Covid at SFS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. It’s “who” not “whom”. If you can’t see the irony in your statement, not much space to discuss. I’ve never seen people trying to steamroll over the consensus (which was DL this semester) over and over again (except for Trump election nonsense), and yet feel perma-aggrieved even after having forced the school to reopen.

Irony in asserting that someone is not reflecting Quaker values in declaring that families should leave the school simply because they find fault in the administration’s handling of this entire situation and are willing to point it out? Please.

And there was never a consensus for distance learning this semester. That’s the most ridiculous thing I have heard. The plan through August was always hybrid from the get-go. And then when Bryan announced that this would not be happening, the consensus was always that the school was working towards implementing hybrid as quickly as it could do so in a safe manner. The problem was that they were completely mismanaging their efforts. But there was never a consensus against hybrid. Unless, of course, the “consensus” was secret and not communicated to families.

What are you so salty about? No one steamrolled any consensus. The school was just frozen administratively and incapable at getting their act together. Which parents were rightly frustrated about, since they had been promised hybrid all summer and fall.

Utter nonsense. It’s been a clear, logical set of steps and a consistent decision-making model, linear enough for anyone to follow. The only variables were the unmitigated pandemic spread and the parents forcing a U-turn half-way through. Could we have in hindsight had Sep-Oct on campus more safely? Perhaps, in hindsight. Not now. We and our friends see no signs of the “frozen admin” or cause to be “rightly frustrated”. Everyone’s doing their best for our children and community. It’s that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not nice to say leave — I suspect it was a reaction to the others who said they would leave and take their fees elsewhere, and to people not giving an inch no matter the objective reality. But on the consensus, it’s almost like we aren’t at the same school. I trust the school to run the school. To me, that there was no immediate discussion after we knew we would go back in the DL meant that we reached the consensus and not that we were merely waiting to overturn it. I take from this perception gap that we should all talk and listen more and earlier. Leaving how we define consensus aside, what is the big deal with going with the DL in the US in December and January given the record number of cases? Why is there such a collective anxiety over having the HL continue and constant pressure for teachers to be teaching in person no matter the community spread, in the US? We all know we’ll reopen as soon as it’s safe. I really struggle to understand the angst. Parents of younger children seem better able to persuasively enumerate their reasons, albeit as a parent I would still be cautious. I would always advocate for a space on campus for anyone that needs to be on campus but it might be a mixed space. And this is not about risk averse types; we’ve been through the Swine Flu etc. and knew it was not the same. Many parents at our school still work from home, because most leading global businesses and law firms don’t think it’s safe to return. So why the US kids? A whole generation graduated online last year, and started college remotely. So, I really think we should find reasons to be thankful too, to the school and for each other.

How do you define “safe to reopen?” The MAT says it’s safe now, and yet here my kids go for another day on Zoom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. It’s “who” not “whom”. If you can’t see the irony in your statement, not much space to discuss. I’ve never seen people trying to steamroll over the consensus (which was DL this semester) over and over again (except for Trump election nonsense), and yet feel perma-aggrieved even after having forced the school to reopen.

Irony in asserting that someone is not reflecting Quaker values in declaring that families should leave the school simply because they find fault in the administration’s handling of this entire situation and are willing to point it out? Please.

And there was never a consensus for distance learning this semester. That’s the most ridiculous thing I have heard. The plan through August was always hybrid from the get-go. And then when Bryan announced that this would not be happening, the consensus was always that the school was working towards implementing hybrid as quickly as it could do so in a safe manner. The problem was that they were completely mismanaging their efforts. But there was never a consensus against hybrid. Unless, of course, the “consensus” was secret and not communicated to families.

What are you so salty about? No one steamrolled any consensus. The school was just frozen administratively and incapable at getting their act together. Which parents were rightly frustrated about, since they had been promised hybrid all summer and fall.

Utter nonsense. It’s been a clear, logical set of steps and a consistent decision-making model, linear enough for anyone to follow. The only variables were the unmitigated pandemic spread and the parents forcing a U-turn half-way through. Could we have in hindsight had Sep-Oct on campus more safely? Perhaps, in hindsight. Not now. We and our friends see no signs of the “frozen admin” or cause to be “rightly frustrated”. Everyone’s doing their best for our children and community. It’s that simple.

