Why are DC privates the most conservative when in comes to COVID precautions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe some of it is the requirements that DC government has placed on the schools. These are the three that seem the most restrictive to adhere to:

No more than 12 total individuals clustered in one group, and no more than one group per room (so a school can't put more than 11 students in a huge space, like the gymnasium.)

Grouping the same students and staff together each day and throughout the day. (I'm not sure what this requirement means - but if it means students 1 through 10 need to stay together each time they are at school, high school is going to be almost impossible. High school students don't all take the same identical classes.)

No mixing between groups to include entry and exit of the building, at meal time, in the rest room, on the playground, in the hallway, and other shared spaces

It's this.

Most DC schools simply can't meet these requirements that exist in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the reopening guidelines. They don't have enough space.

Also worth noting DC has some very strict metrics when it comes to reopening, as they are pretty much the only state/government reporting "percentage of infections from close contacts" which tracks how widespread the virus is moving vs. the effectiveness of contact tracers. The goal is 60% of new cases coming from contacts of existing cases (as it is in places like Hong Kong and Korea) but DC is currently averaging about 4 or 5%, meaning 95% of the cases are coming from unknown sources. Absent meeting that rather strict goal Phase 3 is far off.

That was added less than 30 days ago after closing DCPS and “suggesting” to private schools to close as well.

Local politicians playing politics with your pawn kid. Schools accepting it. Parents accepting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe some of it is the requirements that DC government has placed on the schools. These are the three that seem the most restrictive to adhere to:

No more than 12 total individuals clustered in one group, and no more than one group per room (so a school can't put more than 11 students in a huge space, like the gymnasium.)

Grouping the same students and staff together each day and throughout the day. (I'm not sure what this requirement means - but if it means students 1 through 10 need to stay together each time they are at school, high school is going to be almost impossible. High school students don't all take the same identical classes.)

No mixing between groups to include entry and exit of the building, at meal time, in the rest room, on the playground, in the hallway, and other shared spaces

It's this.

Most DC schools simply can't meet these requirements that exist in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the reopening guidelines. They don't have enough space.

Also worth noting DC has some very strict metrics when it comes to reopening, as they are pretty much the only state/government reporting "percentage of infections from close contacts" which tracks how widespread the virus is moving vs. the effectiveness of contact tracers. The goal is 60% of new cases coming from contacts of existing cases (as it is in places like Hong Kong and Korea) but DC is currently averaging about 4 or 5%, meaning 95% of the cases are coming from unknown sources. Absent meeting that rather strict goal Phase 3 is far off.

Your argument does not apply to the best independent schools in dc at all. But it is even more political there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe some of it is the requirements that DC government has placed on the schools. These are the three that seem the most restrictive to adhere to:

No more than 12 total individuals clustered in one group, and no more than one group per room (so a school can't put more than 11 students in a huge space, like the gymnasium.)

Grouping the same students and staff together each day and throughout the day. (I'm not sure what this requirement means - but if it means students 1 through 10 need to stay together each time they are at school, high school is going to be almost impossible. High school students don't all take the same identical classes.)

No mixing between groups to include entry and exit of the building, at meal time, in the rest room, on the playground, in the hallway, and other shared spaces

It's this.

Most DC schools simply can't meet these requirements that exist in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the reopening guidelines. They don't have enough space.

Also worth noting DC has some very strict metrics when it comes to reopening, as they are pretty much the only state/government reporting "percentage of infections from close contacts" which tracks how widespread the virus is moving vs. the effectiveness of contact tracers. The goal is 60% of new cases coming from contacts of existing cases (as it is in places like Hong Kong and Korea) but DC is currently averaging about 4 or 5%, meaning 95% of the cases are coming from unknown sources. Absent meeting that rather strict goal Phase 3 is far off.

Your argument does not apply to the best independent schools in dc at all. But it is even more political there.

It applies to every high school. You can't run a high school without mixing unless the curriculum is so rigid and elective choices so weak that everyone takes all the same classes.

[Anonymous]

At the end of the day all schools will be in person by the end of the year, except MCPS, GDS and Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe some of it is the requirements that DC government has placed on the schools. These are the three that seem the most restrictive to adhere to:

No more than 12 total individuals clustered in one group, and no more than one group per room (so a school can't put more than 11 students in a huge space, like the gymnasium.)

Grouping the same students and staff together each day and throughout the day. (I'm not sure what this requirement means - but if it means students 1 through 10 need to stay together each time they are at school, high school is going to be almost impossible. High school students don't all take the same identical classes.)

No mixing between groups to include entry and exit of the building, at meal time, in the rest room, on the playground, in the hallway, and other shared spaces

It's this.

Most DC schools simply can't meet these requirements that exist in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the reopening guidelines. They don't have enough space.

Also worth noting DC has some very strict metrics when it comes to reopening, as they are pretty much the only state/government reporting "percentage of infections from close contacts" which tracks how widespread the virus is moving vs. the effectiveness of contact tracers. The goal is 60% of new cases coming from contacts of existing cases (as it is in places like Hong Kong and Korea) but DC is currently averaging about 4 or 5%, meaning 95% of the cases are coming from unknown sources. Absent meeting that rather strict goal Phase 3 is far off.

