DC charters - which ones are open? hybrid model? plans of reopening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charter parents with no IPL this year: you might want to start NOW putting pressure on your admins about Fall, 2021.

We are at one of the charters (not sure if there are more than one or not) that have kept the kitchen running but nothing else (they get money being a food distribution site). We (parents at townhalls) have asked about fall and have been told ... we'd love to be open but of course it's up to OSSE and the rules/regulations. Which makes me fearful they'd happily continue not serving students and collecting per pupil allocations until the end of days.

NP here—this has been my fear also. But it’s surprising to me that NO other (or very few) parents seem to be questioning the situation.

I'm sure there are plenty of parents emailing your principal/HOS. I know of so many parents who think they are the first to send our head of school the NYT primal scream article and other articles and CDC reports about the safety of in-person schooling for elementary. Just because your school isn't opening school now doesn't mean that parents aren't asking for it. I think schools should be open, but I also don't think those who e-mail the most/yell the loudest should determine whether we open or not.

Of course not, but, you need to somehow show demand, since many schools are claiming it isn't there. There are not too many ways to do that other than many parents emailing the head of the school with whatever article, etc.

What concerns me about charters is that there is really no public accountability. The Mayor is hands-off. The union isn't even part of this. It's just a lot of opaque decision making, and if you could be in the room, you might be completely bowled over at the ways the decisions are being made - a handful of people, assessing their own feelings of fear and maybe a few teachers. Of course, you can't be.

All this talk in the news about Biden and CDC and governors - no one is telling the charters they need to have a plan, so, they don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charter parents with no IPL this year: you might want to start NOW putting pressure on your admins about Fall, 2021.

We are at one of the charters (not sure if there are more than one or not) that have kept the kitchen running but nothing else (they get money being a food distribution site). We (parents at townhalls) have asked about fall and have been told ... we'd love to be open but of course it's up to OSSE and the rules/regulations. Which makes me fearful they'd happily continue not serving students and collecting per pupil allocations until the end of days.

NP here—this has been my fear also. But it’s surprising to me that NO other (or very few) parents seem to be questioning the situation.

I'm sure there are plenty of parents emailing your principal/HOS. I know of so many parents who think they are the first to send our head of school the NYT primal scream article and other articles and CDC reports about the safety of in-person schooling for elementary. Just because your school isn't opening school now doesn't mean that parents aren't asking for it. I think schools should be open, but I also don't think those who e-mail the most/yell the loudest should determine whether we open or not.

Of course not, but, you need to somehow show demand, since many schools are claiming it isn't there. There are not too many ways to do that other than many parents emailing the head of the school with whatever article, etc.

What concerns me about charters is that there is really no public accountability. The Mayor is hands-off. The union isn't even part of this. It's just a lot of opaque decision making, and if you could be in the room, you might be completely bowled over at the ways the decisions are being made - a handful of people, assessing their own feelings of fear and maybe a few teachers. Of course, you can't be.

All this talk in the news about Biden and CDC and governors - no one is telling the charters they need to have a plan, so, they don't.

Maybe what this is telling us is that charters are run by teachers. Which sounds so sweet, until it isn't.

[Anonymous]

The charters will see the demand when families don't re-enroll this spring. But, I think despite all the bluster, families will come back to our HRCS. I don't see families opting to go to their inbound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree 100% about committing to hybrid in the fall with the goal of IPL for all as vaccination rates got up and cases go down. Our charter won’t commit to any of this. No concrete plans - or even a vision for moving forward! - have been shared with families. They are stuck and seem to think their DL program is so great that this is a long-term solution even though their own internal assessments are showing serious learning regression. It is one thing to claim to be devoted to educating black and brown kids but this is where the rubber hits the road and the talk does not match the actions. I would love to poll teachers to find out if they have isolated themselves and not been eating in restaurants, traveling to other states, having indoor gatherings, etc. or is it just showing up for work in a school building with kids that they view as risky. We have done NOTHING for almost a year now in order to keep our family safe and do our small part to help end the pandemic. We will also get our vaccinations as soon as we can but we are not in any priority group. I wonder how many school staff can say they have done this kind of isolation and sacrifice. And how many are willing to get vaccinated now, since they are a priority group.

Our school has also been way WAY too self satisfied with the barely there DL. Kids have very little online time with teachers and at the same time very little work assigned outside of that. And they keep offering less and less and making it easier and easier to be marked present. (And then tout they have good attendance rates.)

Teachers and admin. for sure have traveled ... they've posted pics on facebook of themselves doing so. But that doesn't mean all have or they haven't been safe. To me, that's not the point. They've taken the vaccines that were assigned for in person staff. And still don't want come back. That part is just unconscionable to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why the charters who are not doing any hybrid in the spring can’t commit to hybrid in the fall?

