MCPS covid cases

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, MCPS is in he'll right now. You parents need to ask your kids specific details like what classroom they were in today. I am a Para at a school in Gaithersburg. We had up to 12 teachers out at one point, 5 classes quarantined, triage and nurse rooms were full, kids throwing up or really sick everywhere at school, most without proper masks, a lot of classes were combined with other classes because there were no teacher or sub that day. Two quarantined classes got quarantined because of combining classes and covid cases popped up. The teachers are mainly out with sick or quarantined kids. They have kids too. Tensions are VERY high in schools. Everyone is on edge and burnt out. Behavior from kids is appalling: fights, getting cursed out, kids running out of schools and threats. Some kids have tantrums and scream for hours on end with staff standing in a circle to contain them. They are not Kinder or 1st either. Parents have absolutely no idea what goes on in these schools. The W schools are not too much better either. Virtual might be better.

No. Full stop.

So you think the chaos the poster described above is better for our kids? It will only get worse. The root of the problem is parents not taking any responsibility for trying to keep schools open by being safe with their families, wearing masks and taking measures to stay well, keeping kids hime when sick and taking the step to get them tested to make sure they are not asymptomatic. Schools cannot do that too. Do you really think your child will do great things in a chaotic environment like that describes above? But, let's keep them open and dysfunctional so that you and others that have no ethics or morals can get what you want.

I agree with you that in person but chaotic is not great, but disagree that the burden is totally on families - school system should have purchased and sent home rapid tests over Xmas (Boston just did this) and have more rapid tests available for pick up by families any time, plus they should test every child on entry back to school. If the school system organized saliva based pool testing by classroom daily, school would be a lot safer place.

Same with mask distribution - schools should be providing n-95s weekly to every student and sending more home for families.

It’s our own short-sightedness and scrooge mentality that prevents us from organizing society to pay for these things because of people’s preconceptions about what is capitalism and what is communism.

Cases are too high for pooled testing to work. There would be far too many positive tests, so they’d need many of the pools through individual PCRs to figure out which student needs to be sent home.

Rapid antigen testing has always been the real answer. Implement test-to-stay in classrooms with cases, including with vaccinated students. Stop using PCRs.

I could not agree with this more. The focus has got to shift to keeping as many kids in school as possible, rather than arbitrarily quarantining “close contacts” which vary from school to school. It’s a public policy issue at this point. It’s more important to keep kids, particularly those whose needs can’t be me virtually, in school. There are vaccines available to all school age kids and adults now. Either avail yourself of them or don’t.

Newsflash - large quarantines and school closures aren’t stemming the tide of covid at this point anyway. The greater risk is to the kids education and social emotional well-being by not being in school.

+100

Put 'em school. Go ahead. No problem if there aren't enough adults to drive the buses, serve lunch or teach. At least they are in school and their mental health will be stellar!! It's all about the building, not the people.

You're being deliberately obtuse. Of course it is about the people. That's why in-person is so critical. You can't have meaningful interactions between people- students, teachers, paraeducators, and therapists- with virtual classes.

You absolutely can have meaningful interactions with people virtually. Many students are still in virtual.

These don't have mental health issues due to covid. These kids had mental health issues long before covid and will have them long after. The mental health is just the talking point for parents who cannot handle being full time parents to their kids. They have them as something is off in their life and their parents need to get them help. Just sending them to in person school isn't the fix and the fix needs to come from the home/parents. School can be an escape, but again, these kids will never find true happiness with neglectful parents who refuse to be part of the solution.

One of the parents with “mental health talking points” is the Surgeon General. But what does he know? https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html. Suicidal ideation is up 51% in girls age 12 and black kids are 3 times as likely to die of suicide as white kids. But you enjoy your bubble!

You can stop with the tired, manipulative But Suicide card playing now. Suicides were down SIGNIFICANTLY nationally during 2020 — you know, the bulk of the time that kids were in virtual.

They were up for children you dimwit. Significant increase for teenagers.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1270463

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7024e1.htm?s_cid=mm7024e1_w

They are not up. It’s now more socially acceptable to talk about it. What are you doing to help your child with their mental? Did you fail your child so your fix is to preach to others?

Apparently your parents failed to teach you empathy in addition to relying heavily on in person public education they failed to teach you reading comprehension. If only they were good and thoughtful parents, they would have spent more time with you, hired tutors, and taught you how to click on links and understand the meaning of the written word. . If only virtual options were around when you were growing up. Your sociopathic self would be separated from society and hopefully not allowed to procreate and make more sociopathic children. Alas, there was no virtual school and you were unleashed on society.

Learn to read…ER visits for suicide attempts for girls are up 50% from 2019.


Summary
What is already known about this topic?

During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.

What is added by this report?

