Virtual back to school night, again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

Er, it's different because the kids and teacher aren't working from home. Parents want to understand the experience their child is having every day.

I find it alarming that you needed to explain that to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

Er, it's different because the kids and teacher aren't working from home. Parents want to understand the experience their child is having every day.

Do you need to be physically sitting in your child’s classroom to “understand their experience”? Our school has multiple separate events to meet the teacher, see the classroom, etc. I find BTSN to be tedious, especially after your kid has been at the school for more than one year.

DP. Yes, BTSN is important. There’s a reason it is a tradition! You get to see the classroom, meet the teacher, hear from the principal, meet other parents. I’m surprised anyone needs this explained. If your school does other events at the beginning of the year that overlap, maybe consider consolidating? In person events really are essential for a school community. I remember how great it was that our DCPS did in person BTSN in fall 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like parent teacher conferences should be virtual. Back to school night should be in person. It’s a chance to meet teacher(s), see the classroom(s), etc.

My kids teacher let me do this virtually, I just had to ask. I think the school tells them to do them in person but if you just ask they would probably prefer vitural!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

I am one of the PPs and I am a teacher. I would much prefer in person BTSN for my elementary aged child. I also think in person is better for my school. I want to see my kid’s classroom, meet their teacher, etc. I understand many parents want to meet me too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

Just stop. Virtual back to school night is not why people are leaving schools in upper elementary.
Give the teachers a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

I think this has more to do with the reality of the limited MS, HS options in DC than community. I also wonder if the importance of community is overstated. DS (now in later MS) attended a charter school that touted community in ECE but got a LOUSY education. We met other parents, made friends, blah, blah, but in hindsight, I would have much preferred rigorous academics over community. But I also learned early on that getting involved in fundraisers, volunteering wasn't really my thing, so I might be an outlier. Frankly, it was a relief to get to MS, where there are limited to none opportunities to engage.

[Anonymous]

I wish they could do a virtual session for all of the mandatory junk like "This is What It Means to Be a Title I School" these are the Spring Break dates, "this is our school model" or whatever and have a more informal/outreach-oriented in person event.

Joking division: anything that sounds like the DMV: online. Anything meant to establish human connection: in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish they could do a virtual session for all of the mandatory junk like "This is What It Means to Be a Title I School" these are the Spring Break dates, "this is our school model" or whatever and have a more informal/outreach-oriented in person event.

Joking division: anything that sounds like the DMV: online. Anything meant to establish human connection: in person.

Real question. What do they say when they talk about this is what it means to be at a title 1 school? Seriously asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

Just stop. Virtual back to school night is not why people are leaving schools in upper elementary.
Give the teachers a break.

Hop off the cross. You are not a victim or a martyr because you are expected to be in person for school family events at a school where you agreed to be a teacher. Also, read better. No one said it is the reason. What was said was that engagement is important. It is important to try and engage families at every opportunity. If you don't engage them and make them feel part of the community it is easier to depart when other things don't go to plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

I think this has more to do with the reality of the limited MS, HS options in DC than community. I also wonder if the importance of community is overstated. DS (now in later MS) attended a charter school that touted community in ECE but got a LOUSY education. We met other parents, made friends, blah, blah, but in hindsight, I would have much preferred rigorous academics over community. But I also learned early on that getting involved in fundraisers, volunteering wasn't really my thing, so I might be an outlier. Frankly, it was a relief to get to MS, where there are limited to none opportunities to engage.

+1. My kid went to an elementary where there were a ton of events pre-pandemic, and most people went to many of them. We all still left after 4th grade, and we all went to different schools. Many left the neighborhood entirely. The community was great, but quality of education is still number one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

Just stop. Virtual back to school night is not why people are leaving schools in upper elementary.
Give the teachers a break.

Hop off the cross. You are not a victim or a martyr because you are expected to be in person for school family events at a school where you agreed to be a teacher. Also, read better. No one said it is the reason. What was said was that engagement is important. It is important to try and engage families at every opportunity. If you don't engage them and make them feel part of the community it is easier to depart when other things don't go to plan.

NP: first off, no need to be so rude. Second, even on this thread it's basically 50/50 between people who prefer virtual vs in person. Your form of engagement is not every families form of engagement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

Just stop. Virtual back to school night is not why people are leaving schools in upper elementary.
Give the teachers a break.

