Will the WTU illegally strike? Not return on 2/1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea who has medical issues and why they aren’t returning. Our school can’t have everyone return anyway due to social distancing.
Now, once all the teachers are vaccinated, then I’m not sure what the objection is to coming back.

It's DC Health's guidelines on social distancing and the number of people in a room that will be the issue. After teachers are vaccinated, they need to update the guidance. Our school has been saying this is the problem the entire time, but has failed to address whether the number of kids who are willing to go back exceeds the guidelines. I suspect the guidelines could currently accommodate the people who want to go back given many families want to stay home, but our school seems unwilling to pursue it given teachers' refusal to return.

Yes this seems like a very important issue and question that needs to be resolved once teachers are vaccinated. And look- it’s something that’s not the union’s fault but DC Health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us didn't blame teachers, at least those without serious, documented health problems in the spring, or in the fall. Now plenty of us with children in DCPS do blame them.

As long as healthy teachers are allowed to refuse to teach in person en masse, tens of thousands of DC kids will continue to pay an unacceptably high price socially, mentally, physically and academically.

If teaching in person isn't acceptable to fairly healthy teachers this spring, let them find new jobs. I'd rather have competent grad students/educators willing to work in school buildings teach than open-ended DL. The Mayor just doesn't need to tolerate any more self-serving WTU hijinks.

You are ridiculous. As I’ve said before, no one is beating down the doors to teach your child. DCPS already has numerous vacancies for a reason. Stop asking good teachers to quit.

DP, but I think you are also carrying things too far. I don't think we're there yet, but there is a line where it makes sense to consider what the optinos are to go forward with different personnel. Again, we're not there yet, but with the WTU behavior we're closer than we were in August. For me, if we find ourselves in a position where the other strains that have emerged today are escaping the vaccines and teachers continue to balk at finding more effective ways to instruct, it's time to consider more radical options with our schooling dollars.

I think the time is now. Lay down the law. If healthy, vaccinated teachers continue to balk, they should be given a 30-day warning, then suspended without pay if they continue their foot-dragging. Hire graduate student replacements if necessary.

Poor kids shouldn't have to wait on and on for an education, a reliable Internet connection to use, a safe place to be during the day, school meals, trusted teachers to report sexual abuse and neglect to, in-person services for disabilities, ELL etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think DCPS jumped the gun. They should have waited one more month until teachers were fully vaccinated with both doses and then bring 50% or more of the kids back. Some kids will want to stay virtual. Opening now just seems a mess. Our chancellor is disappointing. I wish we had someone better

40%+ of students at our school will be back.

That is good news but not representative of the big picture.
And let’s wait to see if the 40% holds after the first week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us didn't blame teachers, at least those without serious, documented health problems in the spring, or in the fall. Now plenty of us with children in DCPS do blame them.

As long as healthy teachers are allowed to refuse to teach in person en masse, tens of thousands of DC kids will continue to pay an unacceptably high price socially, mentally, physically and academically.

If teaching in person isn't acceptable to fairly healthy teachers this spring, let them find new jobs. I'd rather have competent grad students/educators willing to work in school buildings teach than open-ended DL. The Mayor just doesn't need to tolerate any more self-serving WTU hijinks.

You are ridiculous. As I’ve said before, no one is beating down the doors to teach your child. DCPS already has numerous vacancies for a reason. Stop asking good teachers to quit.

DP, but I think you are also carrying things too far. I don't think we're there yet, but there is a line where it makes sense to consider what the optinos are to go forward with different personnel. Again, we're not there yet, but with the WTU behavior we're closer than we were in August. For me, if we find ourselves in a position where the other strains that have emerged today are escaping the vaccines and teachers continue to balk at finding more effective ways to instruct, it's time to consider more radical options with our schooling dollars.

I think the time is now. Lay down the law. If healthy, vaccinated teachers continue to balk, they should be given a 30-day warning, then suspended without pay if they continue their foot-dragging. Hire graduate student replacements if necessary.

Poor kids shouldn't have to wait on and on for an education, a reliable Internet connection to use, a safe place to be during the day, school meals, trusted teachers to report sexual abuse and neglect to, in-person services for disabilities, ELL etc.

You tell Bowser! Tell her to lay down the law!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us didn't blame teachers, at least those without serious, documented health problems in the spring, or in the fall. Now plenty of us with children in DCPS do blame them.

As long as healthy teachers are allowed to refuse to teach in person en masse, tens of thousands of DC kids will continue to pay an unacceptably high price socially, mentally, physically and academically.