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that is adapted during times of infrastructure disruption, involves multisectoral partnerships and implements evidence-based strategies to address the range of factors influencing suicide risk.

Get your kid mental health treatment and you therapy to fix what is going on in your home. Schools educate. Thayer cannot fix all problems. What this means is a lot of kids home life sucks.

It always amazes me how many posters think that if someone points to the social-emotional health of children as a reason to keep schools open they are automatically talking about their own children. There are 160,000 kids in the school system. Many of whom cannot just “get therapy for what’s going on in their home” to fix the problem. When problem is food insecurity, housing insecurity, abuse, inability to access quality internet, having to care for younger siblings bc parents are at work, or IEPs that require in person supports going to $1000 per hour mental health provider isn’t going to happen nor is it going to help. Schools are often the safest and most secure place for children. It’s great some people have the option to keep their kids home and they will thrive, others don’t have that luxury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, MCPS is in he'll right now. You parents need to ask your kids specific details like what classroom they were in today. I am a Para at a school in Gaithersburg. We had up to 12 teachers out at one point, 5 classes quarantined, triage and nurse rooms were full, kids throwing up or really sick everywhere at school, most without proper masks, a lot of classes were combined with other classes because there were no teacher or sub that day. Two quarantined classes got quarantined because of combining classes and covid cases popped up. The teachers are mainly out with sick or quarantined kids. They have kids too. Tensions are VERY high in schools. Everyone is on edge and burnt out. Behavior from kids is appalling: fights, getting cursed out, kids running out of schools and threats. Some kids have tantrums and scream for hours on end with staff standing in a circle to contain them. They are not Kinder or 1st either. Parents have absolutely no idea what goes on in these schools. The W schools are not too much better either. Virtual might be better.

No. Full stop.

So you think the chaos the poster described above is better for our kids? It will only get worse. The root of the problem is parents not taking any responsibility for trying to keep schools open by being safe with their families, wearing masks and taking measures to stay well, keeping kids hime when sick and taking the step to get them tested to make sure they are not asymptomatic. Schools cannot do that too. Do you really think your child will do great things in a chaotic environment like that describes above? But, let's keep them open and dysfunctional so that you and others that have no ethics or morals can get what you want.

I agree with you that in person but chaotic is not great, but disagree that the burden is totally on families - school system should have purchased and sent home rapid tests over Xmas (Boston just did this) and have more rapid tests available for pick up by families any time, plus they should test every child on entry back to school. If the school system organized saliva based pool testing by classroom daily, school would be a lot safer place.

Same with mask distribution - schools should be providing n-95s weekly to every student and sending more home for families.

It’s our own short-sightedness and scrooge mentality that prevents us from organizing society to pay for these things because of people’s preconceptions about what is capitalism and what is communism.

Cases are too high for pooled testing to work. There would be far too many positive tests, so they’d need many of the pools through individual PCRs to figure out which student needs to be sent home.

Rapid antigen testing has always been the real answer. Implement test-to-stay in classrooms with cases, including with vaccinated students. Stop using PCRs.

I could not agree with this more. The focus has got to shift to keeping as many kids in school as possible, rather than arbitrarily quarantining “close contacts” which vary from school to school. It’s a public policy issue at this point. It’s more important to keep kids, particularly those whose needs can’t be me virtually, in school. There are vaccines available to all school age kids and adults now. Either avail yourself of them or don’t.

Newsflash - large quarantines and school closures aren’t stemming the tide of covid at this point anyway. The greater risk is to the kids education and social emotional well-being by not being in school.

+100

Put 'em school. Go ahead. No problem if there aren't enough adults to drive the buses, serve lunch or teach. At least they are in school and their mental health will be stellar!! It's all about the building, not the people.

You're being deliberately obtuse. Of course it is about the people. That's why in-person is so critical. You can't have meaningful interactions between people- students, teachers, paraeducators, and therapists- with virtual classes.

You absolutely can have meaningful interactions with people virtually. Many students are still in virtual.

These don't have mental health issues due to covid. These kids had mental health issues long before covid and will have them long after. The mental health is just the talking point for parents who cannot handle being full time parents to their kids. They have them as something is off in their life and their parents need to get them help. Just sending them to in person school isn't the fix and the fix needs to come from the home/parents. School can be an escape, but again, these kids will never find true happiness with neglectful parents who refuse to be part of the solution.

One of the parents with “mental health talking points” is the Surgeon General. But what does he know? https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html. Suicidal ideation is up 51% in girls age 12 and black kids are 3 times as likely to die of suicide as white kids. But you enjoy your bubble!

You can stop with the tired, manipulative But Suicide card playing now. Suicides were down SIGNIFICANTLY nationally during 2020 — you know, the bulk of the time that kids were in virtual.

