Quarantining entire classrooms at ES level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's really hard for working parents. I think it is a good policy, but I wonder what can be done to help working parents with childcare?

My daughter's college has a COVID dorm for exposed students where they have to stay in their rooms and are regularly monitored. Could MCPS have a COVID-exposed classroom that allowed for distancing and isolation from other students, testing and monitoring the students for symptoms, and provided staff with N95s and appropriate PPE? Only for students potentially exposed with no positive test or symptoms of course, whose parents are unable or choose not to keep them at home.

There’s no amount of money that could convince me to staff that room, despite POE and N95. They’d have to take volunteers and then who staffs the class that teacher leaves? Or it would be someone from a special pool of subs. Which seems no better than having the kids learn virtually from their own teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's really hard for working parents. I think it is a good policy, but I wonder what can be done to help working parents with childcare?

My daughter's college has a COVID dorm for exposed students where they have to stay in their rooms and are regularly monitored. Could MCPS have a COVID-exposed classroom that allowed for distancing and isolation from other students, testing and monitoring the students for symptoms, and provided staff with N95s and appropriate PPE? Only for students potentially exposed with no positive test or symptoms of course, whose parents are unable or choose not to keep them at home.

It's not good policy. But MCPS hasn't handled this well from the beginning so no surprises there. Hopefully the FDA bails them out, but they'll probably find a new way to flounder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids intermix so it makes sense.

Yes, and getting a quick test to be readmitted almost immediately is small burden for the safety of others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's really hard for working parents. I think it is a good policy, but I wonder what can be done to help working parents with childcare?

My daughter's college has a COVID dorm for exposed students where they have to stay in their rooms and are regularly monitored. Could MCPS have a COVID-exposed classroom that allowed for distancing and isolation from other students, testing and monitoring the students for symptoms, and provided staff with N95s and appropriate PPE? Only for students potentially exposed with no positive test or symptoms of course, whose parents are unable or choose not to keep them at home.

It's not good policy. But MCPS hasn't handled this well from the beginning so no surprises there. Hopefully the FDA bails them out, but they'll probably find a new way to flounder.

What would be bad policy is recklessly exposing others to covid. You really need to get a clue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the upside of the whole-class quarantine, which we experienced this week, as being that they are all virtual together with their teacher, so no one is missing out on instruction.

I'm sure they weren't all virtual together. I'm sure some of those kids were forced into situations where virtual classes were not possible to join. Not everyone can just stay home with their kids on workdays.

If you cannot stay home with your kids you hire help, friend, family or figure it out. That's what parents do.

Ok. And I’m saying some of those child care arrangements aren’t going to be compatible with remote school. So yes, there’s a benefit to some of the quarantined kids, but harm to others.

Too bad. We are in a pandemic. Kids aren't convenient so if you choose to have them and they are school aged, if they are sent home, you need to figure out child care. That's life. You knew this when you choose to do in person/MCPS. There is harm to everyone in that school if COVID spreads so the point of the quarantine to reduce illness which takes priority over convenience. Some people shouldn't have kids.

X1000. There is a hard truth that most people refuse to accept. When you think about having kids, you need to actually think about it. Plan what it will look like. Don’t use school as you primary daycare bc we’ve all seen now that works. I know the popular argument is, “but they are here now! Can’t turn back time” you’re right, so deal with it. Do things that parents have to do. I’m not sure why this is so hard for people to understand or why there is so much pushback on doing your job as parents.

You can't possibly think that parents should have expected schools closed for 18 months followed by an indeterminate period of additional 10 day closures with no prior notice.

Even if people thought about pandemics, wars or natural disasters, that would have suggested closures of weeks or a few months were possible. And you presumably realize MCPS has been outlier in terms of its approach to COVID, particularly if you compare us to European countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's really hard for working parents. I think it is a good policy, but I wonder what can be done to help working parents with childcare?

My daughter's college has a COVID dorm for exposed students where they have to stay in their rooms and are regularly monitored. Could MCPS have a COVID-exposed classroom that allowed for distancing and isolation from other students, testing and monitoring the students for symptoms, and provided staff with N95s and appropriate PPE? Only for students potentially exposed with no positive test or symptoms of course, whose parents are unable or choose not to keep them at home.

