APS: Why Ignoring CDC Recommendations for Cohorts for Middle and High School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is why many other jurisdictions have elementary back, but not middle or high. Even the Biden plan doesn’t ask for high school back in 100 days. They recognize that if you don’t cohort you can’t pull this off. Of course, APS has a middle school problem too. I hope they recognize this. It won’t be safe for students otherwise, according to the CDC.

This is why so many parents like me are irritated that they have insisted on the exact same course of action for k-12. Elementary kids don’t spread it or suffer it’s effects as much as older kids AND they can be cohorted. They COULD HAVE BEEN IN but no, they had to sit it out because 6-12 spreads more and can’t cohort. It is idiocy. K-5 should not have been tied to 6-12 all this time.

[Anonymous]

Well, it’s not too late to untie them. Get K-5 back. And wait on 6-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s not too late to untie them. Get K-5 back. And wait on 6-12.

I completely agree but nobody seems willing to do that.

[Anonymous]

Why though? I admit I haven’t watched the last couple of meetings. Why aren’t they taking about the importance of cohorting for student safety? Will they now that the CDC has emphasized it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why though? I admit I haven’t watched the last couple of meetings. Why aren’t they taking about the importance of cohorting for student safety? Will they now that the CDC has emphasized it?

No. They don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why though? I admit I haven’t watched the last couple of meetings. Why aren’t they taking about the importance of cohorting for student safety? Will they now that the CDC has emphasized it?

No. They don't care.

They don't care because they aren't actually sending them back in person.

[Anonymous]

This is all Bridget Loft's fault, per usual. She is the queen of bad decisions. Parents were begging her over the summer to plan core class co-horts with elective being done through DL. Same goes for assigning classes at the elementary level based on hybrid/DL elections. Instead, she specifically told principals to disregard elections in making class assignment. Duran needs to FIRE her now! She was also the driver of the no new spring instruction last year and the horror show of concurrent learning that she wants to impose to kids as young as 3rd grade. She is now justifying the concurrent switch by claiming a "consultant" presented new research that concurrent works at young ages. Let me guess: this is the same consultant APS is paying to establish the concurrent program. Let's see if any of the school board members actually question her about this. (NOT LIKELY BECAUSE THEY DO NOTHING BUT SIT AND LISTEN! They need to go too!)

[Anonymous]

Well, they shouldn’t send middle and high back in person til they figure this out, according to the latest CDC recommendations. But there’s no need to hold up elementary!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all Bridget Loft's fault, per usual. She is the queen of bad decisions. Parents were begging her over the summer to plan core class co-horts with elective being done through DL. Same goes for assigning classes at the elementary level based on hybrid/DL elections. Instead, she specifically told principals to disregard elections in making class assignment. Duran needs to FIRE her now! She was also the driver of the no new spring instruction last year and the horror show of concurrent learning that she wants to impose to kids as young as 3rd grade. She is now justifying the concurrent switch by claiming a "consultant" presented new research that concurrent works at young ages. Let me guess: this is the same consultant APS is paying to establish the concurrent program. Let's see if any of the school board members actually question her about this. (NOT LIKELY BECAUSE THEY DO NOTHING BUT SIT AND LISTEN! They need to go too!)[/quote

It’s my understand that middle and high school teachers explained this to Loft et al in July. I don’t know why they didn’t deal with it then. In middle, they could have assigned them by math class to a cohort and then dealt with electives virtually. Big electives like Spanish probably could’ve been cohorted. High school is harder but if O’Connell can do it, why not APS?

I really think they are going to have to rethink opening those schools in light of the new guidance. Unless they reshuffle all the kids into cohorts!

[Anonymous]

APS has a lazy SB. They are not trying to make it safe for the kids to return, all of this is too much work for them.

They are just using the lazy approach of relying on COVID numbers to go away, which clearly isn't happening anytime soon. This way, they don't have to make much of an effort. It's pathetic and disappointing. They should all be fired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s not too late to untie them. Get K-5 back. And wait on 6-12.

I completely agree but nobody seems willing to do that.