They were up for children you dimwit. Significant increase for teenagers.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1270463

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7024e1.htm?s_cid=mm7024e1_w

They are not up. It’s now more socially acceptable to talk about it. What are you doing to help your child with their mental? Did you fail your child so your fix is to preach to others?

Apparently your parents failed to teach you empathy in addition to relying heavily on in person public education they failed to teach you reading comprehension. If only they were good and thoughtful parents, they would have spent more time with you, hired tutors, and taught you how to click on links and understand the meaning of the written word. . If only virtual options were around when you were growing up. Your sociopathic self would be separated from society and hopefully not allowed to procreate and make more sociopathic children. Alas, there was no virtual school and you were unleashed on society.

Learn to read…ER visits for suicide attempts for girls are up 50% from 2019.


Summary
What is already known about this topic?

During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.

What is added by this report?

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that is adapted during times of infrastructure disruption, involves multisectoral partnerships and implements evidence-based strategies to address the range of factors influencing suicide risk.

Get your kid mental health treatment and you therapy to fix what is going on in your home. Schools educate. Thayer cannot fix all problems. What this means is a lot of kids home life sucks.

It always amazes me how many posters think that if someone points to the social-emotional health of children as a reason to keep schools open they are automatically talking about their own children. There are 160,000 kids in the school system. Many of whom cannot just “get therapy for what’s going on in their home” to fix the problem. When problem is food insecurity, housing insecurity, abuse, inability to access quality internet, having to care for younger siblings bc parents are at work, or IEPs that require in person supports going to $1000 per hour mental health provider isn’t going to happen nor is it going to help. Schools are often the safest and most secure place for children. It’s great some people have the option to keep their kids home and they will thrive, others don’t have that luxury.

So, you cannot handle your kids so you have to victimize low income families. Speaks volumes. Step up and take care of your kids.

Lots of free food options, WIC and Food Stamps right now. MCPS also offers food pick up during virtual.

There are rental assistance, utility assistance and many other programs for the low income.

The rec department has low cost camps. The county has low income and working parent child care. MCPS offered equity hubs.

For low income families who have medicaid, they get free mental health care. They also get free ST, OT, PT and ABA.

MCPS offered free hot spots for internet. Comcast and Verizon have low income programs for internet.

MCPS provided computers to any families who wanted them. And, free replacements when they are broken.

Abuse all happen regardless and there is also the risks of abuse in person as well from staff, coaches, and even other students. Many kids are bullied in person school.

And, reality is many kids don't get what they need in school because one teacher/school cannot be everything to all people.

So, instead, we need the county to hire more social workers to intrude on people's lives and do regular home visits to all families given the instability you describe. What you are saying is we need to have more parenting supports, which is not an MCPS issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, MCPS is in he'll right now. You parents need to ask your kids specific details like what classroom they were in today. I am a Para at a school in Gaithersburg. We had up to 12 teachers out at one point, 5 classes quarantined, triage and nurse rooms were full, kids throwing up or really sick everywhere at school, most without proper masks, a lot of classes were combined with other classes because there were no teacher or sub that day. Two quarantined classes got quarantined because of combining classes and covid cases popped up. The teachers are mainly out with sick or quarantined kids. They have kids too. Tensions are VERY high in schools. Everyone is on edge and burnt out. Behavior from kids is appalling: fights, getting cursed out, kids running out of schools and threats. Some kids have tantrums and scream for hours on end with staff standing in a circle to contain them. They are not Kinder or 1st either. Parents have absolutely no idea what goes on in these schools. The W schools are not too much better either. Virtual might be better.

No. Full stop.

So you think the chaos the poster described above is better for our kids? It will only get worse. The root of the problem is parents not taking any responsibility for trying to keep schools open by being safe with their families, wearing masks and taking measures to stay well, keeping kids hime when sick and taking the step to get them tested to make sure they are not asymptomatic. Schools cannot do that too. Do you really think your child will do great things in a chaotic environment like that describes above? But, let's keep them open and dysfunctional so that you and others that have no ethics or morals can get what you want.

I agree with you that in person but chaotic is not great, but disagree that the burden is totally on families - school system should have purchased and sent home rapid tests over Xmas (Boston just did this) and have more rapid tests available for pick up by families any time, plus they should test every child on entry back to school. If the school system organized saliva based pool testing by classroom daily, school would be a lot safer place.

Same with mask distribution - schools should be providing n-95s weekly to every student and sending more home for families.

It’s our own short-sightedness and scrooge mentality that prevents us from organizing society to pay for these things because of people’s preconceptions about what is capitalism and what is communism.

Cases are too high for pooled testing to work. There would be far too many positive tests, so they’d need many of the pools through individual PCRs to figure out which student needs to be sent home.

