I Work in a Cares Room AMA

[Anonymous]

What would you or do you say to your fellow teachers who are too scared to return?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell us why you think it's so important! I'm curious as to how it's not just babysitting. Thank you for doing this!

So, on the surface it IS kids in a room on laptops. I cannot argue that away.
However, I am in the virtual classroom, too. I use the whiteboard/smartboard to review what is being taught. The classroom teachers also send me the assignments/plans a head of time so I can have printed copies. During the independent work time the kids and I will work through problems and discuss new topics.

Is it the exact same as if their teacher was right in front of them? No way. However, the beauty of cares is that the actual teaching is not disrupted. We have not shifted kids around, changed teachers ect. And if our room has to close (ugh) the only change will be the students physical location.

Finally, the benefits of school are still being met- albeit with new protocols. The kids are beyond excited to see each other, chat during school break times, have a routine. Heck, I had a kid cry on the playground because they were so happy to be back.

These rooms are NOT perfect- but I like that they maintain instructional continuity.

This is GREAT to hear! Thank you!

We talk abstractly about "mental health" of kids. This is what it means - kids need each other, they need routine, and they need normalcy of any kind. It is interesting to consider this outside of the pandemic setting as we should value school for benefits beyond the academic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would you or do you say to your fellow teachers who are too scared to return?

I would tell them that I absolutely get it.

I came back because I trust my administration, I have no faith/trust in DCPS. And that lack of trust has been well earned over the years.

[Anonymous]

How many different online teachers do the kids in your class have? Are they all on different schedules, or do they have common break times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard that Covid testing is optional for students. Is that true? If so, have you experienced any parents refusing to let their child get tested. And how do you respond to that.

It is optional. Yes, I have a student who is not being tested. I would not have known (as it is decision between admin and parent), but parent went out of their way to to tell me. I think it is unfortunate and I do not understand the reasoning. But I also know that once one of my students gets covid- they will all have covid. So it does not bother me too much.

Thankfully, it is not my situation to deal with. This is squarely an administrator problem.

Not necessarily true. My child is in person in private and there have been a handful of cases, after which all the kids in the cohort/class get tested. So far there has not been a spread within the school (although I don’t think schools are magical and understand it can happen). However, “can happen” and “will happen” are not the same. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Without giving too much away, could you tell us what your regular role is at the school, if any? Are you an educational aide, a teacher? Did you already have relationships with any of the students in your class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would you or do you say to your fellow teachers who are too scared to return?

I would tell them that I absolutely get it.

I came back because I trust my administration, I have no faith/trust in DCPS. And that lack of trust has been well earned over the years.

What has your admin done that made you take the leap of faith?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a strict policy on maintaining distance during outdoor recess (I'm in a CARE room too) and it's easily the hardest part about the day. How is your assigned school handling recess/social distancing?

Recess is tough! Only 1 class outside at a time. I am watching and the students are good at saying '6 feet!'. but things happen. I focus on what I can control- masks up/tight, hand sanitizer ect.

I have thought about sectioning the playground in quads, and placing 2-3 kids per section. But at the end of the day I am just not sure if it would be worth it. I would love to hear about what your school does!

It's about the same - 1 class at a time; hard to keep kids consistently distanced from each other. It would probably help a lot to have structured recess, even if there were organized activities like 4 square, kickball - anything to keep them moving around but away from each other while still socializing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard that Covid testing is optional for students. Is that true? If so, have you experienced any parents refusing to let their child get tested. And how do you respond to that.

It is optional. Yes, I have a student who is not being tested. I would not have known (as it is decision between admin and parent), but parent went out of their way to to tell me. I think it is unfortunate and I do not understand the reasoning. But I also know that once one of my students gets covid- they will all have covid. So it does not bother me too much.

Thankfully, it is not my situation to deal with. This is squarely an administrator problem.

Not necessarily. A kid in our school was caught to have asymptomatic case through testing, and no one else got sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many different online teachers do the kids in your class have? Are they all on different schedules, or do they have common break times?

My school has been awesome about keeping the school lunch and school wide breaks the exact same. So it kind of flows. All of my students share the same teachers and efforts were made to align the schedules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have there been any Covid cases, or transmissions, in your class? Have you been afraid or that and have your views changed?

If no transmission events, then why would you not advocate instead for teachers themselves to come back instead of your CARE room?

no covid cases, keep sending us good vibes! Yes, I was afraid. I am not afraid of dying from covid- I am youngish and healthy. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for possibly contributing to community spread. I also worry about the LT effects of having covid. They have not changed since returning.

Thankfully, DCPS policy is above my pay grade. I would like to see us all back- however my school can only have a limited number of classrooms open anyway (social distancing and HVAC) so this is the best way to not create online classes of 30 plus kids. IMO

How do you know no covid cases? Are they testing weekly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard that Covid testing is optional for students. Is that true? If so, have you experienced any parents refusing to let their child get tested. And how do you respond to that.

It is optional. Yes, I have a student who is not being tested. I would not have known (as it is decision between admin and parent), but parent went out of their way to to tell me. I think it is unfortunate and I do not understand the reasoning. But I also know that once one of my students gets covid- they will all have covid. So it does not bother me too much.

Thankfully, it is not my situation to deal with. This is squarely an administrator problem.

Not necessarily true. My child is in person in private and there have been a handful of cases, after which all the kids in the cohort/class get tested. So far there has not been a spread within the school (although I don’t think schools are magical and understand it can happen). However, “can happen” and “will happen” are not the same. Good luck.

In a private school, depending on parents jobs, travel and socializing it probably will happen more and goes undetected if there is not weekly testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would you or do you say to your fellow teachers who are too scared to return?

I would tell them that I absolutely get it.

I came back because I trust my administration, I have no faith/trust in DCPS. And that lack of trust has been well earned over the years.

What has your admin done that made you take the leap of faith?

My admin team is just honest. They do not over promise or speak before they can. They often tell us things like 'I want to tell you, and when I can I will'. This lets me know that they are following the rules and procedures and will protect my/my students privacy too.
They opened up the re-opening corps to anyone who was interested. Total open door.
They are also not toxic positive. We all get how stressful this is. And that everyone (in person, virtual) student/staff is stressed right now. This is not what anyone envisioned when they enrolled their kids in DCPS or signed up to teach.

[Anonymous]

are the kids mostly those who "need" in-person for their own learning, or more for their parents' job/logistical needs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have there been any Covid cases, or transmissions, in your class? Have you been afraid or that and have your views changed?

If no transmission events, then why would you not advocate instead for teachers themselves to come back instead of your CARE room?

no covid cases, keep sending us good vibes! Yes, I was afraid. I am not afraid of dying from covid- I am youngish and healthy. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for possibly contributing to community spread. I also worry about the LT effects of having covid. They have not changed since returning.

Thankfully, DCPS policy is above my pay grade. I would like to see us all back- however my school can only have a limited number of classrooms open anyway (social distancing and HVAC) so this is the best way to not create online classes of 30 plus kids. IMO

How do you know no covid cases? Are they testing weekly?

students are tested every 10 days, yes. staff once every two weeks.