If teaching in person isn't acceptable to fairly healthy teachers this spring, let them find new jobs. I'd rather have competent grad students/educators willing to work in school buildings teach than open-ended DL. The Mayor just doesn't need to tolerate any more self-serving WTU hijinks.

You are ridiculous. As I’ve said before, no one is beating down the doors to teach your child. DCPS already has numerous vacancies for a reason. Stop asking good teachers to quit.

DP, but I think you are also carrying things too far. I don't think we're there yet, but there is a line where it makes sense to consider what the optinos are to go forward with different personnel. Again, we're not there yet, but with the WTU behavior we're closer than we were in August. For me, if we find ourselves in a position where the other strains that have emerged today are escaping the vaccines and teachers continue to balk at finding more effective ways to instruct, it's time to consider more radical options with our schooling dollars.

I think the time is now. Lay down the law. If healthy, vaccinated teachers continue to balk, they should be given a 30-day warning, then suspended without pay if they continue their foot-dragging. Hire graduate student replacements if necessary.

Poor kids shouldn't have to wait on and on for an education, a reliable Internet connection to use, a safe place to be during the day, school meals, trusted teachers to report sexual abuse and neglect to, in-person services for disabilities, ELL etc.

I don't think you have to worry. DC has all the staffing information it needs for Bowser to exercise mayoral control and force teachers back. And she clearly wants it to happen. The only outlier is the union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us didn't blame teachers, at least those without serious, documented health problems in the spring, or in the fall. Now plenty of us with children in DCPS do blame them.

As long as healthy teachers are allowed to refuse to teach in person en masse, tens of thousands of DC kids will continue to pay an unacceptably high price socially, mentally, physically and academically.

If teaching in person isn't acceptable to fairly healthy teachers this spring, let them find new jobs. I'd rather have competent grad students/educators willing to work in school buildings teach than open-ended DL. The Mayor just doesn't need to tolerate any more self-serving WTU hijinks.

You are ridiculous. As I’ve said before, no one is beating down the doors to teach your child. DCPS already has numerous vacancies for a reason. Stop asking good teachers to quit.

DP, but I think you are also carrying things too far. I don't think we're there yet, but there is a line where it makes sense to consider what the optinos are to go forward with different personnel. Again, we're not there yet, but with the WTU behavior we're closer than we were in August. For me, if we find ourselves in a position where the other strains that have emerged today are escaping the vaccines and teachers continue to balk at finding more effective ways to instruct, it's time to consider more radical options with our schooling dollars.

I think the time is now. Lay down the law. If healthy, vaccinated teachers continue to balk, they should be given a 30-day warning, then suspended without pay if they continue their foot-dragging. Hire graduate student replacements if necessary.

Poor kids shouldn't have to wait on and on for an education, a reliable Internet connection to use, a safe place to be during the day, school meals, trusted teachers to report sexual abuse and neglect to, in-person services for disabilities, ELL etc.

I don't think you have to worry. DC has all the staffing information it needs for Bowser to exercise mayoral control and force teachers back. And she clearly wants it to happen. The only outlier is the union.

I agree we should go back. But DCPS has been providing school meals this entire time. High speed internet in the home is not a school issue.

What are you morons gonna complain about after school starts on Monday? Let me guess...you don’t like the new rules and procedures and they aren’t fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, I do think this situation is setting back the profession of teaching a couple of decades. The good will the profession has gained from families of school aged children has evaporated. The arguments about (supposedly) low salaries and IMPACT will be met with eye rolls.

Ok. But the lovely thing about schools is wools move on. In 5 more years these kids won’t be in elementary anymore and lots of parents will have graduated out of the system. No one is going to be thinking about this on 5-10 years. No one. Look how fast we have moved past Sandy Hook and other school shootings where children literally died. By this time next year, no one is going to care anymore. Life goes on.

The kids who are illiterate and can’t do math will plenty think about how they struggle in school and their parents. Most of these kids will be in the system until they fail out.

Also the city will plenty be thinking about this in 5 years with how it’s going to affect the achievement gap in a negative way and lose a decade of it improvement.

Lastly, everyone single resident in the city will be affected as taxes are raised to help fund huge support systems from the negative impact this will have and continue to have on some kids.

You are so naive

Where have you been? DCPS has been graduating people who can’t read and do math for generations. This is not a new consequence of the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, I do think this situation is setting back the profession of teaching a couple of decades. The good will the profession has gained from families of school aged children has evaporated. The arguments about (supposedly) low salaries and IMPACT will be met with eye rolls.

