How is your elementary school engaging with kids in quarantine?

[Anonymous]

I am not in DCPS but I am in PGCPS. When kids quarantine, they sign onto zoom and we teach them right alongside the physical kids for the entire day. They log off for lunch and recess. It’s not difficult to do at all. Their textbooks are online, their work is online (google classroom). When they do group work, I just put my laptop (that is on zoom) with a couple of the kids that are physically in my classroom. The students miss no instruction. The students are doing the same work as the students physically in the class. The students have me there to ask and answer questions. I don’t get why it is so difficult….

[Anonymous]

Well for one thing our textbooks are not online. Everything has to be loaded and formatted. DCPS also has no simulcasting technology in classrooms so unless you point your zoom camera at the front of the room and don’t move, they’ll be listening to a disembodied voice they can barely hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well for one thing our textbooks are not online. Everything has to be loaded and formatted. DCPS also has no simulcasting technology in classrooms so unless you point your zoom camera at the front of the room and don’t move, they’ll be listening to a disembodied voice they can barely hear.

+1

I teach HS and our admin mentioned simulcasting and I really tried to think about how I would do this. I use my laptop to show students work on the promethean board so I would have to have teams on at the same time as the board. But then I write on the white board so how would kids see what I was writing? And how would they hear discussions? And I would never have my laptop to take attendance or anything because the kid would be in a small group with in person kids on the laptop. I just don’t see how this works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools need to do rapid testing. That would cut back on long term quarantining.

Can you clarify how rapid testing would cut down on long-term quarantining? Assuming an unvaccinated person is in close contact they have to quarantine for at least 7 days.

I agree that schools need to do rapid testing but that's to identify infection. it doesn't seem like it would help reduce quarantining.

The rapid testing is part of a "test and stay" program; kids that are close contacts stay in school and do a rapid test daily. If they are negative they stay at school (thus reducing the quarantine).

Here's Massachusetts' description of their school test-and-stay program:

https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/testing/

And spread it for the first three days when they’re positive, but it’s too soon to test positive with Delta.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Yes, exposure was outside of school. The class has another similarly situated kid, so its two kids. And I am keeping my kid home to protect others, just in case. (Its terrible.)

If they tried simulcasting and it was a hot mess, I'd understand. But they don't seem to have any plan at all (how 'bout a lunch bunch math lesson?) and they both KNOW kids are going to be out and WANT kids to stay home of there is any risk at all. Morning meeting seemed to go okay today - the visual wasn't great but we could hear the teacher and my kid was called on to share - unmute-share-re-mute.

I wish they were trying harder or had a plan - what great PR it would be if I was telling everyone that I was glad I kept Kid home, just in case, and the school did a good job keeping us on track.

You can thank the teachers and WTU for this, NOT DCPS. WTU negotiated prohibitions on simulcasting/simultaneous in person and virtual. Basically, a student needs to have a documented medical issue requiring virtual and the school must need to have provide virtual in order to meet legal obligations (like IEP support) and must have tried every other option to no avail first. The MOU adds: “DCPS shall not require teachers to provide simultaneous instruction for student or family convenience.” And any teachers who are forced to provide simultaneous instruction and meet the limited criteria to do so must get paid additional stipends.

There are some classrooms in the district that are simulcasting but it is occurring more in the self contained special education classrooms. Many classrooms are not set up to simulcast. I had to simulcast last school year and 1200 is not worth it! The school should be providing asynchronous work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools need to do rapid testing. That would cut back on long term quarantining.

Can you clarify how rapid testing would cut down on long-term quarantining? Assuming an unvaccinated person is in close contact they have to quarantine for at least 7 days.

I agree that schools need to do rapid testing but that's to identify infection. it doesn't seem like it would help reduce quarantining.

The rapid testing is part of a "test and stay" program; kids that are close contacts stay in school and do a rapid test daily. If they are negative they stay at school (thus reducing the quarantine).

Here's Massachusetts' description of their school test-and-stay program:

https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/testing/

And spread it for the first three days when they’re positive, but it’s too soon to test positive with Delta.

you should probably be homeschooling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And spread it for the first three days when they’re positive, but it’s too soon to test positive with Delta.

To spread the virus, it needs to be present in the nasal cavity and saliva, where testing occurs. Setting aside testing error, it won't be negative if the child is spreading disease.