APS: back to normal in the fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on Duran's announcement this afternoon, it sounds like he has ZERO plans to even try to get the kids back FT this school year. My faith in doing this right in the fall is diminishing. He's not on the side of the students.. wish I could send my kids to private

I think it's a reasonable plan. Focus on 5 days for fall. If they went to 4-5 days in-person now they'd have to reshuffle everything (transportation and maybe even class assignments) AGAIN. We've had enough moving around for one year.

I'm curious what they he will announce on Friday about summer school.

Totally agree

I don't think its OK for Duran and the SB to just throw in the towel on 5 days in-person now. Sorry, but the lazy approach for the past year, (especially NO teaching last March-June) needs to be made up and it should happen now. According to his message, even if the CDC announces reduced social distancing, he plans on hybrid until the fall. Our kids have suffered for an entire year and the SB and Duran should do their jobs to get them back FT, sorry if it's an inconvenience.

I agree. There should be an evolution in the direction of all kids back, as much as possible, this year.

It’s almost the end of the third quarter. Realistic people understand that this year is a wash. I don’t want them spending any more time messing around with this year’s logistics. They should focus on getting next year in good shape - not 100% normal, but much closer than now. Parents complaining about “five days now” are tying up the resources to do the planning by making calculations on how to keep reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. The kids may not be flourishing now, but they will survive.

Thank you! Comforting to know that some reasonable and realistic people still live in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

I am very excited about all the families leaving for Catholic school. Go complain there.

APS teachers, YOU ROCK!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on Duran's announcement this afternoon, it sounds like he has ZERO plans to even try to get the kids back FT this school year. My faith in doing this right in the fall is diminishing. He's not on the side of the students.. wish I could send my kids to private

I think it's a reasonable plan. Focus on 5 days for fall. If they went to 4-5 days in-person now they'd have to reshuffle everything (transportation and maybe even class assignments) AGAIN. We've had enough moving around for one year.

I'm curious what they he will announce on Friday about summer school.

Totally agree

I don't think its OK for Duran and the SB to just throw in the towel on 5 days in-person now. Sorry, but the lazy approach for the past year, (especially NO teaching last March-June) needs to be made up and it should happen now. According to his message, even if the CDC announces reduced social distancing, he plans on hybrid until the fall. Our kids have suffered for an entire year and the SB and Duran should do their jobs to get them back FT, sorry if it's an inconvenience.

I agree. There should be an evolution in the direction of all kids back, as much as possible, this year.

It’s almost the end of the third quarter. Realistic people understand that this year is a wash. I don’t want them spending any more time messing around with this year’s logistics. They should focus on getting next year in good shape - not 100% normal, but much closer than now. Parents complaining about “five days now” are tying up the resources to do the planning by making calculations on how to keep reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. The kids may not be flourishing now, but they will survive.

There’s a lot of area between just surviving and five days now at any cost. “Realistic” people can want improvement within that area, and don’t have to agree that this year is a total wash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on Duran's announcement this afternoon, it sounds like he has ZERO plans to even try to get the kids back FT this school year. My faith in doing this right in the fall is diminishing. He's not on the side of the students.. wish I could send my kids to private

I think it's a reasonable plan. Focus on 5 days for fall. If they went to 4-5 days in-person now they'd have to reshuffle everything (transportation and maybe even class assignments) AGAIN. We've had enough moving around for one year.

I'm curious what they he will announce on Friday about summer school.

Totally agree

I don't think its OK for Duran and the SB to just throw in the towel on 5 days in-person now. Sorry, but the lazy approach for the past year, (especially NO teaching last March-June) needs to be made up and it should happen now. According to his message, even if the CDC announces reduced social distancing, he plans on hybrid until the fall. Our kids have suffered for an entire year and the SB and Duran should do their jobs to get them back FT, sorry if it's an inconvenience.

I agree. There should be an evolution in the direction of all kids back, as much as possible, this year.

It’s almost the end of the third quarter. Realistic people understand that this year is a wash. I don’t want them spending any more time messing around with this year’s logistics. They should focus on getting next year in good shape - not 100% normal, but much closer than now. Parents complaining about “five days now” are tying up the resources to do the planning by making calculations on how to keep reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. The kids may not be flourishing now, but they will survive.