That makes absolutely no sense when other charters and DCPS are already doing hybrid, our numbers are trending down, more people are getting vaccinated every week, and everyone who wants to will be vaccinated by then.

The minimum should be we will be doing hybrid in the fall. If numbers contribute to trend down and thing go well, then hopefully IPL for all.

THIS! Why is my kid's friend at a DCPS back 4 days a week with nearly his whole K grade, but mine at a charter a mile away current has zero IPL and no change to that on the horizon? What OSSE "rules" are preventing our school from opening but magically don't effect these other DCPS schools??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The charters will see the demand when families don't re-enroll this spring. But, I think despite all the bluster, families will come back to our HRCS. I don't see families opting to go to their inbound.

You never know. I am at a charter I love. But am playing the lottery for DCPS this year. I do think DCPS will be more in demand at least next year. Who wants to do to a DL charter if there are in person options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The charters will see the demand when families don't re-enroll this spring. But, I think despite all the bluster, families will come back to our HRCS. I don't see families opting to go to their inbound.

Seriously. What option do they have. And honestly, the parents who have worked themselves up into a mighty frenzy on this? I hope they leave. Because I don't really want to deal with them on the PTA and as room parents.

They seem to be entitled brats and might be better off in Bethesda where they won't get any more change out of Montgomery County than they do out of DCPS, but I won't have to deal with their anger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The charters will see the demand when families don't re-enroll this spring. But, I think despite all the bluster, families will come back to our HRCS. I don't see families opting to go to their inbound.

Seriously. What option do they have. And honestly, the parents who have worked themselves up into a mighty frenzy on this? I hope they leave. Because I don't really want to deal with them on the PTA and as room parents.

They seem to be entitled brats and might be better off in Bethesda where they won't get any more change out of Montgomery County than they do out of DCPS, but I won't have to deal with their anger.

What school are you at, PP? Just wondering if this level of nastiness is at all charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The charters will see the demand when families don't re-enroll this spring. But, I think despite all the bluster, families will come back to our HRCS. I don't see families opting to go to their inbound.

Seriously. What option do they have. And honestly, the parents who have worked themselves up into a mighty frenzy on this? I hope they leave. Because I don't really want to deal with them on the PTA and as room parents.

They seem to be entitled brats and might be better off in Bethesda where they won't get any more change out of Montgomery County than they do out of DCPS, but I won't have to deal with their anger.

What school are you at, PP? Just wondering if this level of nastiness is at all charters.

It’s not. There’s zero discussion at our charter. Listserv is dead quiet.

[Anonymous]

At our charter, if you simply ask about re-opening, school leadership brands you as a Karen. I think that's partly the reason why parents haven't been very vocal about re-opening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In summary, so far schools opening include:

Sela
MV
YY
LAMB - not definite, dependent on numbers

Anyone else?

What about some of the non-immersion schools such as ITDS, TR, SWW?

So it looks like list above has not changed with hybrid. 3 schools for real hybrid with IPL with teachers, not just a CARE classroom here and there.

LAMB should know by now if they are going hybrid or not by March 1st. What is it LAMB parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In summary, so far schools opening include:

Sela
MV
YY
LAMB - not definite, dependent on numbers

Anyone else?

What about some of the non-immersion schools such as ITDS, TR, SWW?

So it looks like list above has not changed with hybrid. 3 schools for real hybrid with IPL with teachers, not just a CARE classroom here and there.

LAMB should know by now if they are going hybrid or not by March 1st. What is it LAMB parents?

LAMB is going hybrid March 1, as long as they don't change their minds. They had said they'd only go to hybrid if DC got to Phase 2 numbers, and it looks like we will get there by March 1. They have sent instructions for pick-up and drop-off, and other things, so this seems like it is really happening. At the very least, they have done all of the planning and arrangements towards it. Notably, this planning has been going on for a loooooong time.

In my kid's class, it looks like 90% of kids chose hybrid. I don't know what the overall school numbers are (I haven't seen them released, but maybe they were).

Apparently some teachers will still be home, and kids will be in the school with teacher aids (and the teacher zooming in). But it is Montessori, so a different mode of instruction generally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our charter, if you simply ask about re-opening, school leadership brands you as a Karen. I think that's partly the reason why parents haven't been very vocal about re-opening.

Hell, I got told by the PTA that pods were "disgusting" at my charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our charter, if you simply ask about re-opening, school leadership brands you as a Karen. I think that's partly the reason why parents haven't been very vocal about re-opening.

Yes I agree with this. I was just trying to explain this point to family out of state. They were shocked. Schools are open 5 days per week many places now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our charter, if you simply ask about re-opening, school leadership brands you as a Karen. I think that's partly the reason why parents haven't been very vocal about re-opening.

Hell, I got told by the PTA that pods were "disgusting" at my charter.

That’s insane. Pods seem to be very successful. The option is my kid not doing school because I have a job and can no longer do it all.