Rapid antigen testing has always been the real answer. Implement test-to-stay in classrooms with cases, including with vaccinated students. Stop using PCRs.

I could not agree with this more. The focus has got to shift to keeping as many kids in school as possible, rather than arbitrarily quarantining “close contacts” which vary from school to school. It’s a public policy issue at this point. It’s more important to keep kids, particularly those whose needs can’t be me virtually, in school. There are vaccines available to all school age kids and adults now. Either avail yourself of them or don’t.

Newsflash - large quarantines and school closures aren’t stemming the tide of covid at this point anyway. The greater risk is to the kids education and social emotional well-being by not being in school.

+100

Put 'em school. Go ahead. No problem if there aren't enough adults to drive the buses, serve lunch or teach. At least they are in school and their mental health will be stellar!! It's all about the building, not the people.

You're being deliberately obtuse. Of course it is about the people. That's why in-person is so critical. You can't have meaningful interactions between people- students, teachers, paraeducators, and therapists- with virtual classes.

You absolutely can have meaningful interactions with people virtually. Many students are still in virtual.

These don't have mental health issues due to covid. These kids had mental health issues long before covid and will have them long after. The mental health is just the talking point for parents who cannot handle being full time parents to their kids. They have them as something is off in their life and their parents need to get them help. Just sending them to in person school isn't the fix and the fix needs to come from the home/parents. School can be an escape, but again, these kids will never find true happiness with neglectful parents who refuse to be part of the solution.

One of the parents with “mental health talking points” is the Surgeon General. But what does he know? https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html. Suicidal ideation is up 51% in girls age 12 and black kids are 3 times as likely to die of suicide as white kids. But you enjoy your bubble!

You can stop with the tired, manipulative But Suicide card playing now. Suicides were down SIGNIFICANTLY nationally during 2020 — you know, the bulk of the time that kids were in virtual.

They were up for children you dimwit. Significant increase for teenagers.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1270463

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7024e1.htm?s_cid=mm7024e1_w

They are not up. It’s now more socially acceptable to talk about it. What are you doing to help your child with their mental? Did you fail your child so your fix is to preach to others?

Apparently your parents failed to teach you empathy in addition to relying heavily on in person public education they failed to teach you reading comprehension. If only they were good and thoughtful parents, they would have spent more time with you, hired tutors, and taught you how to click on links and understand the meaning of the written word. . If only virtual options were around when you were growing up. Your sociopathic self would be separated from society and hopefully not allowed to procreate and make more sociopathic children. Alas, there was no virtual school and you were unleashed on society.

Learn to read…ER visits for suicide attempts for girls are up 50% from 2019.


Summary
What is already known about this topic?

During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.

What is added by this report?

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that is adapted during times of infrastructure disruption, involves multisectoral partnerships and implements evidence-based strategies to address the range of factors influencing suicide risk.

Sweden actually did a study on this:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.12.21267684v1

Interpretation Closing upper-secondary schools in Sweden reduced use of mental healthcare services. There is no indication of this being due to reduced accessibility. In a setting with no strict lockdown, moving to online teaching for a limited period did not worsen mental health among students in upper-secondary schools.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/202107/suicide-in-the-pandemic-prediction-didnt-come-true

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/93120

If kids are suicidal, they need ot be hospitalized. This isn't something MCPS can do. Parents need to take the kids to the Crisis Center, get the mobile crisis team to come to their home or bring them to the ER for evaluation, preferably at a hospital with a children's psych ward or you risk them being put on the adult ward.

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/Program.aspx?id=BHCS/BHCS24hrcrisiscenter-p204.html

"The Crisis Center provides free crisis services 24 hours a day/ 365 days a year. Services are provided by telephone [phone]) or in person at 1301 Piccard Drive in Rockville (no appointment needed). Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) provides emergency crisis evaluations for individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Full crisis assessments and treatment referrals are provided for all crises, both psychiatric and situational. In addition, the program has four crisis beds as an alternative to hospitalization for those who are uninsured or are insured within the public mental health system.

Service(s): In Person Crisis Intervention
Crisis Intervention Hotlines/Helplines
Target Population:
Information Number: 240-777-4000"

Mental health is provided by the county, not school system. If you are waiting for MCPS to provide your child with mental health services, you are failing your child as that is not their responsibility nor speciality.

[Anonymous]

New article - suicide rates declined in 2020.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/suicide-rates-declined-2020-not-groups-cdc-report-shows-rcna4363

[Anonymous]

Suicide has always been an issue. It's sad a poster or few posters use it at a talking point during a health pandemic without acknowledging how many adults/parents of MCPS children we have lost in the pandemic. Rates of suicide have been rising steadily, had a slight decline in 2019.

