WaPo on the mental health crisis students are experiencing

[Anonymous]

We are having in person Feb 1st. If your kid didn't get it then your school sucks or you are high SES and not ELL or Sped, you can wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having in person Feb 1st. If your kid didn't get it then your school sucks or you are high SES and not ELL or Sped, you can wait.

And what part of “mental health crisis” do you think does not apply to high SES kids?

[Anonymous]

We are high SES. One of my kids has an IEP and one does not. Neither of my kids “deserve” spots based on need (they are both academically ahead, neither has become school avoidant/refuses to participate and neither of them are in a mental health crisis). That said, going in person would help them both enormously, the older in particular has gotten basically nothing out of DL since it’s not really differentiated at all and she is ahead of grade level at a school where lots of kids (through no fault of their own) have lost ground due to COVID/DL. My younger kid is taking the spot he “earned” through his IEP (which is for speech articulation, so it’s ludicrous he was prioritized frankly given that his services will continue to be remote and he will probably be less understood through a mask), but I understand bright lines are necessary to make the system fair. I am glad we are opening at all, but don’t remotely think the very partial opening (less than 1/3rd of kids in my older child’s class, when 80%+ of parents requested in person) is sufficient even to meet “need.”

[Anonymous]

It’s not and I wonder now if more slots will come available later or is this it for the year, even as teachers become vaccinated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, look, Germany is keeping its schools and daycares closed until mid-February along with a whole host of other measures: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-extends-covid-lockdown-until-february-14/a-56277168

Dutch schools have been closed since mid-December: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-dutch-parliament-coronavirus-curfew.html

Those countries did a lot right in the part of the pandemic (their death tolls reflect that!) but .... we are in a new phase of it with even more contagious strains floating around and their leaders have bowed to reality.

We have many, many friends in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Germany, etc) and when you talk about school closures and somehow think that supports your narrative, you simultaneously forget that most European cities do not require children to wear mask who are under ~10-11, varies by area, most places do not require masks outdoors- some big cities are changing this but for example, London has yet to, and school was always and continues to be prioritized. European schools were back in the spring when the DMV schools called it quits for the year. They were back all fall, even when infection rates were high. Sure, some schools are closing for a very short amount of time but as a whole Europeans have a much more rationale approach and have looked at mitigation efforts that actually make sense. Having a two year old masked is neither developmentally appropriate nor does anything to control the spread, neither does passing by someone outdoors without a mask- but go ahead and continue to make yourself feel better without actually doing anything that matters. So if you want to pull data to support your narrative- please do so in totality and not cherry-pick.

Are you advocating that we return to school buildings without masks like Europe? Do you want Bowser to get rid of the mask mandate? That is sure what this sounds like.

DP. It only sounds like that to you because of your preconceived notions about people who think schools to open.

To me, it sounds like that the PP is saying that if there was spread in European schools, it's because they didn't implement the strict hygiene measures that DCPS would be requiring, not even something as simple as masks. So they didn't do everything right about Covid, as the PPP argued, and school closures are not an inevitable consequence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Education is NOT being provided. End of story.

Unless you are at a private, that just simply isn’t true. It might not be the form of education you want or how much you want, but it is being offered. Even after schools physically reopen, it still won’t look like pre-pandemic school.

Education implies both a teacher teaching and a child actually learning. Simply offering up something digitally is not in any sense the meaning of "education". We could close all public schools and just keep library opens and that would be an "education" under your definition.

Does health care imply both a doctor giving treatment and the patient recovering? If so, there’s a lot of doctors not doing their job right now!

If doctors suddenly decided to radically change their job description, such as doing telemedicine only, and the recovery rates of their patients plummeted as a result, or only stayed the same because a family member of the patient took over the in-person part of the job, then yes, the doctor would not be doing their job.

That's how this analogy works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having in person Feb 1st. If your kid didn't get it then your school sucks or you are high SES and not ELL or Sped, you can wait.

And for those of us whose school does, fact, “suck”? I am not high SES (had to look up what that is) and my kid doesn’t have an IEP, but we desperately need in-person school (both because my kid needs it and because I need it for childcare). For my child’s grade, they only opened one classroom and it’s just for IEPs, which there are a lot of at our school. I know I’m not the only parent from our school that is seriously impacted by this. We’re at a Title 1 school. There are some wealthier parents at the school because the neighborhood is gentrifying and they haven’t all successfully lotteried out yet (no judgment, we want to lottery into a better school too). The wealthier parents are all fine with DL because they can afford good childcare.

