What’s your elementary school plan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school’s presentation was tonight and I have a lot of concerns. Kids will keep their teachers but all instruction is virtual, even if the kids are in person with their teacher in front of them. Ok, not ideal, but ok. But when asked what will happen to students who repeatedly refuse to wear masks or wear them improperly, the AP said it will be a “teachable moment” as we encourage the child to wear their mask. Then, several parents asked via chat how we can prevent parents from sending sick students to school. We were all ignored. I am concerned that parents will send asymptomatic students or students with mild covid symptoms to school, and there will be no repercussions.

Multiple people also asked about the plan for contact tracing, quarantine, and testing. We were told MCPS hasn’t decided yet. Seriously?! You've had 6-8 months to think through this exact scenario and you don’t know? I suspect they won’t or can’t do anything about tracing and quarantining, so they’re dodging until we go back, hoping we’ll all forget about it and worry about other details.

These are exactly the concerns teachers have been raising for months. “Teachable moment” is code for the teacher will encourage them to wear it but there are no repercussions.

Exactly.

Wearing masks should be a non issue for 1st/2nd grade and up in the ES. I have seen that kids that age are generally pretty good about wearing masks. They have gotten used to the fact that they have to wear them, the kids in my neighborhood, which is right next to an ES, are always wearing masks when they are on the playgrounds, etc. Most of this needs to be on the parents. If you haven’t taken your kid anywhere that they would need to wear a mask you need to start getting them used to wearing one if you plan on sending them back to school. But honestly if you are sending your kid to school, you have probably already had your kid in situations where mask wearing is non-negotiable. Will there need to be reminders to make sure they are over the nose, particularly at recess, sure. But that is different than kids coming to school and refusing to wear it, I really don’t think that is something you are going to see in ES.

Unfortunately, it is an issue. I have seen this year my son's friends refusing to wear a mask and these are second graders. They usually pull the mask off their nose or completely to the chin. Parents do nothing.

My kids (1st and 4th grade) have been wearing masks at camp, learning pod, sports etc for nearly a year without issue, as have every other kid I've seen them with. They don't even blink about it anymore. What you're saying is really not a thing.

NP. It may be a thing for kids that had not been in camps, pods, etc., live in single family housing, and are only now venturing out.

IME those who haven’t ventured out since last March are sticking with DL as they still don’t think it’s safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school’s presentation was tonight and I have a lot of concerns. Kids will keep their teachers but all instruction is virtual, even if the kids are in person with their teacher in front of them. Ok, not ideal, but ok. But when asked what will happen to students who repeatedly refuse to wear masks or wear them improperly, the AP said it will be a “teachable moment” as we encourage the child to wear their mask. Then, several parents asked via chat how we can prevent parents from sending sick students to school. We were all ignored. I am concerned that parents will send asymptomatic students or students with mild covid symptoms to school, and there will be no repercussions.

Multiple people also asked about the plan for contact tracing, quarantine, and testing. We were told MCPS hasn’t decided yet. Seriously?! You've had 6-8 months to think through this exact scenario and you don’t know? I suspect they won’t or can’t do anything about tracing and quarantining, so they’re dodging until we go back, hoping we’ll all forget about it and worry about other details.

These are exactly the concerns teachers have been raising for months. “Teachable moment” is code for the teacher will encourage them to wear it but there are no repercussions.

Exactly.

Wearing masks should be a non issue for 1st/2nd grade and up in the ES. I have seen that kids that age are generally pretty good about wearing masks. They have gotten used to the fact that they have to wear them, the kids in my neighborhood, which is right next to an ES, are always wearing masks when they are on the playgrounds, etc. Most of this needs to be on the parents. If you haven’t taken your kid anywhere that they would need to wear a mask you need to start getting them used to wearing one if you plan on sending them back to school. But honestly if you are sending your kid to school, you have probably already had your kid in situations where mask wearing is non-negotiable. Will there need to be reminders to make sure they are over the nose, particularly at recess, sure. But that is different than kids coming to school and refusing to wear it, I really don’t think that is something you are going to see in ES.

