"Key fact: ... serious ambivalence among parents whether in-person school is desirable right now."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

It's just that finding out that you had close contact and then quarantining just isn't pandemonium. It just isn't. Even testing positive, for 99.9999% of kindergartners, should cause no stress, whatsoever. Why did you get so riled up over it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

It's just that finding out that you had close contact and then quarantining just isn't pandemonium. It just isn't. Even testing positive, for 99.9999% of kindergartners, should cause no stress, whatsoever. Why did you get so riled up over it?

Why would this be drama? I mean, there is a sick kid or teacher. Contact trace and switch to virtual. Where is the pandemonium?

Sure, let’s just keep kids home another six months to avoid the unlikely event that a school can’t handle contact tracing with the health department which has been doing this for nearly a year. 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using 2 large urban districts as an example doesn’t really describe the feelings of all parents universally.

+1

I think if you surveyed the landscape of the entire country, most parents want kids back in school and many already have them in school.

:oops
This isn’t true. What you think is just fantasy.

Umm. The country has established policy that was skewed to a small population and kept it going. Understood when we knew nothing in March - Summer. Now - a year later - all of us educated folks understand that punishing an entire country instead of protecting the most vulnerable was a dumb idea.

Biden in office. Less than a month later - cases down! Positives down! Vaccines good!

Let’s move the hell on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

I have two (younger) kids who have been in class since September. Both kids have had to quarantine once. One teacher positive and one classmate positive. No spread within the school as far as I am aware. The quarantines were not fun, but both of my kids say they were worth it as they love being in school. We are not a high-risk household. So YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

My kid just came out of quarantine because another kid in his class tested positive. 10-day quarantine and was also tested at the end -- negative. All the kids and the teachers were negative. Sure, it was a bummer to switch back to remote for a while, but it was not pandemonium. The school nurse called about the quarantine and gave us clear instructions and answered our questions. The govt contact tracing program also followed up. There have been about a dozen plus positive cases (caught in weekly testing) but zero cases of in school transmission -- i.e, no one who had to quarantine because of school contact with a positive case later tested positive or developed symptoms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Providence, with 90+% Black and Latino students and a strong union, schools reopened and 70% of families chose in-person: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/magazine/school-reopenings-rhode-island.html?fbclid=IwAR0QdDOg924cxwlxi2zTPyLbqQvnvJqqtD1mPTomF7U9r89kUq2B6p0MbP0

They walk the talk. People trust them with their children. Our schools can’t say that because their concern for our Black and Brown children regardless of SES is so fake. Providence put in the work for years to build strong relationships with their families. The stuff that low income, minority families put up with in the DMV won’t fly there.

[Anonymous]

A teacher in DC just died of Covid. She has been teaching in person. Her family believes she contracted the virus at school. How can any reasonable person think that a RTS is the right idea now? It is horrific that parents are so cavalier about the lives of their children's teachers.

www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/matriarch-teacher-at-ballou-stay-high-school-dies-of-covid-19/2570146/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

It's just that finding out that you had close contact and then quarantining just isn't pandemonium. It just isn't. Even testing positive, for 99.9999% of kindergartners, should cause no stress, whatsoever. Why did you get so riled up over it?

Why would this be drama? I mean, there is a sick kid or teacher. Contact trace and switch to virtual. Where is the pandemonium?

Sure, let’s just keep kids home another six months to avoid the unlikely event that a school can’t handle contact tracing with the health department which has been doing this for nearly a year. 🙄

NP. The health dept (Fairfax County) can't handle contact tracing as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

My kid just came out of quarantine because another kid in his class tested positive. 10-day quarantine and was also tested at the end -- negative. All the kids and the teachers were negative. Sure, it was a bummer to switch back to remote for a while, but it was not pandemonium. The school nurse called about the quarantine and gave us clear instructions and answered our questions. The govt contact tracing program also followed up. There have been about a dozen plus positive cases (caught in weekly testing) but zero cases of in school transmission -- i.e, no one who had to quarantine because of school contact with a positive case later tested positive or developed symptoms.

