ACPS outdoor recess, indoor lunch/gym?!

[Anonymous]

ACPS can shove equity up its @ss. They clearly care more about virtue signaling than the actual students.

[Anonymous]

I think the problem is not enough staff to serve food in a timely fashion and supervise when you spread students out in lobbies, halls, outside. Teachers have the lunch time off and they cannot be made to supervise during that time. Still seems like more could be done - I am still WFH and would not mind volunteering to supervise lunch at a different ACPS school if equity is a concern.

I missed the part about the screening testing program. Did someone hear when they might be implemented? Will it be early to mid-October?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Equity” has turned into a crutch used as an excuse and justification for failure to act. It’s disgusting. Shame on Hutchings and ACPS.

Putting more kids at risk of contracting COVID all in the name of equity. Sick!

This. I feel like Dr. Hutchings has made equity his platform/issue, and he isn't budging from it despite the fact that there is a global pandemic still going on! Maybe it's time to pivot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not every elementary school has suitable outdoor space therefore it isn't equitable.

This makes no sense. So, the answer is to put everyone at a higher risk of contracting covid?

It does make sense. Equity is a higher priority for ACPS.

What good is equity if you kill off or cause serious illness to your students?

ACPS has pledged equity for all. I don't recall where they said "equity sometimes".

I grew up in former Soviet Union. This attitude reminds me of communism. What next? Not all families can afford private school, so no families are allowed to go to private school? I doubt Dr. Hutchings would agree to that. And with a little creativity leaders could make outdoor lunch work. They just lack mental ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not every elementary school has suitable outdoor space therefore it isn't equitable.

This makes no sense. So, the answer is to put everyone at a higher risk of contracting covid?

It does make sense. Equity is a higher priority for ACPS.

What good is equity if you kill off or cause serious illness to your students?

ACPS has pledged equity for all. I don't recall where they said "equity sometimes".

I grew up in former Soviet Union. This attitude reminds me of communism. What next? Not all families can afford private school, so no families are allowed to go to private school? I doubt Dr. Hutchings would agree to that. And with a little creativity leaders could make outdoor lunch work. They just lack mental ability.

Actually, Hutchings said something close to that when he attacked parents for forming pods.

[Anonymous]

This is equity. This is the plan for ACPS.

Last year, a teacher at our neighborhood ES wouldn't let hybrid kids use the reading books (not textbooks) in the classroom because the virtual students couldn't use them. Their reason was that it wasn't equitable.

Over the last few years, they also wouldn't help kids who were struggling in their class and said because it wasn't equitable. And no one was recommended from their class for TAG because...it wouldn't have been equitable.

This is ACPS and it isn't anything new.

If they won't help kids learn, do you really think they are going to let them have outside lunch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why people can’t understand that PE is an actual class with curriculum. Kids are fatter and more out of shape than ever. The long term effect from obesity is much greater than the chances of a child getting seriously ill from Covid

I wasn’t implying that gym isn’t a real class. Just that it has a curriculum that could happen more safely outside. Since recess is already active and outside, it stands to reason that gym could as well.

I'm a PE teacher (not ACPS) and part of why I don't teach outside is because recess is out there all day long and my school only has a small field space. I'm competing with recess noise/distractions plus normal outside distractions (hello school on a flight path- ever try to teach K outside with an airplane going overhead every 10 minutes?!) But for real, I will take them outside when I can but its not reasonable or realistic to be outside all day/every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Equity” has turned into a crutch used as an excuse and justification for failure to act. It’s disgusting. Shame on Hutchings and ACPS.

Putting more kids at risk of contracting COVID all in the name of equity. Sick!

This. I feel like Dr. Hutchings has made equity his platform/issue, and he isn't budging from it despite the fact that there is a global pandemic still going on! Maybe it's time to pivot.