Unfortunately, it is an issue. I have seen this year my son's friends refusing to wear a mask and these are second graders. They usually pull the mask off their nose or completely to the chin. Parents do nothing.

My kids (1st and 4th grade) have been wearing masks at camp, learning pod, sports etc for nearly a year without issue, as have every other kid I've seen them with. They don't even blink about it anymore. What you're saying is really not a thing.

NP. It may be a thing for kids that had not been in camps, pods, etc., live in single family housing, and are only now venturing out.

Well my 4yo got used to it within a few days at daycare, so why can’t your kids?

My kid knows how to wear a mask, thanks very much. I was pointing out that there may be kids who are not used to it and probably some of them are not as mature as your progeny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school’s presentation was tonight and I have a lot of concerns. Kids will keep their teachers but all instruction is virtual, even if the kids are in person with their teacher in front of them. Ok, not ideal, but ok. But when asked what will happen to students who repeatedly refuse to wear masks or wear them improperly, the AP said it will be a “teachable moment” as we encourage the child to wear their mask. Then, several parents asked via chat how we can prevent parents from sending sick students to school. We were all ignored. I am concerned that parents will send asymptomatic students or students with mild covid symptoms to school, and there will be no repercussions.

Multiple people also asked about the plan for contact tracing, quarantine, and testing. We were told MCPS hasn’t decided yet. Seriously?! You've had 6-8 months to think through this exact scenario and you don’t know? I suspect they won’t or can’t do anything about tracing and quarantining, so they’re dodging until we go back, hoping we’ll all forget about it and worry about other details.

These are exactly the concerns teachers have been raising for months. “Teachable moment” is code for the teacher will encourage them to wear it but there are no repercussions.

Exactly.

Wearing masks should be a non issue for 1st/2nd grade and up in the ES. I have seen that kids that age are generally pretty good about wearing masks. They have gotten used to the fact that they have to wear them, the kids in my neighborhood, which is right next to an ES, are always wearing masks when they are on the playgrounds, etc. Most of this needs to be on the parents. If you haven’t taken your kid anywhere that they would need to wear a mask you need to start getting them used to wearing one if you plan on sending them back to school. But honestly if you are sending your kid to school, you have probably already had your kid in situations where mask wearing is non-negotiable. Will there need to be reminders to make sure they are over the nose, particularly at recess, sure. But that is different than kids coming to school and refusing to wear it, I really don’t think that is something you are going to see in ES.

Unfortunately, it is an issue. I have seen this year my son's friends refusing to wear a mask and these are second graders. They usually pull the mask off their nose or completely to the chin. Parents do nothing.

My kids (1st and 4th grade) have been wearing masks at camp, learning pod, sports etc for nearly a year without issue, as have every other kid I've seen them with. They don't even blink about it anymore. What you're saying is really not a thing.

NP. It may be a thing for kids that had not been in camps, pods, etc., live in single family housing, and are only now venturing out.

Well my 4yo got used to it within a few days at daycare, so why can’t your kids?

This, and are there really that many families who haven’t let their kids venture anywhere they would need a mask sending their kids in person? I would think those families are probably DL all the way. And if you are a family like that, please spend the next 3 weeks getting your kid acclimated to wearing a mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glenallan ES for K is doing 4 in-person classes with direct instruction, 11 kids per teacher, and zoom/chromebook only for specials. The virtual kids are moving into groups of 22 per teacher (3 groups). They did not want to have K in-person kids to have a teacher doing zoom and in-person at the same time. I think this is a good approach.

This seems smart!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The very first parent question asked in the chat at our ES return to school Zoom was: Can my kid go directly to school after a spring break vacation out of state.

And then you wonder why people choose DL.

