How Does Fall Look If All Students Go Back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Masks no social distancing.

Regular school, no distancing, no masks.

Yes, if you’re in Arlington, Tx

Sadly yes. No chance APS has regular school and no distancing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people really believe that all willing adults will be vaccinated by May? “Available” and actually distributed are two different things.

If Northam signs the bill, we will likely have in person, masks required, minimal distancing. If he doesn’t, we will have at least another year of virtual/hybrid/what we have now.

The rate of people who want the vaccine in Arlington is incredibly high, like 92%. It’s ironic that people left APS for school districts that were opening with less precautions but may come back if we have higher than average vax rates.

This area should definitely see a big drop in cases due to the vaccine and high rates of people opting to get it. I have family in SW VA, where schools are open 4 days a week right now, and the cases there won't drop as much because there are soooo many people that are scared of/won't get the vaccine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree normal school with masks. Maybe some attempt at distancing if possible (desks in rows vs tables in ES). But Biden announced yesterday that there is enough to vaccine available for all adults in the US by May.

That should cause rates to plummet by fall even without vaccines available for kids.

Agree with the bold. There may also still be restrictions on visitors and restrictions on large events and/or spectators at sports and performances. I don't see all the ES kids piling into the gym for an assembly, for example.

[Anonymous]

I really hope our APS ES school gives the option of virtual in the fall until there is a vaccine for kids that are ES age. Or, I may be comfortable with in person until Thanksgiving, then virtual until March. I know others want to be back in person in the fall 5 days a week. I'm not trying to take that away, I'm just advocating for a virtual option for my student until vaccines are available. And by available I mean actually received in arm.

[Anonymous]

There is obviously going to be a virtual option. What I can see though is if you choose it you will get a teacher but not necessarily a teacher at your home school. The virtual class may also be students from all over the county, not necessarily students who go to your assigned school.

-teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is obviously going to be a virtual option. What I can see though is if you choose it you will get a teacher but not necessarily a teacher at your home school. The virtual class may also be students from all over the county, not necessarily students who go to your assigned school.

-teacher

Of course it has to be like that. They can’t possibly staff it otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is obviously going to be a virtual option. What I can see though is if you choose it you will get a teacher but not necessarily a teacher at your home school. The virtual class may also be students from all over the county, not necessarily students who go to your assigned school.

-teacher

Of course it has to be like that. They can’t possibly staff it otherwise.

That’s how I think they should do it, too, but so far I have heard nothing about how they actually plan to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is obviously going to be a virtual option. What I can see though is if you choose it you will get a teacher but not necessarily a teacher at your home school. The virtual class may also be students from all over the county, not necessarily students who go to your assigned school.

-teacher

I also think that’s what they will do. It may even continue to be an option after COVID, which is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing full time with masks and probably very few mask exemptions allowed for any reason. We chose virtual for the remainder of the year because we thought it would be less disruptive to have to be in and out of school and because our kids are at the age where they can manage it. I expect to send them back in the fall but will look at the private K12 option if there is a plan to continue with concurrent.

Oh, also, we will base the decision on #s as well. There is currently no vaccine for ages 10-14 and we are not going to risk in person if there's a lot of spread in that age group.

Same. When our tweens and teens can be vaccinated then they will return to the school building. Until then, they are not going back to the school building.

[Anonymous]

I know people are convinced that it's only NOVA that is not fully back to school, but there are multiple school divisions around the state that are still doing some version of virtual/hybrid.

Look, it makes life easier for all of the school divisions if the Northam signs the bill requiring 5 days a week in person, because right now the divisions are between a rock and a hard place.

According to the most recent CDC guidelines, the schools should be on hybrid/virtual at this time, and while there are loud "open school" voices, there are also loud voice of people freaking out about ventilation and other things. Like I said, rock and a hard place.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/02/us/...ontext=storyline_keepup_recirc

Excerpt from article linked above, written March 2
"But even after drastic drops in the number of new coronavirus cases, few counties in the United States meet the C.D.C.’s thresholds to avoid major restrictions, which are based on both the number of cases and test-positivity rates.
As of Thursday, those thresholds put most counties in categories where the agency recommended elementary schools reduce the number of students in classrooms with a mix of in-person and at-home learning. For middle and high schools, the thresholds and data suggest fully remote learning in large portions of the country."

