School starts 2 weeks tomorrow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

And it's not the BOE, exactly. It's the MCPS management that was not prepared with adequate answers to community questions relayed by the Board with respect to the schedule. This is especially true with regard to full-day Zoom instruction for the youngest learners in K-2. Lots of people are concerned that they don't have the attention span for the plan, don't have facility with Zoom to go on and off screen per the detailed day plans (so parents will need to be "on" to assist either all day, or every 15 minutes. The plan may stay the same, but it's not because parents don't have concerns, it's because it is hard to turn the Titanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And it's not the BOE, exactly. It's the MCPS management that was not prepared with adequate answers to community questions relayed by the Board with respect to the schedule. This is especially true with regard to full-day Zoom instruction for the youngest learners in K-2. Lots of people are concerned that they don't have the attention span for the plan, don't have facility with Zoom to go on and off screen per the detailed day plans (so parents will need to be "on" to assist either all day, or every 15 minutes. The plan may stay the same, but it's not because parents don't have concerns, it's because it is hard to turn the Titanic.

Please keep in mind that parents' concerns included "there's no live instruction!" and "there's not enough school!"

MCPS can't win here. No matter what they do, people will be unhappy and angry. So they might as well just go ahead and do what they think is best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And it's not the BOE, exactly. It's the MCPS management that was not prepared with adequate answers to community questions relayed by the Board with respect to the schedule. This is especially true with regard to full-day Zoom instruction for the youngest learners in K-2. Lots of people are concerned that they don't have the attention span for the plan, don't have facility with Zoom to go on and off screen per the detailed day plans (so parents will need to be "on" to assist either all day, or every 15 minutes. The plan may stay the same, but it's not because parents don't have concerns, it's because it is hard to turn the Titanic.

Please keep in mind that parents' concerns included "there's no live instruction!" and "there's not enough school!"

MCPS can't win here. No matter what they do, people will be unhappy and angry. So they might as well just go ahead and do what they think is best.

Yes, there are the truly uninformed parents who don't know what day school starts, and yes, I agree that MCPS is in a difficult situation with conflicting demands. Even so, MCPS admin should be able to acknowledge legitimate concerns and not reply to EVERY parent concern as "We're the educators, we know better!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

Even better, it's the day AFTER teachers begin pre-service, where they're supposed to plan and set up for the year. The big bad union pushed for an earlier vote, but to no avail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

Even better, it's the day AFTER teachers begin pre-service, where they're supposed to plan and set up for the year. The big bad union pushed for an earlier vote, but to no avail.

If MCPS sticks to their usual practices, they will reveal an updated (?) draft on the 23rd. The Board is really backed into a corner at that point, and it works to the advantage of MCPS admin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

Even better, it's the day AFTER teachers begin pre-service, where they're supposed to plan and set up for the year. The big bad union pushed for an earlier vote, but to no avail.

If MCPS sticks to their usual practices, they will reveal an updated (?) draft on the 23rd. The Board is really backed into a corner at that point, and it works to the advantage of MCPS admin.

It has to be posted online before then. I think tomorrow, but could be off on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

All those information are on the website except for the text books. Look there before complaining. Geez.

But did you ever get text book info 2 weeks before school started pre-COVID?

On the bright side, this thread is really just the 2020 version of the traditional annual DCUM back-to-school thread on the topic of "MCPS needs to tell me every detail way ahead of time because that's how I manage my anxiety about uncertainty."

But as a paying tax payer, I demand, let me repeat, I demand to know everything at least 1 year ahead of time. With all of the taxes I pay this county, they can easily afford to buy not just one but several crystal balls.

I feel like 2 weeks before school starts its not to much to ask to know the times my child and therefore myself will be expected to be online and which days....seriously, some of us work.

I don’t understand. Did you not see this:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/MCPSDraftRecoveryPlan-updated.pdf

Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

+1 I was just about to write, too, that it's a DRAFT. I'd like the final plan as well, in writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

All those information are on the website except for the text books. Look there before complaining. Geez.

But did you ever get text book info 2 weeks before school started pre-COVID?

On the bright side, this thread is really just the 2020 version of the traditional annual DCUM back-to-school thread on the topic of "MCPS needs to tell me every detail way ahead of time because that's how I manage my anxiety about uncertainty."

But as a paying tax payer, I demand, let me repeat, I demand to know everything at least 1 year ahead of time. With all of the taxes I pay this county, they can easily afford to buy not just one but several crystal balls.

I feel like 2 weeks before school starts its not to much to ask to know the times my child and therefore myself will be expected to be online and which days....seriously, some of us work.

I don’t understand. Did you not see this:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/MCPSDraftRecoveryPlan-updated.pdf

Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

+1 I was just about to write, too, that it's a DRAFT. I'd like the final plan as well, in writing.

I guarantee that the final plan will have a similar schedule as the draft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

As a parent, my anxiety stems from the reality that I will have to implement a portion of the plan, with no training and almost no notice, for children at 2 different grade levels while working full time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

As a parent, my anxiety stems from the reality that I will have to implement a portion of the plan, with no training and almost no notice, for children at 2 different grade levels while working full time.

Your anxiety will not go away by reading/posting here. It’s actually making it worse. Time is better spent preparing their rooms, WiFi, computers, desks, and have them familiarize themselves with zoom, mypcps, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

As a parent, my anxiety stems from the reality that I will have to implement a portion of the plan, with no training and almost no notice, for children at 2 different grade levels while working full time.

Your anxiety will not go away by reading/posting here. It’s actually making it worse. Time is better spent preparing their rooms, WiFi, computers, desks, and have them familiarize themselves with zoom, mypcps, etc.

True, but we have already done all of those things, and I was hoping for more guidance from our schools and others in the same situation as myself. Obviously this is not the correct forum for support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

As a parent, my anxiety stems from the reality that I will have to implement a portion of the plan, with no training and almost no notice, for children at 2 different grade levels while working full time.

Your anxiety will not go away by reading/posting here. It’s actually making it worse. Time is better spent preparing their rooms, WiFi, computers, desks, and have them familiarize themselves with zoom, mypcps, etc.

True, but we have already done all of those things, and I was hoping for more guidance from our schools and others in the same situation as myself. Obviously this is not the correct forum for support.

It should be. Your concerns are valid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even the URL has the word "Draft" in it, implying it's not actually the final plan. 2 weeks to go -- when will they have a finalized plan?

“The Board of Education will vote to approve a final plan on Tuesday, August 25.”
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/reopening/

Yikes. Finalizing a plan 3 business days before school starts? How is that fair to all the people who need to implement it? The BOE is setting them up for failure.

The general timings will probably stay the same. There may be small changes.

As a parent, my anxiety stems from the reality that I will have to implement a portion of the plan, with no training and almost no notice, for children at 2 different grade levels while working full time.

Your anxiety will not go away by reading/posting here. It’s actually making it worse. Time is better spent preparing their rooms, WiFi, computers, desks, and have them familiarize themselves with zoom, mypcps, etc.

True, but we have already done all of those things, and I was hoping for more guidance from our schools and others in the same situation as myself. Obviously this is not the correct forum for support.

It should be. Your concerns are valid.

You expect comfort on a forum with anonymous posters that lacks any credible information? These are anti-maskers, anti-teacher, anti-MCPS and anti-human decency here in DCUM.

Email your school Principal or staffer. They will know much more info and tell you when to expect information.

[Anonymous]

OP, your school didn’t email you anything?

Our MS Principal emailed this to us. It has all the information we will need.

https://www.smore.com/0678n