1. Whether or not to have outdoor lunch was a decision left up to the individual principals. 2. Posters on this board skew very heavily towards Ward 3. 3. There is probably an element of school size involved. The bigger overcrowded schools have more outdoor space because they have a bigger physical footprint. It's the one benefit of their ginormous size. I doubt they have more space on a population density basis but I could be wrong. Feel free to do the calculations yourself. |
You way overestimate the impact of PTA's. They don't do anywhere near as much as you believe. Sorry to burst your bubble. |
at my w3 school the pta: - Pays Thousands in supply reimbursements per teacher per year - pays to fix tech that DCPS wont - pays for multiple positions (redacted for anonymity) - during covid times; providing testing for students and teachers Sorry to refill your bubble |
Someone reported on that thread that L-T doesn't have outdoor lunch despite ample outdoor space AND a shipment of heaters from DCPS (with which they have the same problem of electrical supply as Janney). So why does Janney have outdoor lunch and L-T doesn't? My guess is that Janney has a PTA that has been working intensely to make it happen, and maybe that is not the case at L-T? Obviously it's a matter of privilege that Janney has lots of Type A parents with the time and organizational skills to make this happen, but I'm not sure it's something DCPS can fix. |
| I am curious how many schools are regularly eating outdoors. My kid is at shepherd and claims to have never had lunch outside, though the school does have picnic tables. I’m not super involved at school, but haven’t seen much agitation for outdoor lunch either. |
The PTA wouldn't do anything to implement it. They would lobby/agitate/pester the principal to do it though. In some schools, individual teachers started informally doing it on their own last school year. Whether to do outdoor lunch is entirely a logistical issue, how to arrange the entire school's schedule to enable it to work. In other words it is quite simply an effort issue. Some principals made the effort and took on that complicated logistical task while others did not. |
Well, then three cheers for Janney's new principal! I'm sure she got heavily lobbied by the PTA though. The PTA has also organized parent volunteers to help with daily setup of equipment. |
Daily setup of equipment? What equipment is needed to eat lunch? Does Janney have a molecular gastronomist in-house chef or are AU Park butts too sensitive to sit on the ground? I'm totally imagining an armada of parent volunteers setting up full white linen, candleabras, fish forks, cellared grape juice, and hapsburg folded napkins. At our school the only equipment is an optional towel that each kid was asked to bring in. |
I like your extravagant fantasies about life at Janney, but it's not quite as luxurious as you think. But yes, we do have picnic tables and tents. I don't know if those were purchased with PTA funds or with the Covid mitigation funds all schools got. |
Ok, that's not so bad. But seriously, it's nice to have tables and tents but it's not necessary. Any principal using lack of "equipment" as an excuse needs to go. I get that re-balancing the schedule is difficult and complicated but the basic mechanics of eating outside are not. |
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I used to support outdoor lunch and all these other measures we're doing in schools, but my view is changing. From my conversations with parents, I know I'm not alone. This article pretty much sums up why:
https://nypost.com/2022/01/11/normalcy-for-florida-kids-shows-how-wrong-nyc-school-rules-are/ Florida aside - I just wonder what the point of all these mitigations is, when very few countries practice them in primary schools with no adverse outcomes. And when is DCPS leadership going to be able to quit them, given that covid will always be circulating and a new surge or variant will frequently be on the horizon? |
I agree with you. |
+2 |
Me too. that article is spot on how I feel. And I’m a liberal DC mom. I feel like the whole world has lost its way. Enough is enough! |
As long as there are teachers you will not have your way. |