So, expecting MCPS to solve all the world's problems in not realistic. Their primary goal is to educate.

https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html

[Anonymous]

Another article about numbers dropping:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/health/coronavirus-suicide-cdc.html

Covid seems a bit more serious

"While nearly 350,000 Americans died from Covid-19, the number of suicides dropped by 5 percent, to 44,834 deaths in 2020 from 47,511 in 2019. It is the second year in a row that the number has fallen, after cresting in 2018."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New article - suicide rates declined in 2020.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/suicide-rates-declined-2020-not-groups-cdc-report-shows-rcna4363

Don’t let Reesman see this. It’ll ruin her entire narrative. Seriously though, I know how all the PHD’s in this county love to throw their title around like it Means Something, I’m an actual MD and most of us think the people in the ridiculous parent group are speaking for parents and doctors alike, are unhinged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New article - suicide rates declined in 2020.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/suicide-rates-declined-2020-not-groups-cdc-report-shows-rcna4363

Don’t let Reesman see this. It’ll ruin her entire narrative. Seriously though, I know how all the PHD’s in this county love to throw their title around like it Means Something, I’m an actual MD and most of us think the people in the ridiculous parent group are speaking for parents and doctors alike, are unhinged.

Who is that person and what are they saying? Maybe if they spent more time helping their kids and less time using them as talking points, their kids would be happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, MCPS is in he'll right now. You parents need to ask your kids specific details like what classroom they were in today. I am a Para at a school in Gaithersburg. We had up to 12 teachers out at one point, 5 classes quarantined, triage and nurse rooms were full, kids throwing up or really sick everywhere at school, most without proper masks, a lot of classes were combined with other classes because there were no teacher or sub that day. Two quarantined classes got quarantined because of combining classes and covid cases popped up. The teachers are mainly out with sick or quarantined kids. They have kids too. Tensions are VERY high in schools. Everyone is on edge and burnt out. Behavior from kids is appalling: fights, getting cursed out, kids running out of schools and threats. Some kids have tantrums and scream for hours on end with staff standing in a circle to contain them. They are not Kinder or 1st either. Parents have absolutely no idea what goes on in these schools. The W schools are not too much better either. Virtual might be better.

No. Full stop.

So you think the chaos the poster described above is better for our kids? It will only get worse. The root of the problem is parents not taking any responsibility for trying to keep schools open by being safe with their families, wearing masks and taking measures to stay well, keeping kids hime when sick and taking the step to get them tested to make sure they are not asymptomatic. Schools cannot do that too. Do you really think your child will do great things in a chaotic environment like that describes above? But, let's keep them open and dysfunctional so that you and others that have no ethics or morals can get what you want.

I agree with you that in person but chaotic is not great, but disagree that the burden is totally on families - school system should have purchased and sent home rapid tests over Xmas (Boston just did this) and have more rapid tests available for pick up by families any time, plus they should test every child on entry back to school. If the school system organized saliva based pool testing by classroom daily, school would be a lot safer place.

Same with mask distribution - schools should be providing n-95s weekly to every student and sending more home for families.

It’s our own short-sightedness and scrooge mentality that prevents us from organizing society to pay for these things because of people’s preconceptions about what is capitalism and what is communism.

Cases are too high for pooled testing to work. There would be far too many positive tests, so they’d need many of the pools through individual PCRs to figure out which student needs to be sent home.

Rapid antigen testing has always been the real answer. Implement test-to-stay in classrooms with cases, including with vaccinated students. Stop using PCRs.

I could not agree with this more. The focus has got to shift to keeping as many kids in school as possible, rather than arbitrarily quarantining “close contacts” which vary from school to school. It’s a public policy issue at this point. It’s more important to keep kids, particularly those whose needs can’t be me virtually, in school. There are vaccines available to all school age kids and adults now. Either avail yourself of them or don’t.

Newsflash - large quarantines and school closures aren’t stemming the tide of covid at this point anyway. The greater risk is to the kids education and social emotional well-being by not being in school.

+100

Put 'em school. Go ahead. No problem if there aren't enough adults to drive the buses, serve lunch or teach. At least they are in school and their mental health will be stellar!! It's all about the building, not the people.

You're being deliberately obtuse. Of course it is about the people. That's why in-person is so critical. You can't have meaningful interactions between people- students, teachers, paraeducators, and therapists- with virtual classes.

You absolutely can have meaningful interactions with people virtually. Many students are still in virtual.

These don't have mental health issues due to covid. These kids had mental health issues long before covid and will have them long after. The mental health is just the talking point for parents who cannot handle being full time parents to their kids. They have them as something is off in their life and their parents need to get them help. Just sending them to in person school isn't the fix and the fix needs to come from the home/parents. School can be an escape, but again, these kids will never find true happiness with neglectful parents who refuse to be part of the solution.

