How can kids go 5 days in the fall when school can’t allow 4 days a week now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is not going to be 5 days a week for everybody in the fall.

Yes, there will. They’re just experiencing growing pains right now after coming out of a yearlong DL haze. The CDC will eliminate distancing requirements over the summer. The wheels are being set in motion. Yesterday, the CDC director said she expects fall to be fully in-person.

But if you mean that some kids opt into whatever limited DL option they decide to roll out, that’s probably true.

No, there isn't.

The school board is already talking about getting a waiver from the state so they don't have to have students 5 days/week.

Just because they apply for a waiver doesn't mean they'll get one. Almost all political leadership (local, state, and national) want kids inside the classroom fulltime next year. And just because they get a waiver doesn't mean they'll act upon it. Maybe they want it to have the option. What's the upside for the SB keeping kids outside the classroom next fall? The teachers are already back inside the classroom. The teachers hate concurrent.

Their current plan for fall is basically the CDC dropping distancing requirements. The waiver is their contingency plan in case that doesn't happen (or possibly in case the SB forces Brabrand into concurrent by complaining that everyone who wants it should have access to virtual - who would put that past our SB?). They could instead have a contingency plan that handles 3' space in classrooms and 6' space at eating times, but there is so far zero evidence they have done that.

That's why I've maintained from the beginning that opening up in whatever capacity they do this school year was going to be critical for fall. They're going through all the growing pains right now. And the CDC will realize that it has to lose the distancing requirements.

[Anonymous]

Fully vaccinated teachers are still refusing to teach in person, fyi

I am going to guess that is a very small number of Teachers. Any Teacher teaching from home right now has an ADA exemption for this year. The vaccine might not be as effective for whatever their issue is, I have heard that some illnesses lead to diminished performance of vaccines. Some of those ADA exemptions might not be able to get the vaccine due to their specific issue. You have no clue what the issue is for those Teachers.

But, again, that is a small number of Teachers. The vast majority are back in the classroom teaching. I would be surprised if there are many ADA exemptions for next year.

But feel free to dump on the Teachers. I am sure that helps the vast majority of Teachers back in the classroom and who have been working their asses off all year long feel appreciated.

The Teachers at our ES have been great last year and this year. They have worked hard to make this work. It has not been the year we wanted but it has not been awful. We are excited to be back in the classroom next year but greatly appreciate the efforts of DSs Teachers this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Fully vaccinated teachers are still refusing to teach in person, fyi

I am going to guess that is a very small number of Teachers. Any Teacher teaching from home right now has an ADA exemption for this year. The vaccine might not be as effective for whatever their issue is, I have heard that some illnesses lead to diminished performance of vaccines. Some of those ADA exemptions might not be able to get the vaccine due to their specific issue. You have no clue what the issue is for those Teachers.

But, again, that is a small number of Teachers. The vast majority are back in the classroom teaching. I would be surprised if there are many ADA exemptions for next year.

But feel free to dump on the Teachers. I am sure that helps the vast majority of Teachers back in the classroom and who have been working their asses off all year long feel appreciated.

The Teachers at our ES have been great last year and this year. They have worked hard to make this work. It has not been the year we wanted but it has not been awful. We are excited to be back in the classroom next year but greatly appreciate the efforts of DSs Teachers this year.

if they eliminate virtual, all of the ADA accomodations go away because in person will be an essential function of the job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Fully vaccinated teachers are still refusing to teach in person, fyi

I am going to guess that is a very small number of Teachers. Any Teacher teaching from home right now has an ADA exemption for this year. The vaccine might not be as effective for whatever their issue is, I have heard that some illnesses lead to diminished performance of vaccines. Some of those ADA exemptions might not be able to get the vaccine due to their specific issue. You have no clue what the issue is for those Teachers.

But, again, that is a small number of Teachers. The vast majority are back in the classroom teaching. I would be surprised if there are many ADA exemptions for next year.

But feel free to dump on the Teachers. I am sure that helps the vast majority of Teachers back in the classroom and who have been working their asses off all year long feel appreciated.

The Teachers at our ES have been great last year and this year. They have worked hard to make this work. It has not been the year we wanted but it has not been awful. We are excited to be back in the classroom next year but greatly appreciate the efforts of DSs Teachers this year.

No one is dumping on teachers in general. My DC's teachers have been great too.

However it IS true, and I heard this from someone at Gatehouse, that Brabrand sent out an email asking teachers with ADAs who had been vaccinated to come back, and many still did not (some have). It is ALSO true that this senior leadership team member told me they had been very generous giving out ADAs (the numbers back this up). They expect to be less generous next year.

Of course these aren't most teachers. There were what, somewhere in the range of 3,000 ADA accomodations out of about 20,000 staff members? It's not everyone, but it's still quite a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I understood it, the rationale for two days instead of four was to allow smaller class sizes and 6ft of distancing, which is no longer needed.