So pompous. We and our friends haha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. It’s “who” not “whom”. If you can’t see the irony in your statement, not much space to discuss. I’ve never seen people trying to steamroll over the consensus (which was DL this semester) over and over again (except for Trump election nonsense), and yet feel perma-aggrieved even after having forced the school to reopen.

Irony in asserting that someone is not reflecting Quaker values in declaring that families should leave the school simply because they find fault in the administration’s handling of this entire situation and are willing to point it out? Please.

And there was never a consensus for distance learning this semester. That’s the most ridiculous thing I have heard. The plan through August was always hybrid from the get-go. And then when Bryan announced that this would not be happening, the consensus was always that the school was working towards implementing hybrid as quickly as it could do so in a safe manner. The problem was that they were completely mismanaging their efforts. But there was never a consensus against hybrid. Unless, of course, the “consensus” was secret and not communicated to families.

What are you so salty about? No one steamrolled any consensus. The school was just frozen administratively and incapable at getting their act together. Which parents were rightly frustrated about, since they had been promised hybrid all summer and fall.

Utter nonsense. It’s been a clear, logical set of steps and a consistent decision-making model, linear enough for anyone to follow. The only variables were the unmitigated pandemic spread and the parents forcing a U-turn half-way through. Could we have in hindsight had Sep-Oct on campus more safely? Perhaps, in hindsight. Not now. We and our friends see no signs of the “frozen admin” or cause to be “rightly frustrated”. Everyone’s doing their best for our children and community. It’s that simple.

So pompous. We and our friends haha.

+1. And they’re not looking very hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. It’s “who” not “whom”. If you can’t see the irony in your statement, not much space to discuss. I’ve never seen people trying to steamroll over the consensus (which was DL this semester) over and over again (except for Trump election nonsense), and yet feel perma-aggrieved even after having forced the school to reopen.

Irony in asserting that someone is not reflecting Quaker values in declaring that families should leave the school simply because they find fault in the administration’s handling of this entire situation and are willing to point it out? Please.

And there was never a consensus for distance learning this semester. That’s the most ridiculous thing I have heard. The plan through August was always hybrid from the get-go. And then when Bryan announced that this would not be happening, the consensus was always that the school was working towards implementing hybrid as quickly as it could do so in a safe manner. The problem was that they were completely mismanaging their efforts. But there was never a consensus against hybrid. Unless, of course, the “consensus” was secret and not communicated to families.

What are you so salty about? No one steamrolled any consensus. The school was just frozen administratively and incapable at getting their act together. Which parents were rightly frustrated about, since they had been promised hybrid all summer and fall.

So many parents at Sidwell who sound like this - like they are some kind of aristocracy. You’re. Ot the queen of England. Just some social climber
Utter nonsense. It’s been a clear, logical set of steps and a consistent decision-making model, linear enough for anyone to follow. The only variables were the unmitigated pandemic spread and the parents forcing a U-turn half-way through. Could we have in hindsight had Sep-Oct on campus more safely? Perhaps, in hindsight. Not now. We and our friends see no signs of the “frozen admin” or cause to be “rightly frustrated”. Everyone’s doing their best for our children and community. It’s that simple.

So pompous. We and our friends haha.

+1. And they’re not looking very hard.

[Anonymous]

We have been through this before on this message board. "Top schools" are distinguished by creative, engaged and proactive leadership. Why aren't there pictures from the amazing and large Sidwell US campus, similar to the pictures below, showing our kids having school in person for the past 3 months?

It's not steamrolling, or reflective of a "parent coop school," for parents to want, and demand more and better than what Sidwell has been providing. And given what the school has been providing, I would argue that the blind faith acceptance of parents such as PPs who are ready to trust the school no matter what, is actually highly problematic. It creates an echo chamber that since Sidwell has been anointed "the best school," whatever it is doing must be the best, and the Administration knows that most parents will lap up whatever it dishes out.

[Anonymous]

Where is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is this?

Riverdale Country School, in NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is this?

Riverdale Country School, in NYC.

It’s not even that creative. Just a little bit outside the box. Sigh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is this?

Riverdale Country School, in NYC.

It’s not even that creative. Just a little bit outside the box. Sigh

Exactly. I would love to know the answer to the question—why didn’t Sidwell do this or something similar?

[Anonymous]

Sidwell Friends is the best school in DC. I know that is true because I send my kids there. And I would not send my kids to a school that was not the best school.