One of the parents with “mental health talking points” is the Surgeon General. But what does he know? https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html. Suicidal ideation is up 51% in girls age 12 and black kids are 3 times as likely to die of suicide as white kids. But you enjoy your bubble!

You can stop with the tired, manipulative But Suicide card playing now. Suicides were down SIGNIFICANTLY nationally during 2020 — you know, the bulk of the time that kids were in virtual.

They were up for children you dimwit. Significant increase for teenagers.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1270463

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7024e1.htm?s_cid=mm7024e1_w

They are not up. It’s now more socially acceptable to talk about it. What are you doing to help your child with their mental? Did you fail your child so your fix is to preach to others?

Apparently your parents failed to teach you empathy in addition to relying heavily on in person public education they failed to teach you reading comprehension. If only they were good and thoughtful parents, they would have spent more time with you, hired tutors, and taught you how to click on links and understand the meaning of the written word. . If only virtual options were around when you were growing up. Your sociopathic self would be separated from society and hopefully not allowed to procreate and make more sociopathic children. Alas, there was no virtual school and you were unleashed on society.

Learn to read…ER visits for suicide attempts for girls are up 50% from 2019.


Summary
What is already known about this topic?

During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.

What is added by this report?

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that is adapted during times of infrastructure disruption, involves multisectoral partnerships and implements evidence-based strategies to address the range of factors influencing suicide risk.

Get your kid mental health treatment and you therapy to fix what is going on in your home. Schools educate. Thayer cannot fix all problems. What this means is a lot of kids home life sucks.

It always amazes me how many posters think that if someone points to the social-emotional health of children as a reason to keep schools open they are automatically talking about their own children. There are 160,000 kids in the school system. Many of whom cannot just “get therapy for what’s going on in their home” to fix the problem. When problem is food insecurity, housing insecurity, abuse, inability to access quality internet, having to care for younger siblings bc parents are at work, or IEPs that require in person supports going to $1000 per hour mental health provider isn’t going to happen nor is it going to help. Schools are often the safest and most secure place for children. It’s great some people have the option to keep their kids home and they will thrive, others don’t have that luxury.

So, you cannot handle your kids so you have to victimize low income families. Speaks volumes. Step up and take care of your kids.

Lots of free food options, WIC and Food Stamps right now. MCPS also offers food pick up during virtual.

There are rental assistance, utility assistance and many other programs for the low income.

The rec department has low cost camps. The county has low income and working parent child care. MCPS offered equity hubs.

For low income families who have medicaid, they get free mental health care. They also get free ST, OT, PT and ABA.

MCPS offered free hot spots for internet. Comcast and Verizon have low income programs for internet.

MCPS provided computers to any families who wanted them. And, free replacements when they are broken.

Abuse all happen regardless and there is also the risks of abuse in person as well from staff, coaches, and even other students. Many kids are bullied in person school.

And, reality is many kids don't get what they need in school because one teacher/school cannot be everything to all people.

So, instead, we need the county to hire more social workers to intrude on people's lives and do regular home visits to all families given the instability you describe. What you are saying is we need to have more parenting supports, which is not an MCPS issue.

1. Don’t worry , my kids are fine, well-adjusted straight A students with plenty of friends they could ride their bikes to see for lunch/recess during the pandemic bc they live in a neighborhood that is conducive to that. They were able to participate in outdoor socially distanced sports bc we could afford it and they had 2 parents working from home who could get them to activities. Again, I’m not talking about my kids, nor are many of the other posters.

2. Kids don’t access WIC or SNAP without their parents doing so and often times it’s not enough anyway or folks don’t have easy access to stores. It’s tough to pick up food daily at the various mcps sites if you cannot get there during the time window daily. Getting breakfast, lunch and being provided a take home dinner at school gives kids with consistent access to food. Hunger is a huge impediment to learning.

3. Accessing rental assistance, in particular, isn’t easy nor is it readily available to everyone. It also is not enough for everyone who needs it. People are being evicted for failure to pay rent and legislation to provide renters with additional protections failed in the General Assembly this year.

4. There were not nearly enough equity hubs or the equivalent available. Much of which was caused by impediments caused by the State.

5. Yes, there are low cost/free programs for internet but that requires parents knowing about it and ability to access it which many families especially those who have parents who are immigrants and don’t speak English. We have excellent service, but we still had to troubleshoot for our kids a couple times a week which we knew how to do fortunately.

6. If equipment didn’t work it required going to Rockville and standing on line during the work day to get a new computer or attempt to fix the old one. Again, not a luxury many people have. I went once it took 2 hours out of my day and I live reasonably close and have a car.

7. Most abuse happens in the home, school staff and teachers are mandatory reporters, teachers spend such a significant amount of time with children they often recognize things others cannot. Many kids are safer at school.

