APS Return to School Presentation Posted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a teacher but having teachers in the building without students is dumb as F.

It increases their risk of exposure from other teachers (shared bathrooms, who knows how HVAC works, etc). For freaking theater.

WTF muscle memory? When they can go back safely and teach to students in person, they won’t forget how to stand in front of a whiteboard

Unless they haven't left their house since the pandemic began, this is no more risky than their every day activities.

BS. Shared bathrooms alone make it way way higher. Have you ever used a school bathroom?

DP. I use the school bathroom virtually every time I’m at the school. School bathrooms are about the same as other public bathrooms. Have you not used a public bathroom since March?

Of course not. Many people aren’t. Have you not read all the travel forums about how to get to places with minimal or zero restroom stops. Going. Someplace within 30 min of my house why would I need to use their bathroom?

[Anonymous]

Can’t believe those case rates. Sky high. No time to putting teachers at risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teachers are dead set on not going back in-person this year in any way. Someone just posted to APE (which I’m a member of just to see their side, not because I fully support their positions) that she had a meeting with Libby Garvey today, who said the teachers are the biggest impediment to reopening schools. Apparently APS is concerned if they reopen, so many teachers will refuse to return that they’ll have a teacher shortage for hybrid. It sounds like this may be part of the reason for bringing the teachers back earlier, that APS can get a sense of how much of a problem this is in advance rather than face an effective mass walkout just ask students are arriving at the building.

I'm sure its this. APS thinks its teachers are going to quit en masse. Some people suggest that is not true given that FCPS, FCCPS, PWS, LCS, have not seen this mass resignations. This is the clearest way to find out if it is true or not.
It's also to give them time to get ready, e.g. actually get childcare if needed, actually move back to commuting distance if needed.

Don’t blame them one bit. If I were forced back at the peak of this pandemic to sit in rooms with 6-10 kids I’d strongly consider quitting. This is a big labor problem for Arlington. If you force these teachers back when conditions are like this, you will NOT HAVE ENOUGH TEACHERS. They are going to have to stay distance to keep enough teachers OR start granting permission for theme to stay home and hire aides to be in classroom while teachers teach from home. Aides are less skilled labor so APS has a better chance of finding enough.

APS has job postings for assistants from pre-covid times. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy to find large numbers of people who want the job and can pass the background checks, especially with other districts hiring similar positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teachers are dead set on not going back in-person this year in any way. Someone just posted to APE (which I’m a member of just to see their side, not because I fully support their positions) that she had a meeting with Libby Garvey today, who said the teachers are the biggest impediment to reopening schools. Apparently APS is concerned if they reopen, so many teachers will refuse to return that they’ll have a teacher shortage for hybrid. It sounds like this may be part of the reason for bringing the teachers back earlier, that APS can get a sense of how much of a problem this is in advance rather than face an effective mass walkout just ask students are arriving at the building.

I'm sure its this. APS thinks its teachers are going to quit en masse. Some people suggest that is not true given that FCPS, FCCPS, PWS, LCS, have not seen this mass resignations. This is the clearest way to find out if it is true or not.
It's also to give them time to get ready, e.g. actually get childcare if needed, actually move back to commuting distance if needed.

Don’t blame them one bit. If I were forced back at the peak of this pandemic to sit in rooms with 6-10 kids I’d strongly consider quitting. This is a big labor problem for Arlington. If you force these teachers back when conditions are like this, you will NOT HAVE ENOUGH TEACHERS. They are going to have to stay distance to keep enough teachers OR start granting permission for theme to stay home and hire aides to be in classroom while teachers teach from home. Aides are less skilled labor so APS has a better chance of finding enough.

Fortunately nurses didn’t take this approach, even though they’re at much greater risk than teachers would be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teachers are dead set on not going back in-person this year in any way. Someone just posted to APE (which I’m a member of just to see their side, not because I fully support their positions) that she had a meeting with Libby Garvey today, who said the teachers are the biggest impediment to reopening schools. Apparently APS is concerned if they reopen, so many teachers will refuse to return that they’ll have a teacher shortage for hybrid. It sounds like this may be part of the reason for bringing the teachers back earlier, that APS can get a sense of how much of a problem this is in advance rather than face an effective mass walkout just ask students are arriving at the building.

I'm sure its this. APS thinks its teachers are going to quit en masse. Some people suggest that is not true given that FCPS, FCCPS, PWS, LCS, have not seen this mass resignations. This is the clearest way to find out if it is true or not.
It's also to give them time to get ready, e.g. actually get childcare if needed, actually move back to commuting distance if needed.

Don’t blame them one bit. If I were forced back at the peak of this pandemic to sit in rooms with 6-10 kids I’d strongly consider quitting. This is a big labor problem for Arlington. If you force these teachers back when conditions are like this, you will NOT HAVE ENOUGH TEACHERS. They are going to have to stay distance to keep enough teachers OR start granting permission for theme to stay home and hire aides to be in classroom while teachers teach from home. Aides are less skilled labor so APS has a better chance of finding enough.