Hop off the cross. You are not a victim or a martyr because you are expected to be in person for school family events at a school where you agreed to be a teacher. Also, read better. No one said it is the reason. What was said was that engagement is important. It is important to try and engage families at every opportunity. If you don't engage them and make them feel part of the community it is easier to depart when other things don't go to plan.

NP: first off, no need to be so rude. Second, even on this thread it's basically 50/50 between people who prefer virtual vs in person. Your form of engagement is not every families form of engagement.

The "teacher" was playing the role of a martyr. That's an observation, not "rudeness". You observation about opinions running 50/50 is a non sequitur. My point (and that of many others) is that engagement is a key factor in whether and how willing people are to leave a school for other options. What does your "50/50" observation have to do with that? Are you suggesting that if engagement isn't for everyone then it isn't for anyone? Even if we assume, arguendo, that it is 50/50 for all families and not just the overrepresented WTU members on DCUM, that 50% who might be less engaged are more likely to peel off. That's bad for you and your "50%" even if you don't grasp the concept (that last part was rude - learn the difference.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I bet everybody on here complaining about virtual back to school night are just fine with working from home.

Hypocrites.

Right? But they’ll shriek “THAT’S DIFFERENT!!” or make the age-old DCUM claim that they’ve been back in person for years (actually true for, charitably, 20% of them). No, it isn’t different, Becky.

Er, it's different because the kids and teacher aren't working from home. Parents want to understand the experience their child is having every day.

Do you need to be physically sitting in your child’s classroom to “understand their experience”? Our school has multiple separate events to meet the teacher, see the classroom, etc. I find BTSN to be tedious, especially after your kid has been at the school for more than one year.

JFC, then don’t go. No one is forcing you. Others have a different opinion including me whose child has been at the school for 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A huge problem with the conversation about virtual versus in-person in schools is that your feelings on this are going to be really different if you've had kids in this school for 6 years versus 2-3.

As a parent whose kid started school during the pandemic, I am very tired of virtual events because I feel SO disconnected from the school and I just want some semblance of normalcy. Unlike those of you who have been parenting school age kids for longer, I have such limited experience even just being inside the school, much less meeting teacher or admin, getting a sense of a feel for the school, etc. It sucks. I have a kid entering 1st grade this year and I still feel kind of lost in terms of how the school works. This last year was the first year we were even allowed in the building at all, and even then it was very curtailed.

Our PTA has had this conversation and you'll see this very clear divide -- ECE parents without older kids all want more in person. Parents of older kids don't care or don't want them. They don't need them! They already know what they need to know, have made their contacts, know who to call or talk to when there's an issue etc.

Schools need to think about new families. A new family needs some in person time at the school! Come on!

Your kid will be fine and so will you. Come on!

NP but schools always talk about wanting parent buy in. If you have no opportunities for in person activities, including back to school night, you will not have as much parent buy in. It is hard to create a school community solely in Teams meetings. Which I guess is fine, but when parents don’t respond or donate to fundraisers or volunteer then don’t complain .

Correct. The lack of connection to the school also makes it more likely for kids to peel off later in ES. There are but a handful of schools in DC that have enough buy-in all the way through 5th to risk losing an opportunity to create buy-in.

Just stop. Virtual back to school night is not why people are leaving schools in upper elementary.
Give the teachers a break.

Hop off the cross. You are not a victim or a martyr because you are expected to be in person for school family events at a school where you agreed to be a teacher. Also, read better. No one said it is the reason. What was said was that engagement is important. It is important to try and engage families at every opportunity. If you don't engage them and make them feel part of the community it is easier to depart when other things don't go to plan.

NP: first off, no need to be so rude. Second, even on this thread it's basically 50/50 between people who prefer virtual vs in person. Your form of engagement is not every families form of engagement.

The "teacher" was playing the role of a martyr. That's an observation, not "rudeness". You observation about opinions running 50/50 is a non sequitur. My point (and that of many others) is that engagement is a key factor in whether and how willing people are to leave a school for other options. What does your "50/50" observation have to do with that? Are you suggesting that if engagement isn't for everyone then it isn't for anyone? Even if we assume, arguendo, that it is 50/50 for all families and not just the overrepresented WTU members on DCUM, that 50% who might be less engaged are more likely to peel off. That's bad for you and your "50%" even if you don't grasp the concept (that last part was rude - learn the difference.)

Some families on this thread have said that they prefer to engage virtually. That was my point. Have a nice day yelling into the clouds.