APS Level 2 Return to school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s waiting out the pandemic and my kid’s education is suffering. And their complete lack of instructional focus — which was the case before, during and I’m sure after the pandemic — will mean our kids are behind the rest of their APS education.

We are working on alternatives — mainly moving to a cheaper area so we can spend less on a house and more on education.

But parents need to pay attention. They have no plan to address learning loss or wider disparities in knowledge when kids return.

OK bye. Hopefully your new area won't mind that you are disconnected from reality.

Okay. So point me to this plan? My ES kids have teachers who have all told me it is nearly impossible for them to assess writing ability and reading in this virtual environment without dedicated one on one time — which they don’t have. What are their plans to make these assessments? What plan do they have to make up for curriculum that they won’t get to this year?

Just as they did at the beginning of this year, they will shift the curriculum next year to cover any topics that were missed or need to be covered again.

Of course, they will address learning loss. Just as every single school in the US will.

No. Many districts won't have to. There are parts of the country where public schools are open 5 days a week for in-person school. Those schools will not have to deal with a year of lost learning. That's the point. I honestly can't believe that Northern Virginia of all places is letting our kids suffer like this, when my red state home state is managing to have kids educated five days a week and hasn't seen rampant COVID cases.

OK. Just like almost all schools in the US will need to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Community rates are so high now that ensuring teacher vaccinations before return is the only responsible option. So just hang on for a few more weeks and APS will start opening next month! You’ve come this far. Let your teachers get fully immunized.

NO. This not true. The data from VDH clearly confirms that cases and positivity rates have been declining for weeks and positivity rates alone have been dropping for over a month.

Sigh. Declining and still being high we’re not mutually exclusive.

Sign. I don't care. Kids can and should go back to school says science and medicine.

They are! Dates for Level 2 will be announced Feb 12. Teachers can get fully vaccinated before students return. Hooray! Something for everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok then stop supporting Duran. He didn’t handle it well and the school board just did nothing. No one is safer or better off with these school closures. Duran is to blame 100 percent.

exactly.. so lazy and not putting our kids first. I'm surprised we haven't heard rumbles of a class-action lawsuit

Apparently you cannot class action in Virginia. Already entertained that idea....

Something else needs to happen then. Concerned parents with kids that are suffering should not be forced to sit back and wait the pandemic out, while other schools and counties all around us and the country are focusing on what's best for the students and getting them back in school. Any lawyers on here have advice? I would have sent my child to private but can't afford it and now they are all waitlisted anyway.

Aren't you paying attention? Kids are going back after teachers are vaccinated.

Maybe if you weren't whining so much you'd be able to keep up.

I'll believe it when I see it.. and there is a lot of talk about fall being hybrid, which is unacceptable.

I think hybrid in the fall is unlikely, but I guess we will have to wait to see where we're at with vaccines and the new variants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Community rates are so high now that ensuring teacher vaccinations before return is the only responsible option. So just hang on for a few more weeks and APS will start opening next month! You’ve come this far. Let your teachers get fully immunized.

NO. This not true. The data from VDH clearly confirms that cases and positivity rates have been declining for weeks and positivity rates alone have been dropping for over a month.

Sigh. Declining and still being high we’re not mutually exclusive.

Sign. I don't care. Kids can and should go back to school says science and medicine.

They are! Dates for Level 2 will be announced Feb 12. Teachers can get fully vaccinated before students return. Hooray! Something for everyone!

Woot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s waiting out the pandemic and my kid’s education is suffering. And their complete lack of instructional focus — which was the case before, during and I’m sure after the pandemic — will mean our kids are behind the rest of their APS education.

We are working on alternatives — mainly moving to a cheaper area so we can spend less on a house and more on education.

But parents need to pay attention. They have no plan to address learning loss or wider disparities in knowledge when kids return.

OK bye. Hopefully your new area won't mind that you are disconnected from reality.

Okay. So point me to this plan? My ES kids have teachers who have all told me it is nearly impossible for them to assess writing ability and reading in this virtual environment without dedicated one on one time — which they don’t have. What are their plans to make these assessments? What plan do they have to make up for curriculum that they won’t get to this year?

Just as they did at the beginning of this year, they will shift the curriculum next year to cover any topics that were missed or need to be covered again.

Of course, they will address learning loss. Just as every single school in the US will.

