexibility for this narrow group of students until a vaccine is available. I am sensitive to the disruption to teachers and students and these are legit concerns.

This is the stupidest proposal.