8. There is a reason that school funding makes up the largest portion of the County’s budget. Schools do not just educate, they are a cornerstone of society. For that reason, they must stay open.

It speaks volumes that you are so dismissive of these issues and think they are such simple fixes to everything.

[Anonymous]

Less testing, less reporting. Don’t use the ridiculous mcps form to voluntarily raise covid case counts at your school above the 5% threshold over winter break. Just don’t play their game. Enough is enough.

Schools are essential. Not a want. A need.

No other entity is threatening closure over cases like this. Malls and restaurants and everything else that is non-essential will be open. Schools must remain open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, MCPS is in he'll right now. You parents need to ask your kids specific details like what classroom they were in today. I am a Para at a school in Gaithersburg. We had up to 12 teachers out at one point, 5 classes quarantined, triage and nurse rooms were full, kids throwing up or really sick everywhere at school, most without proper masks, a lot of classes were combined with other classes because there were no teacher or sub that day. Two quarantined classes got quarantined because of combining classes and covid cases popped up. The teachers are mainly out with sick or quarantined kids. They have kids too. Tensions are VERY high in schools. Everyone is on edge and burnt out. Behavior from kids is appalling: fights, getting cursed out, kids running out of schools and threats. Some kids have tantrums and scream for hours on end with staff standing in a circle to contain them. They are not Kinder or 1st either. Parents have absolutely no idea what goes on in these schools. The W schools are not too much better either. Virtual might be better.

No. Full stop.

So you think the chaos the poster described above is better for our kids? It will only get worse. The root of the problem is parents not taking any responsibility for trying to keep schools open by being safe with their families, wearing masks and taking measures to stay well, keeping kids hime when sick and taking the step to get them tested to make sure they are not asymptomatic. Schools cannot do that too. Do you really think your child will do great things in a chaotic environment like that describes above? But, let's keep them open and dysfunctional so that you and others that have no ethics or morals can get what you want.

I agree with you that in person but chaotic is not great, but disagree that the burden is totally on families - school system should have purchased and sent home rapid tests over Xmas (Boston just did this) and have more rapid tests available for pick up by families any time, plus they should test every child on entry back to school. If the school system organized saliva based pool testing by classroom daily, school would be a lot safer place.

Same with mask distribution - schools should be providing n-95s weekly to every student and sending more home for families.

It’s our own short-sightedness and scrooge mentality that prevents us from organizing society to pay for these things because of people’s preconceptions about what is capitalism and what is communism.

Cases are too high for pooled testing to work. There would be far too many positive tests, so they’d need many of the pools through individual PCRs to figure out which student needs to be sent home.

Rapid antigen testing has always been the real answer. Implement test-to-stay in classrooms with cases, including with vaccinated students. Stop using PCRs.

I could not agree with this more. The focus has got to shift to keeping as many kids in school as possible, rather than arbitrarily quarantining “close contacts” which vary from school to school. It’s a public policy issue at this point. It’s more important to keep kids, particularly those whose needs can’t be me virtually, in school. There are vaccines available to all school age kids and adults now. Either avail yourself of them or don’t.

Newsflash - large quarantines and school closures aren’t stemming the tide of covid at this point anyway. The greater risk is to the kids education and social emotional well-being by not being in school.

+100

Put 'em school. Go ahead. No problem if there aren't enough adults to drive the buses, serve lunch or teach. At least they are in school and their mental health will be stellar!! It's all about the building, not the people.

You're being deliberately obtuse. Of course it is about the people. That's why in-person is so critical. You can't have meaningful interactions between people- students, teachers, paraeducators, and therapists- with virtual classes.

You absolutely can have meaningful interactions with people virtually. Many students are still in virtual.

These don't have mental health issues due to covid. These kids had mental health issues long before covid and will have them long after. The mental health is just the talking point for parents who cannot handle being full time parents to their kids. They have them as something is off in their life and their parents need to get them help. Just sending them to in person school isn't the fix and the fix needs to come from the home/parents. School can be an escape, but again, these kids will never find true happiness with neglectful parents who refuse to be part of the solution.

One of the parents with “mental health talking points” is the Surgeon General. But what does he know? https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html. Suicidal ideation is up 51% in girls age 12 and black kids are 3 times as likely to die of suicide as white kids. But you enjoy your bubble!

You can stop with the tired, manipulative But Suicide card playing now. Suicides were down SIGNIFICANTLY nationally during 2020 — you know, the bulk of the time that kids were in virtual.

They were up for children you dimwit. Significant increase for teenagers.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1270463

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7024e1.htm?s_cid=mm7024e1_w

They are not up. It’s now more socially acceptable to talk about it. What are you doing to help your child with their mental? Did you fail your child so your fix is to preach to others?