That’s not making up for learning loss. That is kicking the cam down the road. And next year may be hybrid. APs can say it’s curriculum is whatever it wants but my fifth grader isn’t getting anywhere near the end of hers. And it is already not the full curriculum it would have been two years ago. Yet we know many people who have been in school full time who aren’t playing this game of shifting curriculum to a later year. At some point kids leave APS. And you are saying it is totally fine that they haven’t learned what they should have.

They will address learning loss. There is a global pandemic and I think we are doing the best we can under the circumstances. Kids are resilient. Parents on the other hand...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any sign that APS is getting on board with the regional trend? Or have they given up?

Duran seems to be derailed. And yesterday's message completely lacked any reference to caring about the mental health and academic loss of our students. This tells me he's not changing his mind anytime soon.

The same message said they are announcing a return date for the first group on the 18th

At this point he should just write "we are waiting to see what FCPS does and then we let you know we are doing the same thing"

No. Fairfax already voted to return BEFORE fully vaccinating its teachers. So DURAN is not following Fairfax. Thanks goodness for my kids’ teachers.

...but too bad for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm working from home now and I'm not planning on sending my middle schooler to summer camp in who knows what conditions where they surely won't adequately police spacing or mask wearing in a pool. My kid hasn't had that rough of a time so from my perspective I wouldn't mind riding this out into next school year by which point hopefully we will most all be vaccinated and ready to go.

So this plan is a-okay with me. It's the severely disabled and the youngest kids who need the help the most (and I get sending the high school career center kids with the hands on courses as well).

You are in the minority. And a bit insane.

NP, but at our school barely less than 50% of kids will be back, and even still there are plenty of parents planning to switch from hybrid to DL. Not everyone has your same health profile and risk tolerance

And you're entitled to your opinion and risk tolerance but at least give the people who are willing a chance to have their kids back in school.

I'm the OP of the original post and I encourage you to learn what words mean and how to use them. I expressed my opinion that I'm okay with Duran's plan. I'm not trying to stop you from doing anything or stop other kids from going back.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, by original post I mean I'm the poster who is okay with Duran's plan, not the original post of this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Community rates are so high now that ensuring teacher vaccinations before return is the only responsible option. So just hang on for a few more weeks and APS will start opening next month! You’ve come this far. Let your teachers get fully immunized.

NO. This not true. The data from VDH clearly confirms that cases and positivity rates have been declining for weeks and positivity rates alone have been dropping for over a month.

Sigh. Declining and still being high we’re not mutually exclusive.

Sign. I don't care. Kids can and should go back to school says science and medicine.

They are! Dates for Level 2 will be announced Feb 12. Teachers can get fully vaccinated before students return. Hooray! Something for everyone!

Dates announced Feb 18th - with 2 weeks allowed for "transition" after that. Most students will not be back until mid-March/April is my guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s waiting out the pandemic and my kid’s education is suffering. And their complete lack of instructional focus — which was the case before, during and I’m sure after the pandemic — will mean our kids are behind the rest of their APS education.

We are working on alternatives — mainly moving to a cheaper area so we can spend less on a house and more on education.

But parents need to pay attention. They have no plan to address learning loss or wider disparities in knowledge when kids return.

OK bye. Hopefully your new area won't mind that you are disconnected from reality.

Okay. So point me to this plan? My ES kids have teachers who have all told me it is nearly impossible for them to assess writing ability and reading in this virtual environment without dedicated one on one time — which they don’t have. What are their plans to make these assessments? What plan do they have to make up for curriculum that they won’t get to this year?

Just as they did at the beginning of this year, they will shift the curriculum next year to cover any topics that were missed or need to be covered again.

Of course, they will address learning loss. Just as every single school in the US will.

That’s not making up for learning loss. That is kicking the cam down the road. And next year may be hybrid. APs can say it’s curriculum is whatever it wants but my fifth grader isn’t getting anywhere near the end of hers. And it is already not the full curriculum it would have been two years ago. Yet we know many people who have been in school full time who aren’t playing this game of shifting curriculum to a later year. At some point kids leave APS. And you are saying it is totally fine that they haven’t learned what they should have.

They will address learning loss. There is a global pandemic and I think we are doing the best we can under the circumstances. Kids are resilient. Parents on the other hand...