It's not good policy. But MCPS hasn't handled this well from the beginning so no surprises there. Hopefully the FDA bails them out, but they'll probably find a new way to flounder.

What would be bad policy is recklessly exposing others to covid. You really need to get a clue.

Ok. Let's have kids who test positive for COVID stay home. But there's a huge difference between that and quarantining a whole class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously? You want to complain about reasonable precautions?

At okra Singer they quarantined 8 classes for 3 positive cases. That’s not reasonable. That’s trying to keep as many kids home as possible.

I thought I heard the principal say it was two classes quarantined for three positive cases, plus some close contacts from KAH. The third case had not been at school while symptomatic or around test date so they did not quarantine that class. Now that they are rapid testing, I am all in favor of whole class. Seems less disruptive than making teacher teach in hybrid model. And wouldn’t teacher be a close contact? So you’d have to have substitutes. The principal at Singer is awesome and it’s a hard year.

[Anonymous]

To the PP who suggested a covid ward at schools…it seems like a good solution for college age kids. They can care for themselves. There is not a chance that it could be implemented in Mcps I don’t care how many N95s you try to throw at us. No one is going to agree to spend 7 hours a day in a room full of COVID positive students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too bad. We are in a pandemic. Kids aren't convenient so if you choose to have them and they are school aged, if they are sent home, you need to figure out child care. That's life. You knew this when you choose to do in person/MCPS. There is harm to everyone in that school if COVID spreads so the point of the quarantine to reduce illness which takes priority over convenience. Some people shouldn't have kids.

This trope again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Too bad. We are in a pandemic. Kids aren't convenient so if you choose to have them and they are school aged, if they are sent home, you need to figure out child care. That's life. You knew this when you choose to do in person/MCPS. There is harm to everyone in that school if COVID spreads so the point of the quarantine to reduce illness which takes priority over convenience. Some people shouldn't have kids.

Couldn't agree more but the open at any cost death cult cares little for the welfare and safety of others. They seem to mistakenly believe that their precious children are immune to covid because they live in an affluent neighborhood, and most don't want to be inconvenienced.

[Anonymous]

There have been few cases at our school so far which is miraculous but I think it's BECAUSE they've been so thorough and careful by taking these strong measures to mitigate the spread. Great job MCPS!

[Anonymous]

It's better to move the full class online if there if a confirmed positive. There's no way to figure out which kids were direct contact. Just no way.

And if you send a subset (it would be at least 10 in the class based on how desks are set up) you have a) 10 without getting much education at all for the quarantine period, and b) a high likelihood that you didn't catch everyone so two weeks later you have a different 10 stemming from one of the unidentified direct contacts.

There could possibly be an alternative to, say, split a class in half, put plexiglass between the groups, and not allow intermingling at lunch/recess/specials. That would mean only 50% of the class would be sent home with each case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Couldn't agree more but the open at any cost death cult cares little for the welfare and safety of others. They seem to mistakenly believe that their precious children are immune to covid because they live in an affluent neighborhood, and most don't want to be inconvenienced.

This trope again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Too bad. We are in a pandemic. Kids aren't convenient so if you choose to have them and they are school aged, if they are sent home, you need to figure out child care. That's life. You knew this when you choose to do in person/MCPS. There is harm to everyone in that school if COVID spreads so the point of the quarantine to reduce illness which takes priority over convenience. Some people shouldn't have kids.

Couldn't agree more but the open at any cost death cult cares little for the welfare and safety of others. They seem to mistakenly believe that their precious children are immune to covid because they live in an affluent neighborhood, and most don't want to be inconvenienced.

Do you do parties? We have a child birthday coming, and we’re looking for a clown.

[Anonymous]

The part that drives me nuts is I can tell who the positive kid is, and he sits nowhere near my kid. Seven days after exposure, my kid tests negative on a PCR.

Why does he have to stay home for five more days again?