Ok. But the lovely thing about schools is wools move on. In 5 more years these kids won’t be in elementary anymore and lots of parents will have graduated out of the system. No one is going to be thinking about this on 5-10 years. No one. Look how fast we have moved past Sandy Hook and other school shootings where children literally died. By this time next year, no one is going to care anymore. Life goes on.

The kids who are illiterate and can’t do math will plenty think about how they struggle in school and their parents. Most of these kids will be in the system until they fail out.

Also the city will plenty be thinking about this in 5 years with how it’s going to affect the achievement gap in a negative way and lose a decade of it improvement.

Lastly, everyone single resident in the city will be affected as taxes are raised to help fund huge support systems from the negative impact this will have and continue to have on some kids.

You are so naive

I agree with this. I think PP was just trying to stir drama and downplay the lasting the implications this will have for tens of thousands of families in DC alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, I do think this situation is setting back the profession of teaching a couple of decades. The good will the profession has gained from families of school aged children has evaporated. The arguments about (supposedly) low salaries and IMPACT will be met with eye rolls.

Ok. But the lovely thing about schools is wools move on. In 5 more years these kids won’t be in elementary anymore and lots of parents will have graduated out of the system. No one is going to be thinking about this on 5-10 years. No one. Look how fast we have moved past Sandy Hook and other school shootings where children literally died. By this time next year, no one is going to care anymore. Life goes on.

The kids who are illiterate and can’t do math will plenty think about how they struggle in school and their parents. Most of these kids will be in the system until they fail out.

Also the city will plenty be thinking about this in 5 years with how it’s going to affect the achievement gap in a negative way and lose a decade of it improvement.

Lastly, everyone single resident in the city will be affected as taxes are raised to help fund huge support systems from the negative impact this will have and continue to have on some kids.

You are so naive

I agree with this. I think PP was just trying to stir drama and downplay the lasting the implications this will have for tens of thousands of families in DC alone.

Once again, DCPS has been graduating people who cannot read or do basic math for generations. This is not new to the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us didn't blame teachers, at least those without serious, documented health problems in the spring, or in the fall. Now plenty of us with children in DCPS do blame them.

As long as healthy teachers are allowed to refuse to teach in person en masse, tens of thousands of DC kids will continue to pay an unacceptably high price socially, mentally, physically and academically.

If teaching in person isn't acceptable to fairly healthy teachers this spring, let them find new jobs. I'd rather have competent grad students/educators willing to work in school buildings teach than open-ended DL. The Mayor just doesn't need to tolerate any more self-serving WTU hijinks.

You are ridiculous. As I’ve said before, no one is beating down the doors to teach your child. DCPS already has numerous vacancies for a reason. Stop asking good teachers to quit.

DP, but I think you are also carrying things too far. I don't think we're there yet, but there is a line where it makes sense to consider what the optinos are to go forward with different personnel. Again, we're not there yet, but with the WTU behavior we're closer than we were in August. For me, if we find ourselves in a position where the other strains that have emerged today are escaping the vaccines and teachers continue to balk at finding more effective ways to instruct, it's time to consider more radical options with our schooling dollars.

This. I wasn't thinking along these lines in April or even August, but schools have now been closed for almost a year and are only partially reopening in February with no plan to fully reopen. Many students won't have ANY opportunity for in person learning with a teacher from March, 2020 until September, 2021 at the earliest in the BEST CASE SCENARIO (and much later if WTU gets their way). I'd like to see some innovative ways to provide job opportunities to teachers willing to go back. DCPS could offer tuition reimbursement to paras so they could get their foot in the door to a higher-paying career. Student loan repayments for college grads. Signing bonuses with agreement to work x number of years. Waive certifications for a period of time. COVID won't be eradicated anytime soon and children need to go to school. Not just elementary students, but MS and HS too.

PS, we're not asking teachers to quit now. Rather DCPS would require teaching to be in person and the teacher could decide whether to meet the job requirements and return to work, quit, or if necessary then be removed for being AWOL. Keeping schools closed is a public health crisis and can't continue indefinitely.