[The map accompanying the article shows only two counties in VA currently meeting the threshold for full in-person, those fortunately numbers are trending in a good direction.
That leaves ALL of the other jurisdictions in the hybrid category.]

Again from the article
"Hybrid learning , with some students in school and others learning online at home, is the recommendation when a community has 50 to 100 new weekly cases per 100,000 people or a seven-day positivity rate of 8 to 10 percent. In those areas, the goal is to reduce in-person attendance to maintain separation between students, according to the recommendations, which say the six-foot separation is “required.” In practice, some schools have reduced class sizes by allowing only high-needs students to attend in person, while other students learn virtually. Others have had students attend part time."

One of the big challenges this year has been planning for multiple variations of learning. Simultaneously having to work out all of the logistics for virtual, in-person, or some combination of the two, where the numbers of students in those categories can fluctuate.

If Northam signs the bill, then every school division knows they can only make one plan. 5 days a week in person. That plan may be in direct violation of the CDC guidelines, but if people yell at the school divisions, the school divisions can say "the legislature and the governor have ordered us to disregard CDC guidelines, and to open schools."
Now, it the best-case scenario, they will be able to open 5 days a week in-person AND will be able to do so without going against CDC guidelines. This would happen if:
A. CDC changes the guidelines
B. CDC guidelines remain the same, but the rollout of the vaccine reduces community spread to the point that all jurisdictions are at that lower risk level, and are therefore in the range that recommends full in-person learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you see changing between now and the fall such that precautions won't be needed?

Um, a lot more vaccinated people? Plunging Covid rates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really hope our APS ES school gives the option of virtual in the fall until there is a vaccine for kids that are ES age. Or, I may be comfortable with in person until Thanksgiving, then virtual until March. I know others want to be back in person in the fall 5 days a week. I'm not trying to take that away, I'm just advocating for a virtual option for my student until vaccines are available. And by available I mean actually received in arm.

There are online school options that aren’t run through the county. APS has enough on its plate trying to reopen in person. Virtual learning does not *need* to be carried out at the local level. They need to put 100% of effort into full time in person offerings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Masks no social distancing.

Regular school, no distancing, no masks.

Yeahhhh, this is not happening here, but feel free to move to YeeHaVille, Deep South if this is what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do people really believe that all willing adults will be vaccinated by May? “Available” and actually distributed are two different things.

If Northam signs the bill, we will likely have in person, masks required, minimal distancing. If he doesn’t, we will have at least another year of virtual/hybrid/what we have now.

People are twisting Biden's words to fit their own agenda. What he ACTUALLY said is not that every willing adult will be vaccinated by May 1, but that they will be made ELIGIBLE (i.e. able to get on a list) by May 1st. So however long they wait on the list (which, unlike the Pollyanna wannabes, will not be instantaneous even with "increased supply" promised, then vaccine #1, then wait 3-4 weeks, then vaccine #2, then wait 2 weeks. Or, with J&J, however long they wait on the list, then vaccine, then wait 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hope our APS ES school gives the option of virtual in the fall until there is a vaccine for kids that are ES age. Or, I may be comfortable with in person until Thanksgiving, then virtual until March. I know others want to be back in person in the fall 5 days a week. I'm not trying to take that away, I'm just advocating for a virtual option for my student until vaccines are available. And by available I mean actually received in arm.

There are online school options that aren’t run through the county. APS has enough on its plate trying to reopen in person. Virtual learning does not *need* to be carried out at the local level. They need to put 100% of effort into full time in person offerings.

That's a nice opinion you've got there, but totally irrelevant. No matter how much you demand that DL kids be shunted off to Virtual Virginia during a pandemic, that won't be happening, and your in person kids won't be sucking up all the resources. As long as there's not a pediatric vaccine or a very, very, extreme drop in cases from where we are now, DL will continue to be offered as an option in your district. Deal with it.