There’s a lot of area between just surviving and five days now at any cost. “Realistic” people can want improvement within that area, and don’t have to agree that this year is a total wash.

Must be nice on your planet. We are running out the clock on getting adults/parents and teens and tweens vaccinated so they can’t pass covid around. In the fall much of that should happen, as it’s likely that there will be some vaccine for 12+, so most of the most expensive and costly remediations won’t be necessary. Assist your kids with resilience, help them with their homework, and stop trying to waste the resources that are needed to help all children function. I have a SN kid whose social skills are regressing badly, but I realize that the virus doesn’t care, and this year has been a mess that we all just have to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on Duran's announcement this afternoon, it sounds like he has ZERO plans to even try to get the kids back FT this school year. My faith in doing this right in the fall is diminishing. He's not on the side of the students.. wish I could send my kids to private

I think it's a reasonable plan. Focus on 5 days for fall. If they went to 4-5 days in-person now they'd have to reshuffle everything (transportation and maybe even class assignments) AGAIN. We've had enough moving around for one year.

I'm curious what they he will announce on Friday about summer school.

Totally agree

I don't think its OK for Duran and the SB to just throw in the towel on 5 days in-person now. Sorry, but the lazy approach for the past year, (especially NO teaching last March-June) needs to be made up and it should happen now. According to his message, even if the CDC announces reduced social distancing, he plans on hybrid until the fall. Our kids have suffered for an entire year and the SB and Duran should do their jobs to get them back FT, sorry if it's an inconvenience.

I agree. There should be an evolution in the direction of all kids back, as much as possible, this year.

It’s almost the end of the third quarter. Realistic people understand that this year is a wash. I don’t want them spending any more time messing around with this year’s logistics. They should focus on getting next year in good shape - not 100% normal, but much closer than now. Parents complaining about “five days now” are tying up the resources to do the planning by making calculations on how to keep reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. The kids may not be flourishing now, but they will survive.

There’s a lot of area between just surviving and five days now at any cost. “Realistic” people can want improvement within that area, and don’t have to agree that this year is a total wash.

Must be nice on your planet. We are running out the clock on getting adults/parents and teens and tweens vaccinated so they can’t pass covid around. In the fall much of that should happen, as it’s likely that there will be some vaccine for 12+, so most of the most expensive and costly remediations won’t be necessary. Assist your kids with resilience, help them with their homework, and stop trying to waste the resources that are needed to help all children function. I have a SN kid whose social skills are regressing badly, but I realize that the virus doesn’t care, and this year has been a mess that we all just have to deal with.

Agree 100%. Let's finish off the year mostly as is. Maybe bring in more K-2 if transportation can support it.

But otherwise focus on the fall and closing the learning gaps. Numbers will be down and we can get much closer to "normal".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on Duran's announcement this afternoon, it sounds like he has ZERO plans to even try to get the kids back FT this school year. My faith in doing this right in the fall is diminishing. He's not on the side of the students.. wish I could send my kids to private

I think it's a reasonable plan. Focus on 5 days for fall. If they went to 4-5 days in-person now they'd have to reshuffle everything (transportation and maybe even class assignments) AGAIN. We've had enough moving around for one year.

I'm curious what they he will announce on Friday about summer school.

Totally agree

I don't think its OK for Duran and the SB to just throw in the towel on 5 days in-person now. Sorry, but the lazy approach for the past year, (especially NO teaching last March-June) needs to be made up and it should happen now. According to his message, even if the CDC announces reduced social distancing, he plans on hybrid until the fall. Our kids have suffered for an entire year and the SB and Duran should do their jobs to get them back FT, sorry if it's an inconvenience.

I agree. There should be an evolution in the direction of all kids back, as much as possible, this year.

It’s almost the end of the third quarter. Realistic people understand that this year is a wash. I don’t want them spending any more time messing around with this year’s logistics. They should focus on getting next year in good shape - not 100% normal, but much closer than now. Parents complaining about “five days now” are tying up the resources to do the planning by making calculations on how to keep reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. The kids may not be flourishing now, but they will survive.