Some of those "metrics" are designed to fail They will be impossible to meet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are DC privates seemingly the only private schools in the country that are doing full DL? I have friends with kids in privates in Chicago, Seattle, CT, Florida and even Manhattan (FFS) who are back at school between two and five days a week. Our COVID rates are just as low or lower than most of those places. And we have space to have the kids outside (versus some of the NYC schools.). Every day that goes by, we get closer to winter/cold weather/flu season, and I get more frustrated. What will it take for DC privates to have kids on campus in any capacity?

The rest of Virginia is mostly open and those privates are doing fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day all schools will be in person by the end of the year, except MCPS, GDS and Sidwell.

Probably correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are DC privates seemingly the only private schools in the country that are doing full DL? I have friends with kids in privates in Chicago, Seattle, CT, Florida and even Manhattan (FFS) who are back at school between two and five days a week. Our COVID rates are just as low or lower than most of those places. And we have space to have the kids outside (versus some of the NYC schools.). Every day that goes by, we get closer to winter/cold weather/flu season, and I get more frustrated. What will it take for DC privates to have kids on campus in any capacity?

More leftist politics from schools, teachers and small group of parents. Everyone else remains silent. Kids in DC get another semester of subpar education and social development. And then another and another.

Aww, subpar.
There's a global pandemic, and our country is the worst in the world at containing it, but aww, your beautiful future world leader is going to get a second or third subpar semester in social development. Boo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are DC privates seemingly the only private schools in the country that are doing full DL? I have friends with kids in privates in Chicago, Seattle, CT, Florida and even Manhattan (FFS) who are back at school between two and five days a week. Our COVID rates are just as low or lower than most of those places. And we have space to have the kids outside (versus some of the NYC schools.). Every day that goes by, we get closer to winter/cold weather/flu season, and I get more frustrated. What will it take for DC privates to have kids on campus in any capacity?

More leftist politics from schools, teachers and small group of parents. Everyone else remains silent. Kids in DC get another semester of subpar education and social development. And then another and another.

Aww, subpar.
There's a global pandemic, and our country is the worst in the world at containing it, but aww, your beautiful future world leader is going to get a second or third subpar semester in social development. Boo.

You need to updated your propaganda, it’s dated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are DC privates seemingly the only private schools in the country that are doing full DL? I have friends with kids in privates in Chicago, Seattle, CT, Florida and even Manhattan (FFS) who are back at school between two and five days a week. Our COVID rates are just as low or lower than most of those places. And we have space to have the kids outside (versus some of the NYC schools.). Every day that goes by, we get closer to winter/cold weather/flu season, and I get more frustrated. What will it take for DC privates to have kids on campus in any capacity?

More leftist politics from schools, teachers and small group of parents. Everyone else remains silent. Kids in DC get another semester of subpar education and social development. And then another and another.

Aww, subpar.
There's a global pandemic, and our country is the worst in the world at containing it, but aww, your beautiful future world leader is going to get a second or third subpar semester in social development. Boo.

You need to updated your propaganda, it’s dated.

Update

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are DC privates seemingly the only private schools in the country that are doing full DL? I have friends with kids in privates in Chicago, Seattle, CT, Florida and even Manhattan (FFS) who are back at school between two and five days a week. Our COVID rates are just as low or lower than most of those places. And we have space to have the kids outside (versus some of the NYC schools.). Every day that goes by, we get closer to winter/cold weather/flu season, and I get more frustrated. What will it take for DC privates to have kids on campus in any capacity?

More leftist politics from schools, teachers and small group of parents. Everyone else remains silent. Kids in DC get another semester of subpar education and social development. And then another and another.

Aww, subpar.
There's a global pandemic, and our country is the worst in the world at containing it, but aww, your beautiful future world leader is going to get a second or third subpar semester in social development. Boo.

You need to updated your propaganda, it’s dated.

What's propaganda? That there is a global pandemic? That's true. That the U.S. is the worst in the world at containing it? Our numbers are proof positive of this: 20% of global infections despite our nation comprising 4.25% of the world's population. Any statistician would tell you how insane that is. Did you know that transmission rates are already back on the rise this week in most states? (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_totalcases) It's one thing to disagree that schools should be open for hybrid plans and another to argue that FACTS are propaganda.

[Anonymous]

The poor metric showing tracers can’t identify a source in over 95% of cases REALLY makes me question whether outdoor and contact spread is not just possible but also more common than people think

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day all schools will be in person by the end of the year, except MCPS, GDS and Sidwell.

And they will all end up DL again shortly after opening.

[Anonymous]

Most DC private schools are ultra liberal. This is a mix of a political issue (a majority of democrats that heavily identify with party ideology do not believe it is safe to go to school) and the way the media reports on and talks about COVID. The media loves click bait so they have to focus on stories that raise fear, anxiety, and opposition to Trump. The President deserves plenty of criticism regarding his views and response to COVID but the mainstream media will simply not report on stories that would ever suggest it is safe to go to school with proper precautions. There seems to be an unspoken rule that no stories can be written that could be viewed as inline with something the President says. All of this makes teachers terrified to return to to the classroom. Therefore schools like Sidwell will likely have DL for the entire year (or until a Democratic President is elected and says kids should go back to school).

[Anonymous]

But aren’t politics and equity issues in SF, NY and Seattle? Why do the schools in DC feel like they need to be at the very extreme end of the spectrum? At Sidwell, the kids need to get a COVID test before they come to campus for an optional, 45 minute, socially distant, outdoor gathering where everyone is wearing masks. It’s crazy!