The rationale for four days instead of five was to have a planning day because the combination of virtual and in person, ie concurrent learning, required some logistics and planning that were a larger lift than normal.

So, as long as there is no virtual at all next year (OR virtual is segregated out completely, and there's like a district wide virtual option with totally different teachers for high-risk students only), then you should be fine with five days.

This is all true as long as the CDC drops the 6 foot distancing guidance for any time masks are down (breakfast, lunch, ES snack). If they don't, there are OF COURSE a million creative solutions to deal with it. Unfortunately many FCPS schools have already said they cannot deal with it and are keeping classes at 6 feet.

If the CDC/VDH don't change that, what do you expect to happen for fall?

If CDC/VDH drop the 6 ft distancing guidance for any time when masks are down in the building, then they would no longer be following the science. The link below contains the exhibit that the guest pediatrician during the town hall (the president of the Virginia Chapter of the AAP) used to show transmission at 1 ft, 3 ft, and 6 ft. You will need to scroll down -- the exhibit is labeled, "Exposure Risk Based on Masking and Distancing."

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-research-confirms-critical-role-of-masks-in-preventing-covid-19-infection/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brabrand said in a school board work session that he has asked for an instructional hours waiver for SY 2021-2022. You can email a few people down in Richmond and ask them to please reject the request:

VA Secretary of Education, Atif Qarni: [e-mail]
Governor Northam's Chief of Staff, Clark Mercer: [e-mail]
VA Superintendent of Schools, Dr. James Lane: [e-mail]
VA Deputy Superintendent of School Quality, Donald Fairheart: [e-mail]
VA Deputy Superintendent for Policy, Equity and Communications, Holly Coy: [e-mail]

Without an instructional hours waiver not being five full days in the fall will cost FCPS $$$.

Are you freaking kidding me? He wants a waiver for NEXT year? They barely had any instruction this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I understood it, the rationale for two days instead of four was to allow smaller class sizes and 6ft of distancing, which is no longer needed.

The rationale for four days instead of five was to have a planning day because the combination of virtual and in person, ie concurrent learning, required some logistics and planning that were a larger lift than normal.

So, as long as there is no virtual at all next year (OR virtual is segregated out completely, and there's like a district wide virtual option with totally different teachers for high-risk students only), then you should be fine with five days.

This is all true as long as the CDC drops the 6 foot distancing guidance for any time masks are down (breakfast, lunch, ES snack). If they don't, there are OF COURSE a million creative solutions to deal with it. Unfortunately many FCPS schools have already said they cannot deal with it and are keeping classes at 6 feet.

If the CDC/VDH don't change that, what do you expect to happen for fall?

If CDC/VDH drop the 6 ft distancing guidance for any time when masks are down in the building, then they would no longer be following the science. The link below contains the exhibit that the guest pediatrician during the town hall (the president of the Virginia Chapter of the AAP) used to show transmission at 1 ft, 3 ft, and 6 ft. You will need to scroll down -- the exhibit is labeled, "Exposure Risk Based on Masking and Distancing."

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-research-confirms-critical-role-of-masks-in-preventing-covid-19-infection/

PP here. I've sent that graphic to the SB many times. I see the transmission possibility at 3' is greater than at 6' with everyone unmasked. I question, however, if that graphic is intended to represent the general adult population or the general youth population. Halve the percentages for kids and 3/4 them for adolescents if I read Tracy Hoeg (author the CDC Wisconsin study) right on this. For ES, at least, I think a 3' spacing at lunch still "follows the science." YMMV what you think about MS/HS.

Even IF you think they need 6' at lunch in fall, FCPS has to have a plan to handle that, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By the fall everyone 16 years of age and older will have the option to have been vaccinated. This means all the Teachers, all the Staff, all the Volunteers, and some of the students.

The trials for kids are 12-15 have been under way for a while. Preliminary results showed that there was 100% efficacy in preventing illness, hospitalization, and death in the kids who were vaccinated. 18 unvaccinated kids in the control group did get COVID. There were 2,000 kids in the study, I think it was 2,200 actually. I suspect that the vaccine will be approved for 12 and above before the fall and Middle School kids and up should have the ability to be vaccinated.

There are trials under way for infants to 11 as I type. I suspect that they will move quickly since they have data from other groups and can extrapolate a certain amount. While I don't think they will be able to vaccinate ES kids in the fall, I suspect that will be available by Winter Break. ES have not gotten sick at the same rate as older kids or adults. The kids who have gotten sick have tended to be mild. A small number have died but not a number that is particularly scary to me as a parent.