There’s a lot of area between just surviving and five days now at any cost. “Realistic” people can want improvement within that area, and don’t have to agree that this year is a total wash.

Must be nice on your planet. We are running out the clock on getting adults/parents and teens and tweens vaccinated so they can’t pass covid around. In the fall much of that should happen, as it’s likely that there will be some vaccine for 12+, so most of the most expensive and costly remediations won’t be necessary. Assist your kids with resilience, help them with their homework, and stop trying to waste the resources that are needed to help all children function. I have a SN kid whose social skills are regressing badly, but I realize that the virus doesn’t care, and this year has been a mess that we all just have to deal with.

Agree 100%. Let's finish off the year mostly as is. Maybe bring in more K-2 if transportation can support it.

But otherwise focus on the fall and closing the learning gaps. Numbers will be down and we can get much closer to "normal".

NO.. We need to make up for a lot of lossed learning and commit to 5 days in-person after spring break. Even a couple months of full-time, in-person learning will go a long way. APS needs to figure this out just like our neighbors.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

[Anonymous]

NO.. We need to make up for a lot of lossed learning and commit to 5 days in-person after spring break. Even a couple months of full-time, in-person learning will go a long way. APS needs to figure this out just like our neighbors.

I agree that more effort needs to be made for this year especially in light of districts like Loudoun working it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

yep. This, and this is exactly why I put my kids in private (not catholic) school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

To reassign kids to a new teacher for a month? And how would you get them to school.

I can see doing it for K-2, but not worth it for upper grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

To reassign kids to a new teacher for a month? And how would you get them to school.

I can see doing it for K-2, but not worth it for upper grades.

What magic thing is going to happen in September that allows us to do this? Drop the stupid 11 kid on a bus rule, go to 3 ft spacing, open the windows, and finish the year! Then let all the hybrid kids go 4-days a week. I would take that happily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

Totally agree. K-2 is not concurrent and should be much easier to bring back 5 days a week now, yes NOW! CDC is moving to 3 feet distance guideline tomorrow. Stop his bus nonsense, get kids off the hybrid waitlists and get these kids back school as much as we can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

Miranda Turner had a post about this today that I think is smart:

"APS will continue with the current hybrid model for the remainder of this school year, in accordance with current health and safety guidance."

So we're apparently throwing in the towel on trying for more in-person days for the last three months of the school year. On the merits, this decision is concerning. It will mean no additional days for hybrid students, even though the most direct way to address learning loss is to get kids back in classrooms, as much and as soon as possible. It will mean no days at all for students who are waitlisted for hybrid, because APS isn't going to make room for them. And it means we'll stay the course even as infection rates continue to improve and as guidance is updated.

As a matter of process, there are issues here too. There's no explanation for why, no oversight from our elected School Board, and definitely no vote.

We should be moving towards as many in-person days as possible, as soon as possible, instead of committing to not even try. But more importantly, we should have a School Board that provides real oversight and vets and approves major decisions, like this one to limit access to what is known to be the most effective form of instruction for most students: in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

To reassign kids to a new teacher for a month? And how would you get them to school.

I can see doing it for K-2, but not worth it for upper grades.

What magic thing is going to happen in September that allows us to do this? Drop the stupid 11 kid on a bus rule, go to 3 ft spacing, open the windows, and finish the year! Then let all the hybrid kids go 4-days a week. I would take that happily.

We are still in red - high transmission. By the fall, we should be down to yellow or even blue.

How many kids can fit on a bus? All 50?

Not all classrooms have windows (and we’d need to increase ventilation for more bodies).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe all of you willing to give up on the year as a "wash." That's insane. If we only ran 5-day a week school the last week in June that would STILL be worth it to me. Keep pushing. If school can be open safely, we owe it to our kids to open.

Totally agree. K-2 is not concurrent and should be much easier to bring back 5 days a week now, yes NOW! CDC is moving to 3 feet distance guideline tomorrow. Stop his bus nonsense, get kids off the hybrid waitlists and get these kids back school as much as we can.

It's not easier to do K-2 because of the model they use. Classes are split between 2 rooms. I know my son's upper elementary class shares a room with K. There isn't space.