I agree with this as well and think they actually should have thought through some of this before this school year started. Over the summer DCPS could have created standardized pre-recorded lessons for DL (as in 1 really excellent teacher giving 30 min lessons on topic A-D, another teacher on topics E-H, etc.) They could have used veteran teachers using their old lesson plans so it wouldn't be alot of extra work. They could have created these on the district level and that would have opened up teachers at the school level to have more small group and 1:1 time with students without increasing teacher workload. We could have avoided dumbing down the curriculum so much and spent more individualized time with the kids who need it most. I think it would have been more effective than what I am currently seeing, which is alot of time each morning with 5-10 wasted minutes getting everyone setup for a 30 minute session. I think it would have been less stressful on teachers and better for students. My disappointment at this point is the inability for DCPS to assess a situation and pivot. We've been in the same holding pattern for close to a year. And if there's any inkling of it continuing into fall, we need to pivot and rethink the system entirely. If teachers are going to leave, fine. Let's figure out who's going to leave, funnel that money to those that want to stay, and find workable solutions instead of treading water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, I do think this situation is setting back the profession of teaching a couple of decades. The good will the profession has gained from families of school aged children has evaporated. The arguments about (supposedly) low salaries and IMPACT will be met with eye rolls.

Ok. But the lovely thing about schools is wools move on. In 5 more years these kids won’t be in elementary anymore and lots of parents will have graduated out of the system. No one is going to be thinking about this on 5-10 years. No one. Look how fast we have moved past Sandy Hook and other school shootings where children literally died. By this time next year, no one is going to care anymore. Life goes on.

The kids who are illiterate and can’t do math will plenty think about how they struggle in school and their parents. Most of these kids will be in the system until they fail out.

Also the city will plenty be thinking about this in 5 years with how it’s going to affect the achievement gap in a negative way and lose a decade of it improvement.

Lastly, everyone single resident in the city will be affected as taxes are raised to help fund huge support systems from the negative impact this will have and continue to have on some kids.

You are so naive

I agree with this. I think PP was just trying to stir drama and downplay the lasting the implications this will have for tens of thousands of families in DC alone.

Once again, DCPS has been graduating people who cannot read or do basic math for generations. This is not new to the pandemic.

It is new in that it’s going to be 10 times worst and it will affect crime, drugs, gangs in the city, etc....

But carry on with you not understanding the implications of this on the city and all who live here including you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, I do think this situation is setting back the profession of teaching a couple of decades. The good will the profession has gained from families of school aged children has evaporated. The arguments about (supposedly) low salaries and IMPACT will be met with eye rolls.

Ok. But the lovely thing about schools is wools move on. In 5 more years these kids won’t be in elementary anymore and lots of parents will have graduated out of the system. No one is going to be thinking about this on 5-10 years. No one. Look how fast we have moved past Sandy Hook and other school shootings where children literally died. By this time next year, no one is going to care anymore. Life goes on.

The kids who are illiterate and can’t do math will plenty think about how they struggle in school and their parents. Most of these kids will be in the system until they fail out.

Also the city will plenty be thinking about this in 5 years with how it’s going to affect the achievement gap in a negative way and lose a decade of it improvement.

Lastly, everyone single resident in the city will be affected as taxes are raised to help fund huge support systems from the negative impact this will have and continue to have on some kids.

You are so naive

I agree with this. I think PP was just trying to stir drama and downplay the lasting the implications this will have for tens of thousands of families in DC alone.

Once again, DCPS has been graduating people who cannot read or do basic math for generations. This is not new to the pandemic.

It is new in that it’s going to be 10 times worst and it will affect crime, drugs, gangs in the city, etc....

But carry on with you not understanding the implications of this on the city and all who live here including you.

I’m just not as dramatic as you. I think things are going to be rough for a while and then go back to how it has always been. We can agree to disagree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, I do think this situation is setting back the profession of teaching a couple of decades. The good will the profession has gained from families of school aged children has evaporated. The arguments about (supposedly) low salaries and IMPACT will be met with eye rolls.

Ok. But the lovely thing about schools is wools move on. In 5 more years these kids won’t be in elementary anymore and lots of parents will have graduated out of the system. No one is going to be thinking about this on 5-10 years. No one. Look how fast we have moved past Sandy Hook and other school shootings where children literally died. By this time next year, no one is going to care anymore. Life goes on.

The kids who are illiterate and can’t do math will plenty think about how they struggle in school and their parents. Most of these kids will be in the system until they fail out.

Also the city will plenty be thinking about this in 5 years with how it’s going to affect the achievement gap in a negative way and lose a decade of it improvement.

Lastly, everyone single resident in the city will be affected as taxes are raised to help fund huge support systems from the negative impact this will have and continue to have on some kids.

You are so naive

I agree with this. I think PP was just trying to stir drama and downplay the lasting the implications this will have for tens of thousands of families in DC alone.

Not PP but...

This isn't a downplay, I think white middle class/affluent families really don't get DCPS and charter are part of the school to prison pipeline regardless of the pandemic.

