MCPS Officially announces schools opening as planned

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It's sad when DCPS has a better plan than MCPS on returning to school. MCPS won't even have tests available for a couple of weeks and does not accurately report cases anyway. Why can DCPS require testing and vaccination, while MCPS is still asking nicely to test if you feel like it and vaccinate if you're willing? Que Sera, Sera.

+1 DCPS is requiring proof of a negative test. The at home test kits are being distributed on Monday. School resumes on Wednesday to give time for distribution and to record results.

MCPS needs another 2 weeks to get test kits from the Montgomery County Government. Even then, it’s the honor code for students to report positive results. Students don’t have to show negative results to stay in school.

And forget about random testing of students. MCPS can’t even test students who had close contact with COVID classmates.

It’s a sh$t show in MCPS. I hope they all enjoyed their vacations.

Yes. It’s lip service and it happens a lot with Covid. My office has had a vaccine mandate for ages, yet continues to appeal to staff to upload proof of vaccination. I uploaded my vaccination card to parentvue so that I could volunteer at my kids’ schools, but I sincerely doubt it was checked. I suspect that I could have volunteered either way. It’s an honor system.

You realize the DCPS model is an honor system model, too, don’t you? There’s nothing stopping parents from just opening the test kit, but neever actually swabbing a nose.

DCPS students have to have results uploaded by Wednesday. If results are not uploaded, they cannot enter the building and will be tested on-site.

I thought they said they weren’t going to do on-site testing. Did that change?

I have not seen where the on-site testing is canceled.

But where did you see that they were ever doing it? I just saw remarks that they intended turn students away if their parents didn’t at least fake the test.

Press conference with mayor. DCPS person said they will get a test kit on Wednesday if they did not upload results. I guess that doesn't necessarily mean on-site testing. Either way, they can't enter the building without proof of a negative test result.

Have you ever had a child in the DCPS system? We have been in both EOTP and WOTP schools, and there is no way that they have the capacity to actually follow through with this and figure out who has not uploaded a negative photo and then keep them from entering buildings. It is going to be a shitshow if they try, but more likely they won’t — they will just let everyone who shows up in.

[Anonymous]

I foresee significant staff challenges. People act like this is a philosophical or scientific question of whether to close schools, but it’s really not. If half your staff is sick or quarantining, you can’t have school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I foresee significant staff challenges. People act like this is a philosophical or scientific question of whether to close schools, but it’s really not. If half your staff is sick or quarantining, you can’t have school.

So close each school that doesn't have enough staff. They do it when the heating isn't working or there is a water main break. Not convenient or easy, but also not rocket science.

If they close schools "to stop the spread" you know MCEA will demand that all teachers get their fourth shot before coming back in person. We're not doing that sh&t again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I foresee significant staff challenges. People act like this is a philosophical or scientific question of whether to close schools, but it’s really not. If half your staff is sick or quarantining, you can’t have school.

So close each school that doesn't have enough staff. They do it when the heating isn't working or there is a water main break. Not convenient or easy, but also not rocket science.

If they close schools "to stop the spread" you know MCEA will demand that all teachers get their fourth shot before coming back in person. We're not doing that sh&t again.

This.

We don’t need to close down the entire school district again for over a year.

If a school is short-staffed, then the principal can make decisions to close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I foresee significant staff challenges. People act like this is a philosophical or scientific question of whether to close schools, but it’s really not. If half your staff is sick or quarantining, you can’t have school.

So close each school that doesn't have enough staff. They do it when the heating isn't working or there is a water main break. Not convenient or easy, but also not rocket science.

If they close schools "to stop the spread" you know MCEA will demand that all teachers get their fourth shot before coming back in person. We're not doing that sh&t again.

This.

We don’t need to close down the entire school district again for over a year.

If a school is short-staffed, then the principal can make decisions to close.

Then the teachers will rapidly get better, and we can re-open that school. No more proactively closing a district to wait for a world that's not coming back.

[Anonymous]

I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

it seems like the teachers should get their booster shot if they’re worried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

it seems like the teachers should get their booster shot if they’re worried.

All the staff I work with is boosted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

it seems like the teachers should get their booster shot if they’re worried.

All the staff I work with is boosted.

Then they should get their anxiety disorders treated if they’re still worried about covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

Don’t forget breakfast in the classroom. Students enter the classroom with their bag of food, unmask to eat and drink for about 15+ minutes every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

Don’t forget breakfast in the classroom. Students enter the classroom with their bag of food, unmask to eat and drink for about 15+ minutes every day.

How did that go this fall? I assume by how alarmed people were by it, that we would have seen massive casualties at every school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s yesterday’s number. Today’s is likely to be higher.

That said, is there evidence of omicron transmission in schools?

Well, they've been closed. Once you re open the schools, the kids will spend time there instead of with family and friends and it will spread there.

We know the masks these kids and teachers have been wearing are not very effective at stopping the spread of Omicron so I'd imagine this will be a complete freaking disaster in a week.

It's one thing to want to be open but an entirely different thing to not gather the data needed and not to provide masks and ventilation that would keep teachers, staff and students safe.

MCPS has failed no matter what side of the issue we are on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

Don’t forget breakfast in the classroom. Students enter the classroom with their bag of food, unmask to eat and drink for about 15+ minutes every day.

How did that go this fall? I assume by how alarmed people were by it, that we would have seen massive casualties at every school.

Huh? Covid did spread at school and Omicron spreads even easier so. . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are cancelling super spreader indoor field trips

You mean, like daily lunch? The elbow-to-elbow, maskless Omicron fest that will happen each and every day?

Yeah, not looking forward to that. I am NOT faulting any teacher right now who wants to quit, or who feels like a sitting duck in this situation.

Don’t forget breakfast in the classroom. Students enter the classroom with their bag of food, unmask to eat and drink for about 15+ minutes every day.

How did that go this fall? I assume by how alarmed people were by it, that we would have seen massive casualties at every school.

Huh? Covid did spread at school and Omicron spreads even easier so. . . .

Well, in the fall, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid remained low despite these daily super spreader events at hundreds of schools across the county, so you'll have to forgive those of us who are a little skeptical that in person schoing will result in a Covid apocalypse. Cases and hospitalizations and deaths are up now, and are going up no matter what schools do.