Fortunately nurses didn’t take this approach, even though they’re at much greater risk than teachers would be.

Nurses and teachers went into job with very different expectations. Also most nurses make more than most teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a teacher but having teachers in the building without students is dumb as F.

It increases their risk of exposure from other teachers (shared bathrooms, who knows how HVAC works, etc). For freaking theater.

WTF muscle memory? When they can go back safely and teach to students in person, they won’t forget how to stand in front of a whiteboard

Unless they haven't left their house since the pandemic began, this is no more risky than their every day activities.

BS. Shared bathrooms alone make it way way higher. Have you ever used a school bathroom?

DP. I use the school bathroom virtually every time I’m at the school. School bathrooms are about the same as other public bathrooms. Have you not used a public bathroom since March?

Public toilets usually work. The ones at my kid’s school sometimes don’t. Hopefully they’ve fixed that issue.

[Anonymous]

Why make them go back now when they are 1B for the vaccine and they could take the shot first and then come back more safely?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why make them go back now when they are 1B for the vaccine and they could take the shot first and then come back more safely?

Exactly

[Anonymous]

Because of its high COL APS has 3 types of teachers:

1) young single teachers living in apartments
2) married teachers more embedded in community who have a breadwinner husband to afford to live here
3) older teachers who bought here in 80s and 90s and near retirement.

ALL of them are way more willing to quit than the LCPS teachers who often make up over half their households incomes

You are wrong. The majority of APS teachers do not live in Arlington. At my APS elementary school, 1-2 teachers per grade level live here, the rest live all over as far as Olney, Woodbridge, Ashburn, Leesburg.

[Anonymous]

The teachers are dead set on not going back in-person this year in any way. Someone just posted to APE (which I’m a member of just to see their side, not because I fully support their positions) that she had a meeting with Libby Garvey today, who said the teachers are the biggest impediment to reopening schools. Apparently APS is concerned if they reopen, so many teachers will refuse to return that they’ll have a teacher shortage for hybrid. It sounds like this may be part of the reason for bringing the teachers back earlier, that APS can get a sense of how much of a problem this is in advance rather than face an effective mass walkout just ask students are arriving at the building.

This is a foolish reason to put teachers at risk--by going into the buildings, they are being exposed to other teachers and sharing spaces with people outside their bubbles. Why don't they just ask the teachers directly? This is no way to run an airline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Because of its high COL APS has 3 types of teachers:

1) young single teachers living in apartments
2) married teachers more embedded in community who have a breadwinner husband to afford to live here
3) older teachers who bought here in 80s and 90s and near retirement.

ALL of them are way more willing to quit than the LCPS teachers who often make up over half their households incomes

You are wrong. The majority of APS teachers do not live in Arlington. At my APS elementary school, 1-2 teachers per grade level live here, the rest live all over as far as Olney, Woodbridge, Ashburn, Leesburg.

It varies by school, most people I know at two south Arlington elementary schools live nearby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why make them go back now when they are 1B for the vaccine and they could take the shot first and then come back more safely?

At Virginia's pace of vaccinations it will be summer by the time this happens.

Just 2 more weeks. . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Because of its high COL APS has 3 types of teachers:

1) young single teachers living in apartments
2) married teachers more embedded in community who have a breadwinner husband to afford to live here
3) older teachers who bought here in 80s and 90s and near retirement.

ALL of them are way more willing to quit than the LCPS teachers who often make up over half their households incomes

You are wrong. The majority of APS teachers do not live in Arlington. At my APS elementary school, 1-2 teachers per grade level live here, the rest live all over as far as Olney, Woodbridge, Ashburn, Leesburg.

All the worse, changing jobs gives them a better commute to boot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long will we let the teachers hold our students hostage?

Please check your misplaced outrage. History shows us what happens to those who start to believe a class of people is a deserving target of their anger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a teacher but having teachers in the building without students is dumb as F.

It increases their risk of exposure from other teachers (shared bathrooms, who knows how HVAC works, etc). For freaking theater.

WTF muscle memory? When they can go back safely and teach to students in person, they won’t forget how to stand in front of a whiteboard

Unless they haven't left their house since the pandemic began, this is no more risky than their every day activities.

BS. Shared bathrooms alone make it way way higher. Have you ever used a school bathroom?

DP. I use the school bathroom virtually every time I’m at the school. School bathrooms are about the same as other public bathrooms. Have you not used a public bathroom since March?

Of course not. Many people aren’t. Have you not read all the travel forums about how to get to places with minimal or zero restroom stops. Going. Someplace within 30 min of my house why would I need to use their bathroom?

I can see why people who are literally not going anywhere and still having groceries delivered would not want to use a public bathroom. But if you are at Target and have to pee, you are telling me that you would just hold it? Is the Target bathroom more risky than the rest of Target? Sorry to derail this tread, but I am genuinely curious about this.