HS parent here. Getting K-5 back before 6-12 has been APS's plan since just about the beginning of the pandemic. I think every HS parent in APS has realized the HSers will be the last back, if ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone explain why APS is just outright ignoring CDC recommendations that students be in cohorts for their middle and high school return to school plans? A middle or high school student at a high hybrid school could be exposed to 9 kids or so in each class, five classes a day. With A/B days that means exposure to close to 90 different kids each week. Very few are talking about this on these boards.

Why can't APS (and others) recognize that they are able to open elementary consistent with CDC recommendations, but not middle and high school. They chose not to cohort them. These are the consequences. Are they just hoping to get away with ignoring CDC recommendations in their re-opening plans for middle and high school????

See Washington Post article from yesterday: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/cdc-...bcc1f9229_story.html

And here's the relevant paragraph:
Specifically, the CDC recommends that schools require masks, allow for a distance of six feet between people and keep students in cohorts to limit the number of people who must quarantine in the case of an exposure. It also recommends screening tests to identify asymptomatic infected people, and increased air ventilation.

Why aren't more parents raising this with the School Board?

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...but it was a viewpoint piece, not official guidance from the CDC. Note the disclaimer at the bottom of the piece: "Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

[Anonymous]

I know the plan is first elementary and then middle and high. But do they have plans to bring back middle and high that is consistent with CDC recommendations on cohorting? Or do they just plan to bring them back after elementary and just ignore the CDC? That’s the part that’s troubling. Maybe they will revise middle and high school plans based on the new report?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone explain why APS is just outright ignoring CDC recommendations that students be in cohorts for their middle and high school return to school plans? A middle or high school student at a high hybrid school could be exposed to 9 kids or so in each class, five classes a day. With A/B days that means exposure to close to 90 different kids each week. Very few are talking about this on these boards.

Why can't APS (and others) recognize that they are able to open elementary consistent with CDC recommendations, but not middle and high school. They chose not to cohort them. These are the consequences. Are they just hoping to get away with ignoring CDC recommendations in their re-opening plans for middle and high school????

See Washington Post article from yesterday: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/cdc-...bcc1f9229_story.html

And here's the relevant paragraph:
Specifically, the CDC recommends that schools require masks, allow for a distance of six feet between people and keep students in cohorts to limit the number of people who must quarantine in the case of an exposure. It also recommends screening tests to identify asymptomatic infected people, and increased air ventilation.

Why aren't more parents raising this with the School Board?

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...but it was a viewpoint piece, not official guidance from the CDC. Note the disclaimer at the bottom of the piece: "Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Huh. Does that cast doubt on the entire document then? The part about “scant evidence” of spread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone explain why APS is just outright ignoring CDC recommendations that students be in cohorts for their middle and high school return to school plans? A middle or high school student at a high hybrid school could be exposed to 9 kids or so in each class, five classes a day. With A/B days that means exposure to close to 90 different kids each week. Very few are talking about this on these boards.

Why can't APS (and others) recognize that they are able to open elementary consistent with CDC recommendations, but not middle and high school. They chose not to cohort them. These are the consequences. Are they just hoping to get away with ignoring CDC recommendations in their re-opening plans for middle and high school????

See Washington Post article from yesterday: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/cdc-...bcc1f9229_story.html

And here's the relevant paragraph:
Specifically, the CDC recommends that schools require masks, allow for a distance of six feet between people and keep students in cohorts to limit the number of people who must quarantine in the case of an exposure. It also recommends screening tests to identify asymptomatic infected people, and increased air ventilation.

Why aren't more parents raising this with the School Board?

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...but it was a viewpoint piece, not official guidance from the CDC. Note the disclaimer at the bottom of the piece: "Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Huh. Does that cast doubt on the entire document then? The part about “scant evidence” of spread?

For me, here's the thing: CDC guidelines state that if you're not a close contact (less than 6' for more than 15 minutes) then you don't need to be tested for COVID...so schools don't test. It makes me wonder how many of those "community acquired" transmissions possibly happened at school. I'm also wondering how the results may differ in a more urban setting, as the WI schools used in the study are much smaller than ours. The data was also collected before we knew about the more contagious strands.

tl/dr: I'd like to see studies from more urban settings that take into account at least one of the newer strands. I'd love for us to get back in the building...but I wouldn't base my decision on this study if I were in charge.