Maryland Recovery Plan for Education has been posted

[Anonymous]

Most of these ideas require $$$$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not realistic to expect teachers to teach in masks all day. It is deliberately vague as to whether they think students will be wearing masks. I can barely stand a mask for 30 minutes at the store, and I'm not trying to teach.

Is it realistic to expect child care providers to provide child care in masks all day? Is it realistic to expect children in child care to wear masks all day? Is it realistic to expect parents to go back to work without child care providers? Is it realistic to plan to open child care centers but keep schools closed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How will they have the staff to cover lunches in classrooms and enough teachers to cover smaller classes spread out using MS space?

It says that they are going to cut out all specials--PE, music, art, etc-- and special education and repurpose those teachers as classroom teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not realistic to expect teachers to teach in masks all day. It is deliberately vague as to whether they think students will be wearing masks. I can barely stand a mask for 30 minutes at the store, and I'm not trying to teach.

Is it realistic to expect child care providers to provide child care in masks all day? Is it realistic to expect children in child care to wear masks all day? Is it realistic to expect parents to go back to work without child care providers? Is it realistic to plan to open child care centers but keep schools closed?

Nope. Opening as normal with extra hand sanitizer and more thorough daily cleaning by the custodians is the only realistic scenario. All students should have devices, so if a classmate becomes sick, the class and teacher can move to school online for two weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will they have the staff to cover lunches in classrooms and enough teachers to cover smaller classes spread out using MS space?

It says that they are going to cut out all specials--PE, music, art, etc-- and special education and repurpose those teachers as classroom teachers.

That's basically the warm-body theory of teaching.

One of my math teachers was actually the PE teacher. He might have known how to teach PE, but I didn't have him as a PE teacher so I don't know. He certainly did not know how to teach math.

[Anonymous]

Its all just for show. These are the only two realistic scenarios for fall in a world of limited funds: (1) school is back in session as usual, with a few extra precautions and (2) school is totally online.

There is huge political impetus for scenario (1) .

If daycares are operating as normal (for non-essential workers), then there is no justification for keeping schools closed. There is no way we will get to fall and still have the federal government working from home (mostly because the federal government is pretending COVIDis over). There is no way the federal goverment can go back to work until daycares are open.

MY bet is on scenario 1 and this report is just to make the people who put it together feel like they have a contingency plan.

[Anonymous]

The cost of just social distancing on the bus (and thorough cleaning after each run--there's no time for that) would be prohibitive. You would need so many more buses and drivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cost of just social distancing on the bus (and thorough cleaning after each run--there's no time for that) would be prohibitive. You would need so many more buses and drivers.

Now tell us about RideOn, Metrobus, Metro trains, and MARC trains, all of which people are going to use, and need, if they go back to work.

I haven't heard anybody say: Workplaces will be closed in the fall, because the cost of social distancing on public transportation will be prohibitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its all just for show. These are the only two realistic scenarios for fall in a world of limited funds: (1) school is back in session as usual, with a few extra precautions and (2) school is totally online.

There is huge political impetus for scenario (1) .

If daycares are operating as normal (for non-essential workers), then there is no justification for keeping schools closed. There is no way we will get to fall and still have the federal government working from home (mostly because the federal government is pretending COVIDis over). There is no way the federal goverment can go back to work until daycares are open.

MY bet is on scenario 1 and this report is just to make the people who put it together feel like they have a contingency plan.

+1
Unless something completely catastrophic happens with regard to the virus schools will be back. Maybe a few precautions like lunch in the classrooms. Nothing else is even remotely possible. The 2021 nonsense is just to placate the crazies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its all just for show. These are the only two realistic scenarios for fall in a world of limited funds: (1) school is back in session as usual, with a few extra precautions and (2) school is totally online.

There is huge political impetus for scenario (1) .

If daycares are operating as normal (for non-essential workers), then there is no justification for keeping schools closed. There is no way we will get to fall and still have the federal government working from home (mostly because the federal government is pretending COVIDis over). There is no way the federal goverment can go back to work until daycares are open.

MY bet is on scenario 1 and this report is just to make the people who put it together feel like they have a contingency plan.

+1
Unless something completely catastrophic happens with regard to the virus schools will be back. Maybe a few precautions like lunch in the classrooms. Nothing else is even remotely possible. The 2021 nonsense is just to placate the crazies.

Agree with this 100%
There's always a lot of talk before a period of very little actual change. This is no different. They realized they need to look like they are weighing everything up, so they can hold back the tiger parents who barrage them with constant questions.

[Anonymous]

I'm in VA but following this with interest. I agree we will likely be back in person in the fall; I'm unsure how long that will last if there is another wave.

Under any other scenario (partial online, 2 days/week, etc) we would have to hire a person to do in-home tutoring and childcare. I wonder if any teachers will be interested in gigs like that -- less pay and benefits than a traditional job but more flexibility, could probably bring your own school-aged child, etc.

[Anonymous]

Because we are shrugging our shoulders at the increasing cases all around the country (except for the coasts, which took significant mitigation measures and are reopening cautiously), we're going to have a massive problem by the fall. I think schools will wind up doing the hybrid model but the virus will causes closures. Half the people here are in denial about that and some are the other end of the spectrum and are convinced it's all shut down until the mythical vaccine. Neither is probably what happens.

But it's not going to be a normal year by any stretch of the imagination.

I'm a teacher and there's no way I can teach in a mask all day. And there's no way kids keep them on (and I teach HIGH SCHOOL). Forget about it at the ES level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will they have the staff to cover lunches in classrooms and enough teachers to cover smaller classes spread out using MS space?

It says that they are going to cut out all specials--PE, music, art, etc-- and special education and repurpose those teachers as classroom teachers.

That's basically the warm-body theory of teaching.

One of my math teachers was actually the PE teacher. He might have known how to teach PE, but I didn't have him as a PE teacher so I don't know. He certainly did not know how to teach math.

The part about special ed teachers is very concerning to us SN parents. What does this mean for our students? Is my kid who is mostly in a self contained classroom now just tossed into a mainstream class of 10 kids taught by his SN teacher? I realize this is not a long term answer, but for kids who really need SN services, this could be very scary and troublesome.

[Anonymous]

I didn't like that the report repeatedly stated that online education, including synchronous education, wasn't great. I have two elementary school students who I would love to have receiving full-day, online, synchronous instruction all school year next year. It would provide consistency and it would free up space in school buildings for students who need in-person instruction. I don't see how MCPS has the classroom space or resources to only have 10 students per class across all grades and permit any non-IEP, non-ESOL student to receive in-school instruction more than 1 day per week if a 100% synchronous online option is not provided.

[Anonymous]

One of the criticisms of MCPS has been that they didn't do contingency planning, and therefore needed the two-week emergency closure.

Now they are doing contingency planning together with the state, and people are complaining about that as well.

Yes, the measures outlined are drastic but I'd rather know the district is thinking about this than not.