Learning loss is not about resiliency. The learning loss is real and will effect some schools for many years to come. APS could not address learning loss pre-covid. I have not faith they will have the ability to do so post covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s waiting out the pandemic and my kid’s education is suffering. And their complete lack of instructional focus — which was the case before, during and I’m sure after the pandemic — will mean our kids are behind the rest of their APS education.

We are working on alternatives — mainly moving to a cheaper area so we can spend less on a house and more on education.

But parents need to pay attention. They have no plan to address learning loss or wider disparities in knowledge when kids return.

OK bye. Hopefully your new area won't mind that you are disconnected from reality.

Okay. So point me to this plan? My ES kids have teachers who have all told me it is nearly impossible for them to assess writing ability and reading in this virtual environment without dedicated one on one time — which they don’t have. What are their plans to make these assessments? What plan do they have to make up for curriculum that they won’t get to this year?

Just as they did at the beginning of this year, they will shift the curriculum next year to cover any topics that were missed or need to be covered again.

Of course, they will address learning loss. Just as every single school in the US will.

That’s not making up for learning loss. That is kicking the cam down the road. And next year may be hybrid. APs can say it’s curriculum is whatever it wants but my fifth grader isn’t getting anywhere near the end of hers. And it is already not the full curriculum it would have been two years ago. Yet we know many people who have been in school full time who aren’t playing this game of shifting curriculum to a later year. At some point kids leave APS. And you are saying it is totally fine that they haven’t learned what they should have.

They will address learning loss. There is a global pandemic and I think we are doing the best we can under the circumstances. Kids are resilient. Parents on the other hand...

Learning loss is not about resiliency. The learning loss is real and will effect some schools for many years to come. APS could not address learning loss pre-covid. I have not faith they will have the ability to do so post covid.

Okey dokey! Bye!

[Anonymous]

Concurrent plan for Key School (starts page 16). I missed the meeting where it was discussed but the K-2 is apparently not a truly concurrent (although it’s not the easiest plan to follow). Seems like they still have no idea what teachers will be showing up in person.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-diVZV98Ri6DFaHF_yMgp7dFuyq01y1D/view?usp=sharing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Concurrent plan for Key School (starts page 16). I missed the meeting where it was discussed but the K-2 is apparently not a truly concurrent (although it’s not the easiest plan to follow). Seems like they still have no idea what teachers will be showing up in person.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-diVZV98Ri6DFaHF_yMgp7dFuyq01y1D/view?usp=sharing

Can I send in my 3rd grader to learn in person with the 2nd grade? He didn't finish second grade anyway and would probably learn more in 2nd grade than he will with the concurrent model in 3rd Partially joking but I do wish this was an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What Duran should have done was open schools in August, as originally planned, when rates were good. Then we could have reverted to virtual if needed, but at least kids would have gotten a couple of months in school, met their teachers snd classmates, etc. I have a first grader who has literally never seen her teachers (except specials) in real life. No meeting at the playground in masks, nothing.
I also have an older child, but for the younger one, we were told her grade would return in August/Sept, then late Oct, then Nov, then early Dec, now who knows. That’s a lot of dates to set and then cancel.
In July, when it was announced that everyone would “just start” virtually, I thought they would not go back this school year. I still think that’s quite likely, given the higher Covid rates now & the repeated habit of setting dates then cancelling the return (at least 4 times that’s already happened).

Enough already with the Monday morning quarterbacking. I keep reading/hearing things like this and people need to look forward. Maybe he should have opened then, maybe not. But we should be focusing on the now and going forward, not looking backwards.

I think we all knew if he’d have opened, we’d have reverted back to virtual. As much as you may hate DL, the teachers have worked hard learning how to do it, and it isn’t easy for them or for families to suddenly flip that switch. NOW- there’s a vaccine, and an end in sight. They can all go back slowly, and for good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok then stop supporting Duran. He didn’t handle it well and the school board just did nothing. No one is safer or better off with these school closures. Duran is to blame 100 percent.

exactly.. so lazy and not putting our kids first. I'm surprised we haven't heard rumbles of a class-action lawsuit

Because most parents don't think this.

He has handled the pandemic very well.

Clearly you don't have kids in APS.. He's done absolutely nothing but follow FCPS and disregard science, at our kids expense. This is not "handling the pandemic".

That’s not true. He’s been a lot wiser than Braband.