My kid didn’t even get a CARES spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, look, Germany is keeping its schools and daycares closed until mid-February along with a whole host of other measures: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-extends-covid-lockdown-until-february-14/a-56277168

Dutch schools have been closed since mid-December: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-dutch-parliament-coronavirus-curfew.html

Those countries did a lot right in the part of the pandemic (their death tolls reflect that!) but .... we are in a new phase of it with even more contagious strains floating around and their leaders have bowed to reality.

We have many, many friends in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Germany, etc) and when you talk about school closures and somehow think that supports your narrative, you simultaneously forget that most European cities do not require children to wear mask who are under ~10-11, varies by area, most places do not require masks outdoors- some big cities are changing this but for example, London has yet to, and school was always and continues to be prioritized. European schools were back in the spring when the DMV schools called it quits for the year. They were back all fall, even when infection rates were high. Sure, some schools are closing for a very short amount of time but as a whole Europeans have a much more rationale approach and have looked at mitigation efforts that actually make sense. Having a two year old masked is neither developmentally appropriate nor does anything to control the spread, neither does passing by someone outdoors without a mask- but go ahead and continue to make yourself feel better without actually doing anything that matters. So if you want to pull data to support your narrative- please do so in totality and not cherry-pick.

Are you advocating that we return to school buildings without masks like Europe? Do you want Bowser to get rid of the mask mandate? That is sure what this sounds like.

DP. It only sounds like that to you because of your preconceived notions about people who think schools to open.

To me, it sounds like that the PP is saying that if there was spread in European schools, it's because they didn't implement the strict hygiene measures that DCPS would be requiring, not even something as simple as masks. So they didn't do everything right about Covid, as the PPP argued, and school closures are not an inevitable consequence.

My point was neither. My point was that people want to cherry pick and say we should do what others are doing without looking at the totality of what they are doing and only picking what they want to pull from other places mitigation efforts that support their narrative. You can't simultaneously say "look, Europe is closing schools, we should too", without also advocating for a reasonable age requirement for children to wear masks or a reasonable response to masks outside. While not perfect, Europe has looked at the data and where the spread is and adopted mitigation efforts that provide the most bang for the buck, or euro or quid as the case may be. So those advocating for doing what Europe is doing, should advocate in totality not just whatever they feel like to fit what their current desires are related to schools.

[Anonymous]

And to add to that last point, Europe can talk about closing schools because theirs have been open. The point is moot for DC public schools because they have not. Europe as a whole has prioritized schools among most anything else. The US and particularly the DMV area has not!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, look, Germany is keeping its schools and daycares closed until mid-February along with a whole host of other measures: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-extends-covid-lockdown-until-february-14/a-56277168

Dutch schools have been closed since mid-December: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-dutch-parliament-coronavirus-curfew.html

Those countries did a lot right in the part of the pandemic (their death tolls reflect that!) but .... we are in a new phase of it with even more contagious strains floating around and their leaders have bowed to reality.

We have many, many friends in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Germany, etc) and when you talk about school closures and somehow think that supports your narrative, you simultaneously forget that most European cities do not require children to wear mask who are under ~10-11, varies by area, most places do not require masks outdoors- some big cities are changing this but for example, London has yet to, and school was always and continues to be prioritized. European schools were back in the spring when the DMV schools called it quits for the year. They were back all fall, even when infection rates were high. Sure, some schools are closing for a very short amount of time but as a whole Europeans have a much more rationale approach and have looked at mitigation efforts that actually make sense. Having a two year old masked is neither developmentally appropriate nor does anything to control the spread, neither does passing by someone outdoors without a mask- but go ahead and continue to make yourself feel better without actually doing anything that matters. So if you want to pull data to support your narrative- please do so in totality and not cherry-pick.

Are you advocating that we return to school buildings without masks like Europe? Do you want Bowser to get rid of the mask mandate? That is sure what this sounds like.

Browser will do whatever her ill-informed, lack of long-term strategic plan, bought by lobbyists advisors convince her of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, look, Germany is keeping its schools and daycares closed until mid-February along with a whole host of other measures: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-extends-covid-lockdown-until-february-14/a-56277168

Dutch schools have been closed since mid-December: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-dutch-parliament-coronavirus-curfew.html

Those countries did a lot right in the part of the pandemic (their death tolls reflect that!) but .... we are in a new phase of it with even more contagious strains floating around and their leaders have bowed to reality.

We have many, many friends in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Germany, etc) and when you talk about school closures and somehow think that supports your narrative, you simultaneously forget that most European cities do not require children to wear mask who are under ~10-11, varies by area, most places do not require masks outdoors- some big cities are changing this but for example, London has yet to, and school was always and continues to be prioritized. European schools were back in the spring when the DMV schools called it quits for the year. They were back all fall, even when infection rates were high. Sure, some schools are closing for a very short amount of time but as a whole Europeans have a much more rationale approach and have looked at mitigation efforts that actually make sense. Having a two year old masked is neither developmentally appropriate nor does anything to control the spread, neither does passing by someone outdoors without a mask- but go ahead and continue to make yourself feel better without actually doing anything that matters. So if you want to pull data to support your narrative- please do so in totality and not cherry-pick.