Lol, those questions were a lot. Although to that person’s credit I took it as maybe it was a parent worried that there would be a bunch of kids traveling for spring break that would be allowed to just come right back to school. And they never answered it outright either, the principal just said if you have travel plans for spring break to contact her.

Ha! I am pretty sure the parent in our case was asking for themselves. It was very specific. The principal just said, that’s fine.

I love that this is apparently a common question right away in the chat. At the end of our meeting the principal said if you have out of town spring break plans to contact her, I don’t remember if it got addressed right at the beginning when it was put in the chat. I’m kind of curious what the advice was to anyone who contacted her about spring break travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The very first parent question asked in the chat at our ES return to school Zoom was: Can my kid go directly to school after a spring break vacation out of state.

And then you wonder why people choose DL.

I suspect my neighbors who are having indoors parties won’t even think about keeping their kids home after spring break. That would inconvenience them too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can safely travel out of state. You can wear masks and social distance in any location. Crossing state lines doesn’t immediately give you Covid. I hope people are as worried about large groups of people as much as they are about driving across state lines.

I suppose it depends on what you do out of state. Go camping, sure. Go hang out in a crowded resort community?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The very first parent question asked in the chat at our ES return to school Zoom was: Can my kid go directly to school after a spring break vacation out of state.

And then you wonder why people choose DL.

Lol, those questions were a lot. Although to that person’s credit I took it as maybe it was a parent worried that there would be a bunch of kids traveling for spring break that would be allowed to just come right back to school. And they never answered it outright either, the principal just said if you have travel plans for spring break to contact her.

Ha! I am pretty sure the parent in our case was asking for themselves. It was very specific. The principal just said, that’s fine.

I love that this is apparently a common question right away in the chat. At the end of our meeting the principal said if you have out of town spring break plans to contact her, I don’t remember if it got addressed right at the beginning when it was put in the chat. I’m kind of curious what the advice was to anyone who contacted her about spring break travel.

Curious as to where you two posters have kids in ES. In our ES chat, most of the questions were things like "Can I please keep my kid at home?" and "Will my child get the same quality education in school or in distance learning?" from low-income parents of color.

[Anonymous]

I very much want my DC to return to school in person, but our schools plan sounds more like jail than school because, in part, a significant number of families are interested in coming to school. The principal has said it will be a mix of live instruction half day and virtual instruction the other half. Considering just letting them physically go to school for the live instruction portions and then have them home for the “wellness break,” lunch, and virtual. Unclear if we are allowed to do this.

Also—for those who are doing all DL, are you concerned about your child’s ability to hear what’s going on etc? Our friends’ kids go to private schools where they are teaching concurrently for MS and US and it’s working very well. That said 1) the schools invested money in mics for the teachers and cameras that follow voice and 2) the kids are older and not in elementary. I just can’t see how concurrent teaching for elementary students will work with the equipment MCPS has. A few posters have said their school is regrouping kids into in person and DL only groups so that they don’t have to deal with the concurrent teaching challenges abd thats great, but that approach seems to be the minority not the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can safely travel out of state. You can wear masks and social distance in any location. Crossing state lines doesn’t immediately give you Covid. I hope people are as worried about large groups of people as much as they are about driving across state lines.

I suppose it depends on what you do out of state. Go camping, sure. Go hang out in a crowded resort community?

Well, duh. But if I want to visit my vaccinated parents in an outdoor-only location, all of us fully masked, and do this in PA, I should not have to "report" that as a trip that requires keeping a kid home. On the other hand the parents around here who are still having parties indoors at Chuck E. Cheese should not be sending their kids in just after that. It's about the activities, not the location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The very first parent question asked in the chat at our ES return to school Zoom was: Can my kid go directly to school after a spring break vacation out of state.

And then you wonder why people choose DL.

Lol, those questions were a lot. Although to that person’s credit I took it as maybe it was a parent worried that there would be a bunch of kids traveling for spring break that would be allowed to just come right back to school. And they never answered it outright either, the principal just said if you have travel plans for spring break to contact her.