And because Sidwell is the best school, I trust the school’s administration completely. They only make the best decisions. As a result, every single decision that Bryan Garman and his team have made about managing the pandemic is the best decision they could have possibly made. Of course, if they had made a different decision and gone with a different plan, that decision and plan also would have been the best. Because they made it. And they are the best.

Also, their communications about their process and decisions could not have been any better than they have been. After all, since Sidwell is the best school in DC, how is it possible that they could have done a better job communicating than they have done? And since they are the expert leaders of the best school in DC, who am I, a mere parent, to question their expert judgment and infinite wisdom in knowing how much and when to communicate? Of course, if they had a different communications plan and shared more information, that also would have reflected the best communications plan possible. Because it would have been their plan.

I don’t understand you critics on this forum. I go to sleep content every night, knowing that my kids go to the best school in DC. How can you say that the best school could be doing any better than it is doing? It is a logical impossibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have been through this before on this message board. "Top schools" are distinguished by creative, engaged and proactive leadership. Why aren't there pictures from the amazing and large Sidwell US campus, similar to the pictures below, showing our kids having school in person for the past 3 months?

It's not steamrolling, or reflective of a "parent coop school," for parents to want, and demand more and better than what Sidwell has been providing. And given what the school has been providing, I would argue that the blind faith acceptance of parents such as PPs who are ready to trust the school no matter what, is actually highly problematic. It creates an echo chamber that since Sidwell has been anointed "the best school," whatever it is doing must be the best, and the Administration knows that most parents will lap up whatever it dishes out.

How is a tent helping anything in the winter? Much safer in the HEPA filtered classroom. But frankly just not safe enough right now. Stop dining indoors, hosting parties, going to bars, step up the personal safety measures to protect the others, and we can talk creative reopening. The vitriol based on close to zero facts is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not nice to say leave — I suspect it was a reaction to the others who said they would leave and take their fees elsewhere, and to people not giving an inch no matter the objective reality. But on the consensus, it’s almost like we aren’t at the same school. I trust the school to run the school. To me, that there was no immediate discussion after we knew we would go back in the DL meant that we reached the consensus and not that we were merely waiting to overturn it. I take from this perception gap that we should all talk and listen more and earlier. Leaving how we define consensus aside, what is the big deal with going with the DL in the US in December and January given the record number of cases? Why is there such a collective anxiety over having the HL continue and constant pressure for teachers to be teaching in person no matter the community spread, in the US? We all know we’ll reopen as soon as it’s safe. I really struggle to understand the angst. Parents of younger children seem better able to persuasively enumerate their reasons, albeit as a parent I would still be cautious. I would always advocate for a space on campus for anyone that needs to be on campus but it might be a mixed space. And this is not about risk averse types; we’ve been through the Swine Flu etc. and knew it was not the same. Many parents at our school still work from home, because most leading global businesses and law firms don’t think it’s safe to return. So why the US kids? A whole generation graduated online last year, and started college remotely. So, I really think we should find reasons to be thankful too, to the school and for each other.

How do you define “safe to reopen?” The MAT says it’s safe now, and yet here my kids go for another day on Zoom

When has the MAT said that about the current time? Last time they spoke it was with the view to doing exactly what the school has done Nov HL, Dec-Jan DL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have been through this before on this message board. "Top schools" are distinguished by creative, engaged and proactive leadership. Why aren't there pictures from the amazing and large Sidwell US campus, similar to the pictures below, showing our kids having school in person for the past 3 months?

It's not steamrolling, or reflective of a "parent coop school," for parents to want, and demand more and better than what Sidwell has been providing. And given what the school has been providing, I would argue that the blind faith acceptance of parents such as PPs who are ready to trust the school no matter what, is actually highly problematic. It creates an echo chamber that since Sidwell has been anointed "the best school," whatever it is doing must be the best, and the Administration knows that most parents will lap up whatever it dishes out.

How is a tent helping anything in the winter? Much safer in the HEPA filtered classroom. But frankly just not safe enough right now. Stop dining indoors, hosting parties, going to bars, step up the personal safety measures to protect the others, and we can talk creative reopening. The vitriol based on close to zero facts is astounding.

Why didn’t Sidwell use tents like this in September, October and November?

[Anonymous]

I’m lost as to what the pro-open, contra-admin, people on this board actually want? What is the ideal scenario, in the situation the USA and DC are in now? Really confused, since it’s been non stop complaining even during the HL. To reopen, you have to put in the hard yards first.