APS: details on how long dropoff will take?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington needs to jettison its 11 students to a bus silliness.
Both FCPS and FCCPS are allowing 1 student per seat, and both are allowing siblings to sit next ot each other on the bus.
fcps policy "• Students should load the bus from back-to-front and unload from front-to-back.
• Students are to be seated one per seat and closest to the window unless they are siblings coming from the same household."
https://www.fcps.edu/returntoschool/return-school-questions-and-answers?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=

Yes, this is a perfect example of APS constantly shooting itself in the foot. WHY!? Seriously, WHY is this the policy.

+1. This is just some arbitrary rule they made up. APS sports this winter were allowed 20 kids per bus but for actual school they can only have 11?? APS you never cease to amaze me with your inane policies.

Everything would work much more smoothly if they would allow 1 seat per student, siblings can sit together. It would eliminate the need for multiple bus runs and 'holding rooms.' It would allow reasonable expanded walk zones instead of pretending that kids were going to be walking 1 mile across major roads. It might allow APS to follow FCCPS plan for elementary school and do 4 days a week of 1/2 days, thereby vastly improving education and eliminating the lunch problem.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The logistic are unreal, parents better be patient. Kids all have to be ready to start the day at their desks at 9am, so hybrid families need to plan to show up at school really early to wait in line. No pulling into the kiss and drop at 8:45.

We were told drop off will be rolling so they we won’t necessarily start right at 9 (staff)

So what time will the kids not in person/full time DL that day start?

The normal time.

Then hybrid kids will just join once they arrive? That doesn’t seem to make sense with what our elementary school told us. He said kids would be congregated in the gym upon arrival and then released the class together.

I'm going to bet that gets changed- someone is going to nix that idea since it defeats the purpose of cohorting kids. Most schools will have students go straight to classrooms and teachers will have some sort of independent work/choice board.

Our school is having children go straight to their classroom

DP. I expect this will vary by school depending on how many students have selected hybrid. For the schools with very low percentages, their arrival window can be much shorter, so it's more feasible to send students directly to classes without interrupting teacher prep time. At the schools with 70% doing hybrid, they'll necessarily need a longer arrival time, and probably will need to hold students somewhere so that teachers still get their before-school prep time.

Oh the high hybrid school parents will not tolerate Suzy having to wait at drop off or pick up!

[Anonymous]

Regarding start of day and screening questions, I attended 2 Q&A sessions tonight one for elem and one for HS. Both said it is the escorting parent or student themself (HS) that will need to show proof of being cleared by the qualtrics screener questions before being admitted. As a staff member I get a “cleared” email a few minutes after I fill out the questionnaire. just passing along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding start of day and screening questions, I attended 2 Q&A sessions tonight one for elem and one for HS. Both said it is the escorting parent or student themself (HS) that will need to show proof of being cleared by the qualtrics screener questions before being admitted. As a staff member I get a “cleared” email a few minutes after I fill out the questionnaire. just passing along.

I admit I have not paid one bit of attention to this because I assumed HS would never go back.

Can HS kids go in on their own?

[Anonymous]

My kid played HS basketball, and they had to fill out a Covid health questionnaire online everyday, then enter through one specific door, which had a list of kids who filled it out, then temp check and hand sanitizer. It ran smoothly after the first week, and I assume it'll be similar on a wider basis. Bus riders get checked before getting on the bus.

Hopefully the MS and HS schedules will change so that homeroom will be first to absorb late arrivals.

[Anonymous]

DES says they anticipate it will only take 15 minutes to screen all the kids – this is a highly in person school. They will have 20 or so teachers temperature checking. They are also not doing holding rooms. Administration said to expect the first week or two to go slower off course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding start of day and screening questions, I attended 2 Q&A sessions tonight one for elem and one for HS. Both said it is the escorting parent or student themself (HS) that will need to show proof of being cleared by the qualtrics screener questions before being admitted. As a staff member I get a “cleared” email a few minutes after I fill out the questionnaire. just passing along.

I admit I have not paid one bit of attention to this because I assumed HS would never go back.

Can HS kids go in on their own?

Yes, they do not expect MS or HS kids to have a parent with students when they arrive or get on the bus. But students will need a printout or screenshot on their phones of the "cleared" email or message that they've completed the questionnaire.

[Anonymous]

Our school is doing staggered drop off beginning at 8:20. They plan to have alot of staff in front the first few weeks. There will be different entrances for grade levels. Let's see how it all works out.

[Anonymous]

PP also there will need to be parents parking and walking kids up. No more kiss and drop car lanes. Also, 2nd and up can walk to cars off school property or home at end of day, but pre-k through 1st will need a authorized adult to be released. Each grade as mentioned before will have designated exists.

[Anonymous]

I heard from my kid’s teacher today that our school is planing to have 20 staff members doing morning checks for about 150 students arriving each day. With those kinds of numbers, I can see them moving through arrival pretty quickly. It also makes sense why they need kids to gather in common spaces before moving to classrooms if all of the teachers will be helping with arrival.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP also there will need to be parents parking and walking kids up. No more kiss and drop car lanes. Also, 2nd and up can walk to cars off school property or home at end of day, but pre-k through 1st will need a authorized adult to be released. Each grade as mentioned before will have designated exists.

Our ES is having parent drive up. They take the temperature while the student is still in the car.

[Anonymous]

This will be a hot mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This will be a hot mess.

It’s all theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be a hot mess.

It’s all theater.

Thanks for the fancy dress tip! Should we wear a costume both days?

[Anonymous]

Realistically, the first week will be a mess. That’s ok. The school will quickly realize what type of bottlenecks arise with this or that approach. They’ll adjust, like we’ve all been doing this past year. It will sort itself out and nobody’s getting detention for showing up late due to delays attributable to covid screening.