Are you advocating that we return to school buildings without masks like Europe? Do you want Bowser to get rid of the mask mandate? That is sure what this sounds like.

Browser will do whatever her ill-informed, lack of long-term strategic plan, bought by lobbyists advisors convince her of.

She's the absolute worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, look, Germany is keeping its schools and daycares closed until mid-February along with a whole host of other measures: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-extends-covid-lockdown-until-february-14/a-56277168

Dutch schools have been closed since mid-December: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-dutch-parliament-coronavirus-curfew.html

Those countries did a lot right in the part of the pandemic (their death tolls reflect that!) but .... we are in a new phase of it with even more contagious strains floating around and their leaders have bowed to reality.

We have many, many friends in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Germany, etc) and when you talk about school closures and somehow think that supports your narrative, you simultaneously forget that most European cities do not require children to wear mask who are under ~10-11, varies by area, most places do not require masks outdoors- some big cities are changing this but for example, London has yet to, and school was always and continues to be prioritized. European schools were back in the spring when the DMV schools called it quits for the year. They were back all fall, even when infection rates were high. Sure, some schools are closing for a very short amount of time but as a whole Europeans have a much more rationale approach and have looked at mitigation efforts that actually make sense. Having a two year old masked is neither developmentally appropriate nor does anything to control the spread, neither does passing by someone outdoors without a mask- but go ahead and continue to make yourself feel better without actually doing anything that matters. So if you want to pull data to support your narrative- please do so in totality and not cherry-pick.

Are you advocating that we return to school buildings without masks like Europe? Do you want Bowser to get rid of the mask mandate? That is sure what this sounds like.

Browser will do whatever her ill-informed, lack of long-term strategic plan, bought by lobbyists advisors convince her of.

She's the absolute worst.

Given that she is trying to push ahead with reopening unlike many local school districts (looking at you all of nearby MD), I wouldn’t call her the worst. Just profoundly mediocre. And, in fairness, she has had a ton on her plate the last few weeks and has handled it pretty well in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, look, Germany is keeping its schools and daycares closed until mid-February along with a whole host of other measures: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-extends-covid-lockdown-until-february-14/a-56277168

Dutch schools have been closed since mid-December: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-dutch-parliament-coronavirus-curfew.html

Those countries did a lot right in the part of the pandemic (their death tolls reflect that!) but .... we are in a new phase of it with even more contagious strains floating around and their leaders have bowed to reality.

We have many, many friends in Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Germany, etc) and when you talk about school closures and somehow think that supports your narrative, you simultaneously forget that most European cities do not require children to wear mask who are under ~10-11, varies by area, most places do not require masks outdoors- some big cities are changing this but for example, London has yet to, and school was always and continues to be prioritized. European schools were back in the spring when the DMV schools called it quits for the year. They were back all fall, even when infection rates were high. Sure, some schools are closing for a very short amount of time but as a whole Europeans have a much more rationale approach and have looked at mitigation efforts that actually make sense. Having a two year old masked is neither developmentally appropriate nor does anything to control the spread, neither does passing by someone outdoors without a mask- but go ahead and continue to make yourself feel better without actually doing anything that matters. So if you want to pull data to support your narrative- please do so in totality and not cherry-pick.

Are you advocating that we return to school buildings without masks like Europe? Do you want Bowser to get rid of the mask mandate? That is sure what this sounds like.

Browser will do whatever her ill-informed, lack of long-term strategic plan, bought by lobbyists advisors convince her of.

She's the absolute worst.

Given that she is trying to push ahead with reopening unlike many local school districts (looking at you all of nearby MD), I wouldn’t call her the worst. Just profoundly mediocre. And, in fairness, she has had a ton on her plate the last few weeks and has handled it pretty well in my opinion.

You can't take the past few weeks and give her a pass for her complete lack of planning since last March! And she had a LOOOOTTTT of help on the federal level from the last few weeks so let's not give credit where it isn't due.

[Anonymous]

Everyone would be better off if the state provided a voucher + cares money to let parents pick a private school that they see fit. This would also cause public schools to open rather than doing nothing and hoarding the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone would be better off if the state provided a voucher + cares money to let parents pick a private school that they see fit. This would also cause public schools to open rather than doing nothing and hoarding the money.

Check the private school forum. Applications are up 200% compared to 2019 and this is from families who can afford tuition without scholarships. There is no room for your kid to join in on the rush to get into the private schools and no need for extra applications let alone butts in seats.