Apparently your parents failed to teach you empathy in addition to relying heavily on in person public education they failed to teach you reading comprehension. If only they were good and thoughtful parents, they would have spent more time with you, hired tutors, and taught you how to click on links and understand the meaning of the written word. . If only virtual options were around when you were growing up. Your sociopathic self would be separated from society and hopefully not allowed to procreate and make more sociopathic children. Alas, there was no virtual school and you were unleashed on society.

Learn to read…ER visits for suicide attempts for girls are up 50% from 2019.


Summary
What is already known about this topic?

During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.

What is added by this report?

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that is adapted during times of infrastructure disruption, involves multisectoral partnerships and implements evidence-based strategies to address the range of factors influencing suicide risk.

Get your kid mental health treatment and you therapy to fix what is going on in your home. Schools educate. Thayer cannot fix all problems. What this means is a lot of kids home life sucks.

It always amazes me how many posters think that if someone points to the social-emotional health of children as a reason to keep schools open they are automatically talking about their own children. There are 160,000 kids in the school system. Many of whom cannot just “get therapy for what’s going on in their home” to fix the problem. When problem is food insecurity, housing insecurity, abuse, inability to access quality internet, having to care for younger siblings bc parents are at work, or IEPs that require in person supports going to $1000 per hour mental health provider isn’t going to happen nor is it going to help. Schools are often the safest and most secure place for children. It’s great some people have the option to keep their kids home and they will thrive, others don’t have that luxury.

So, you cannot handle your kids so you have to victimize low income families. Speaks volumes. Step up and take care of your kids.

Lots of free food options, WIC and Food Stamps right now. MCPS also offers food pick up during virtual.

There are rental assistance, utility assistance and many other programs for the low income.

The rec department has low cost camps. The county has low income and working parent child care. MCPS offered equity hubs.

For low income families who have medicaid, they get free mental health care. They also get free ST, OT, PT and ABA.

MCPS offered free hot spots for internet. Comcast and Verizon have low income programs for internet.

MCPS provided computers to any families who wanted them. And, free replacements when they are broken.

Abuse all happen regardless and there is also the risks of abuse in person as well from staff, coaches, and even other students. Many kids are bullied in person school.

And, reality is many kids don't get what they need in school because one teacher/school cannot be everything to all people.

So, instead, we need the county to hire more social workers to intrude on people's lives and do regular home visits to all families given the instability you describe. What you are saying is we need to have more parenting supports, which is not an MCPS issue.

Terribly weak reply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Less testing, less reporting. Don’t use the ridiculous mcps form to voluntarily raise covid case counts at your school above the 5% threshold over winter break. Just don’t play their game. Enough is enough.

Schools are essential. Not a want. A need.

No other entity is threatening closure over cases like this. Malls and restaurants and everything else that is non-essential will be open. Schools must remain open.

It's people like you that are making the problem worse.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/12/23/md-hospitals-surpass-1500-covid-19-hospitalizations-triggering-changes/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Less testing, less reporting. Don’t use the ridiculous mcps form to voluntarily raise covid case counts at your school above the 5% threshold over winter break. Just don’t play their game. Enough is enough.

Schools are essential. Not a want. A need.

No other entity is threatening closure over cases like this. Malls and restaurants and everything else that is non-essential will be open. Schools must remain open.

It's people like you that are making the problem worse.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/12/23/md-hospitals-surpass-1500-covid-19-hospitalizations-triggering-changes/

You can't argue with extremely selfish people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Less testing, less reporting. Don’t use the ridiculous mcps form to voluntarily raise covid case counts at your school above the 5% threshold over winter break. Just don’t play their game. Enough is enough.

Schools are essential. Not a want. A need.

No other entity is threatening closure over cases like this. Malls and restaurants and everything else that is non-essential will be open. Schools must remain open.

It's people like you that are making the problem worse.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/12/23/md-hospitals-surpass-1500-covid-19-hospitalizations-triggering-changes/

Maryland hospitals will now cut back on non-COVID-19 procedures to free up beds and workers to handle the growing number of COVID-19 hospitalizations the state is seeing.

The state on Thursday surpassed a threshold of 1,500 coronavirus-related hospitalizations statewide, triggering policy changes at Maryland hospitals, as ordered by the Department of Health.

As of Thursday morning, there are now 1,505 COVID-related hospitalizations, with 40 new patients overnight.

A state dashboard of COVID-19 cases for the state shows an additional 6,869 cases in the past 24 hours. The previous highest number was 6,218.

Why are we seeing more COVID hospitalization? Omicron is *mild* in vaccinated people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No other entity is threatening closure over cases like this. Malls and restaurants and everything else that is non-essential will be open. Schools must remain open.

I agree with this. If we want COVID to stop spreading, we need to bring back restrictions on indoor dining and churches and bars and other high risk situations, before looking to move schools virtual.