There isn't going to be a school nurse or weekly testing or even temperature checks in Fairfax County. Our school health aide was awful before this. My child isn't returning to school anyway, but I do not think it will go as well as you described for all schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS parent, I care very little what my fellow parents think at this point. Heck, thousands of them just signed a petition with zero peer-reviewed scientific references to delay indefinitely a return to school. I prefer our social policy be guided by organizations with the relevant expertise, like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Policy Lab at CHOP, and individuals with relevant expertise, like Tony Fauci, Ashish Jha, and others.

Reopening schools shouldn't be a political issue.

We are only reopening as Biden made it an election promise. There is no following science - science mandated specific data based off numbers and things like social distancing. Now they are talking about putting 12-15 kids plus staff in a classroom. Science has been thrown out the window. Instead of a lockdown to get this under control its a free for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids was doing in person K (at a private school). Her teacher tested positive for covid. Then kids had to stay home for two weeks. It has been pandemonium. Parents are quarantining. Some tested positive at least 5 classmates positive not sure if it's from the teacher. Everyone is upset. If I could go back and do it again, I would not do this. The stress and disruption are far worse than having kept her home.

My kid just came out of quarantine because another kid in his class tested positive. 10-day quarantine and was also tested at the end -- negative. All the kids and the teachers were negative. Sure, it was a bummer to switch back to remote for a while, but it was not pandemonium. The school nurse called about the quarantine and gave us clear instructions and answered our questions. The govt contact tracing program also followed up. There have been about a dozen plus positive cases (caught in weekly testing) but zero cases of in school transmission -- i.e, no one who had to quarantine because of school contact with a positive case later tested positive or developed symptoms.

There isn't going to be a school nurse or weekly testing or even temperature checks in Fairfax County. Our school health aide was awful before this. My child isn't returning to school anyway, but I do not think it will go as well as you described for all schools.

MCPS is no testing, no temperature checks, no additional cleanings at night, etc. And, zero consistent quarantine plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A teacher in DC just died of Covid. She has been teaching in person. Her family believes she contracted the virus at school. How can any reasonable person think that a RTS is the right idea now? It is horrific that parents are so cavalier about the lives of their children's teachers.

www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/matriarch-teacher-at-ballou-stay-high-school-dies-of-covid-19/2570146/

they all got vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Providence, with 90+% Black and Latino students and a strong union, schools reopened and 70% of families chose in-person: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/magazine/school-reopenings-rhode-island.html?fbclid=IwAR0QdDOg924cxwlxi2zTPyLbqQvnvJqqtD1mPTomF7U9r89kUq2B6p0MbP0

They walk the talk. People trust them with their children. Our schools can’t say that because their concern for our Black and Brown children regardless of SES is so fake. Providence put in the work for years to build strong relationships with their families. The stuff that low income, minority families put up with in the DMV won’t fly there.

Most minority/low income families know how to make child care work as they have to do it at other times, like the summer. Its the other families, mainly those who over spent on housing to be in the "good" school districts who are now struggling as they cannot afford child care without lifestyle changes. They aren't willing to make those changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS parent, I care very little what my fellow parents think at this point. Heck, thousands of them just signed a petition with zero peer-reviewed scientific references to delay indefinitely a return to school. I prefer our social policy be guided by organizations with the relevant expertise, like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Policy Lab at CHOP, and individuals with relevant expertise, like Tony Fauci, Ashish Jha, and others.

Reopening schools shouldn't be a political issue.

We are only reopening as Biden made it an election promise. There is no following science - science mandated specific data based off numbers and things like social distancing. Now they are talking about putting 12-15 kids plus staff in a classroom. Science has been thrown out the window. Instead of a lockdown to get this under control its a free for all.

That is science. Sorry you don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Biden in office. Less than a month later - cases down! Positives down! Vaccines good!

I mean, there was definitely a spike in December (after Thanksgiving) and a bigger one in January (after Christmas). Inauguration was late January. It wasn't so coincidental that cases went down right after Biden came into office. They were down from a holiday spike.