And to be honest, I was able to call CPS on several families because I finally was able to get proof of their toxic or dangerous home lives, this would not have happen if not for DL. Not saying that means it's good but there were benefits that happened because of it.

The mental health implications are also not long lasting as it's not traumatic to take class online. What brings on trauma is how a child's home personally dealt with the pandemic and the circumstances surrounding that.

I will say schools will need to be accountable and prepare teachers to have students make more gains, as a self-contained teacher often I have to an am able to have kids gain 1.5-2.5 years of growth in 1 year. But that's certainly not because of any amazing DCPS training, guidance, or any kind of professional development sponsored/funded by them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think DCPS jumped the gun. They should have waited one more month until teachers were fully vaccinated with both doses and then bring 50% or more of the kids back. Some kids will want to stay virtual. Opening now just seems a mess. Our chancellor is disappointing. I wish we had someone better

If you wait a month, the WTU will just move the goalposts again and say that there are now variants of the virus that the vaccine is not as effective against and that they need to wait until a new booster vaccine can be developed. Rinse and repeat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us didn't blame teachers, at least those without serious, documented health problems in the spring, or in the fall. Now plenty of us with children in DCPS do blame them.

As long as healthy teachers are allowed to refuse to teach in person en masse, tens of thousands of DC kids will continue to pay an unacceptably high price socially, mentally, physically and academically.

If teaching in person isn't acceptable to fairly healthy teachers this spring, let them find new jobs. I'd rather have competent grad students/educators willing to work in school buildings teach than open-ended DL. The Mayor just doesn't need to tolerate any more self-serving WTU hijinks.

You are ridiculous. As I’ve said before, no one is beating down the doors to teach your child. DCPS already has numerous vacancies for a reason. Stop asking good teachers to quit.

DP, but I think you are also carrying things too far. I don't think we're there yet, but there is a line where it makes sense to consider what the optinos are to go forward with different personnel. Again, we're not there yet, but with the WTU behavior we're closer than we were in August. For me, if we find ourselves in a position where the other strains that have emerged today are escaping the vaccines and teachers continue to balk at finding more effective ways to instruct, it's time to consider more radical options with our schooling dollars.

This. I wasn't thinking along these lines in April or even August, but schools have now been closed for almost a year and are only partially reopening in February with no plan to fully reopen. Many students won't have ANY opportunity for in person learning with a teacher from March, 2020 until September, 2021 at the earliest in the BEST CASE SCENARIO (and much later if WTU gets their way). I'd like to see some innovative ways to provide job opportunities to teachers willing to go back. DCPS could offer tuition reimbursement to paras so they could get their foot in the door to a higher-paying career. Student loan repayments for college grads. Signing bonuses with agreement to work x number of years. Waive certifications for a period of time. COVID won't be eradicated anytime soon and children need to go to school. Not just elementary students, but MS and HS too.

PS, we're not asking teachers to quit now. Rather DCPS would require teaching to be in person and the teacher could decide whether to meet the job requirements and return to work, quit, or if necessary then be removed for being AWOL. Keeping schools closed is a public health crisis and can't continue indefinitely.

I agree with this as well and think they actually should have thought through some of this before this school year started. Over the summer DCPS could have created standardized pre-recorded lessons for DL (as in 1 really excellent teacher giving 30 min lessons on topic A-D, another teacher on topics E-H, etc.) They could have used veteran teachers using their old lesson plans so it wouldn't be alot of extra work. They could have created these on the district level and that would have opened up teachers at the school level to have more small group and 1:1 time with students without increasing teacher workload. We could have avoided dumbing down the curriculum so much and spent more individualized time with the kids who need it most. I think it would have been more effective than what I am currently seeing, which is alot of time each morning with 5-10 wasted minutes getting everyone setup for a 30 minute session. I think it would have been less stressful on teachers and better for students. My disappointment at this point is the inability for DCPS to assess a situation and pivot. We've been in the same holding pattern for close to a year. And if there's any inkling of it continuing into fall, we need to pivot and rethink the system entirely. If teachers are going to leave, fine. Let's figure out who's going to leave, funnel that money to those that want to stay, and find workable solutions instead of treading water.

I completely agree. As a DCPS teacher, I have been advocating for just this model since around April, and definitely during the summer, but my principal and DCPS will not allow it. They are forcing teachers to mimic the in-person model online and THAT IS NOT WORKING. This is not something the WTU or the teachers caused. There are ways that online learning could be better, but DCPS doesn't want to allow schools to try them. I couldn't tell you why not.