Ha! Where was his concern for "equity" when he sent his daughter to in person private school while barring public school students from school for over a year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why people can’t understand that PE is an actual class with curriculum. Kids are fatter and more out of shape than ever. The long term effect from obesity is much greater than the chances of a child getting seriously ill from Covid

I wasn’t implying that gym isn’t a real class. Just that it has a curriculum that could happen more safely outside. Since recess is already active and outside, it stands to reason that gym could as well.

I'm a PE teacher (not ACPS) and part of why I don't teach outside is because recess is out there all day long and my school only has a small field space. I'm competing with recess noise/distractions plus normal outside distractions (hello school on a flight path- ever try to teach K outside with an airplane going overhead every 10 minutes?!) But for real, I will take them outside when I can but its not reasonable or realistic to be outside all day/every day.

Your school has recess all day long? Most schools only have recess between say 11 am and 1-2 pm. Your early and late PE classes could certainly be entirely held outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is equity. This is the plan for ACPS.

Last year, a teacher at our neighborhood ES wouldn't let hybrid kids use the reading books (not textbooks) in the classroom because the virtual students couldn't use them. Their reason was that it wasn't equitable.

Over the last few years, they also wouldn't help kids who were struggling in their class and said because it wasn't equitable. And no one was recommended from their class for TAG because...it wouldn't have been equitable.

This is ACPS and it isn't anything new.

If they won't help kids learn, do you really think they are going to let them have outside lunch?

You are correct. The ramifications of this horrible approach on the instructional side is reflected by the horrible SOL scores. Since the scores were disproportionately lower for students of color, ACPS so called “equity” focused has extremely inequitable results.

What’s the alternative to continuing to highlight Hutchings’ / ACPS’ horrible leadership / policies?

[Anonymous]

Honestly, they’re making this an issue of equity when it’s not. It’s leadership’s failure to come up with creative solutions to challenges. If this is the example that adults set in ACPS, then I fear for our students.

[Anonymous]

If this is the standard for equity, then why not just end recess for all kids as some schools have better playgrounds? Libraries - well some schools are better, so no libraries for all. It is insane. Completely irrational to not just let schools use their facilities for outdoor lunch.

With the dual pandemics affecting ACPS - COVID and systemic racism - the district is showing it is equally horrible at addressing both.

[Anonymous]

DCPS has the same issues of equity across their school system, yet some schools are doing outdoor lunch there. ACPS makes no sense. They should do what they always do—hire a consulting firm to do the creative thinking for them, just like with the high school project, redistricting, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why people can’t understand that PE is an actual class with curriculum. Kids are fatter and more out of shape than ever. The long term effect from obesity is much greater than the chances of a child getting seriously ill from Covid

I wasn’t implying that gym isn’t a real class. Just that it has a curriculum that could happen more safely outside. Since recess is already active and outside, it stands to reason that gym could as well.

I'm a PE teacher (not ACPS) and part of why I don't teach outside is because recess is out there all day long and my school only has a small field space. I'm competing with recess noise/distractions plus normal outside distractions (hello school on a flight path- ever try to teach K outside with an airplane going overhead every 10 minutes?!) But for real, I will take them outside when I can but its not reasonable or realistic to be outside all day/every day.

Thank you for this response, it at least helps me understand some of the challenges. I do feel like there is probably a creative compromise solution that allows for some outdoor PE, but I appreciate your honest response. The board’s ‘weather/air quality’ response made no sense to me and sounded like a blow off.

[Anonymous]

I'm a PE teacher (not ACPS) and part of why I don't teach outside is because recess is out there all day long and my school only has a small field space. I'm competing with recess noise/distractions plus normal outside distractions (hello school on a flight path- ever try to teach K outside with an airplane going overhead every 10 minutes?!) But for real, I will take them outside when I can but its not reasonable or realistic to be outside all day/every day.

I am not doubting you personally. But, my child goes to GWMS. There is an outdoor track and a soccer field right behind the school. Yet, my son has been indoors for every PE class so far, including, for many, sitting and doing health-related readings and answering questions on a computer. He gets plenty of exercise elsewhere, but seriously?