Ha! I am pretty sure the parent in our case was asking for themselves. It was very specific. The principal just said, that’s fine.

I love that this is apparently a common question right away in the chat. At the end of our meeting the principal said if you have out of town spring break plans to contact her, I don’t remember if it got addressed right at the beginning when it was put in the chat. I’m kind of curious what the advice was to anyone who contacted her about spring break travel.

Curious as to where you two posters have kids in ES. In our ES chat, most of the questions were things like "Can I please keep my kid at home?" and "Will my child get the same quality education in school or in distance learning?" from low-income parents of color.

You somehow knew from the chat that those questions came from low income parents of color? 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glenallan ES for K is doing 4 in-person classes with direct instruction, 11 kids per teacher, and zoom/chromebook only for specials. The virtual kids are moving into groups of 22 per teacher (3 groups). They did not want to have K in-person kids to have a teacher doing zoom and in-person at the same time. I think this is a good approach.

This seems smart!

Glenallen has SEVEN kindergarten teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school’s presentation was tonight and I have a lot of concerns. Kids will keep their teachers but all instruction is virtual, even if the kids are in person with their teacher in front of them. Ok, not ideal, but ok. But when asked what will happen to students who repeatedly refuse to wear masks or wear them improperly, the AP said it will be a “teachable moment” as we encourage the child to wear their mask. Then, several parents asked via chat how we can prevent parents from sending sick students to school. We were all ignored. I am concerned that parents will send asymptomatic students or students with mild covid symptoms to school, and there will be no repercussions.

Multiple people also asked about the plan for contact tracing, quarantine, and testing. We were told MCPS hasn’t decided yet. Seriously?! You've had 6-8 months to think through this exact scenario and you don’t know? I suspect they won’t or can’t do anything about tracing and quarantining, so they’re dodging until we go back, hoping we’ll all forget about it and worry about other details.

These are exactly the concerns teachers have been raising for months. “Teachable moment” is code for the teacher will encourage them to wear it but there are no repercussions.

Exactly.

Wearing masks should be a non issue for 1st/2nd grade and up in the ES. I have seen that kids that age are generally pretty good about wearing masks. They have gotten used to the fact that they have to wear them, the kids in my neighborhood, which is right next to an ES, are always wearing masks when they are on the playgrounds, etc. Most of this needs to be on the parents. If you haven’t taken your kid anywhere that they would need to wear a mask you need to start getting them used to wearing one if you plan on sending them back to school. But honestly if you are sending your kid to school, you have probably already had your kid in situations where mask wearing is non-negotiable. Will there need to be reminders to make sure they are over the nose, particularly at recess, sure. But that is different than kids coming to school and refusing to wear it, I really don’t think that is something you are going to see in ES.

Unfortunately, it is an issue. I have seen this year my son's friends refusing to wear a mask and these are second graders. They usually pull the mask off their nose or completely to the chin. Parents do nothing.

it's amazing how many parents live in this Fantasyland about how their children are well-behaved and they're usually the worst behaved kid in the class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glenallan ES for K is doing 4 in-person classes with direct instruction, 11 kids per teacher, and zoom/chromebook only for specials. The virtual kids are moving into groups of 22 per teacher (3 groups). They did not want to have K in-person kids to have a teacher doing zoom and in-person at the same time. I think this is a good approach.

This seems smart!

Glenallen has SEVEN kindergarten teachers?

Fun fact you can look up the number of teachers per grade at any school and class sizes it's all anonymous

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/data/LAR-charts/Elementary-Class-Size-Dashboard.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glenallan ES for K is doing 4 in-person classes with direct instruction, 11 kids per teacher, and zoom/chromebook only for specials. The virtual kids are moving into groups of 22 per teacher (3 groups). They did not want to have K in-person kids to have a teacher doing zoom and in-person at the same time. I think this is a good approach.

This seems smart!

Glenallen has SEVEN kindergarten teachers?

Our school had eight K classes when my kid was in K.