HS and MS should be able to return with very little worries. ES kids will probably need to wear masks. But community transmission should be drastically reduced as the number of vaccinated adults and teens increases. This reduces the chances of younger kids to get and spread COVID. With vaccines and lower community spread, COVID becomes a new flu type bug. Hospitals will be better prepared to treat those who get sick but most people should be fine. We will probably need an annual COVID shot, like the flu shot, but we don't know that quite yet.

I received the pneumonia vaccine when it was first released because I had pneumonia twice in a 4 month period. I got the vaccine every year for 3 years before they realized that it was effective for a longer period of time. I think I get it once every 5 years now. The COVID vaccine could end up being the same thing. We don't know yet.

But schools will be back full time in the fall.

Not to be off topic, but there is a pneumonia vaccine???? Really? What's it called?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked a friend who is in administration for FCPS this exact question. Basically her answer was there is a lot to plan for to get kids back full-time, and they have the runway to do it for the fall but not for the rest of this year. More time to make a plan for lunch and buses, order plexiglass, hire even more monitors (for lunch) if needed, etc.

I don't really buy that argument because they should have been doing it as a contingency all along but that's the Gatehouse reasoning.

What have they been doing all year? I'm from Upstate New York and school districts were buying plexiglass last summer and kids are in school five days a week now.

CDC said ditch the plexiglass because it impedes airflow and potentially makes the situation worse. I hope they aren't buying plexiglass.

No kidding. Everything we are doing is a year behind. Next year schools will normal and many states without masks and we will still have floor stickers and signs and plexiglass.

So move to those states. We like science here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked a friend who is in administration for FCPS this exact question. Basically her answer was there is a lot to plan for to get kids back full-time, and they have the runway to do it for the fall but not for the rest of this year. More time to make a plan for lunch and buses, order plexiglass, hire even more monitors (for lunch) if needed, etc.

I don't really buy that argument because they should have been doing it as a contingency all along but that's the Gatehouse reasoning.

What have they been doing all year? I'm from Upstate New York and school districts were buying plexiglass last summer and kids are in school five days a week now.

CDC said ditch the plexiglass because it impedes airflow and potentially makes the situation worse. I hope they aren't buying plexiglass.

No kidding. Everything we are doing is a year behind. Next year schools will normal and many states without masks and we will still have floor stickers and signs and plexiglass.

So move to those states. We like science here.

That's just one of TENS of studies showing this. We are exactly NOT following the science here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked a friend who is in administration for FCPS this exact question. Basically her answer was there is a lot to plan for to get kids back full-time, and they have the runway to do it for the fall but not for the rest of this year. More time to make a plan for lunch and buses, order plexiglass, hire even more monitors (for lunch) if needed, etc.

I don't really buy that argument because they should have been doing it as a contingency all along but that's the Gatehouse reasoning.

What have they been doing all year? I'm from Upstate New York and school districts were buying plexiglass last summer and kids are in school five days a week now.

CDC said ditch the plexiglass because it impedes airflow and potentially makes the situation worse. I hope they aren't buying plexiglass.

No kidding. Everything we are doing is a year behind. Next year schools will normal and many states without masks and we will still have floor stickers and signs and plexiglass.

So move to those states. We like science here.

except science we disagree with, like any study implying that transmission in school setting is minimal, otherwise we love science here

[Anonymous]

The school was in person for a long time. How is it a big deal to go back to the same exact we used to do what decades?

I tell you honestly, this is about people not wanting to work. They got used to a cushy stay-at-home "work" and are not willing to go back to work.
This is only a thing in rich counties. Poor counties have been teaching in-person almost the whole time.
It is shameful, and beyond appalling what they are trying to get away with.
In any private enterprise, all these refusing to work in person would have been fired 6 months ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked a friend who is in administration for FCPS this exact question. Basically her answer was there is a lot to plan for to get kids back full-time, and they have the runway to do it for the fall but not for the rest of this year. More time to make a plan for lunch and buses, order plexiglass, hire even more monitors (for lunch) if needed, etc.

I don't really buy that argument because they should have been doing it as a contingency all along but that's the Gatehouse reasoning.

What have they been doing all year? I'm from Upstate New York and school districts were buying plexiglass last summer and kids are in school five days a week now.

CDC said ditch the plexiglass because it impedes airflow and potentially makes the situation worse. I hope they aren't buying plexiglass.

No kidding. Everything we are doing is a year behind. Next year schools will normal and many states without masks and we will still have floor stickers and signs and plexiglass.

So move to those states. We like science here.

I’m sending mine to private but I find it sad as a D that the Ds are presiding over such a widening of the education gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked a friend who is in administration for FCPS this exact question. Basically her answer was there is a lot to plan for to get kids back full-time, and they have the runway to do it for the fall but not for the rest of this year. More time to make a plan for lunch and buses, order plexiglass, hire even more monitors (for lunch) if needed, etc.

I don't really buy that argument because they should have been doing it as a contingency all along but that's the Gatehouse reasoning.

What have they been doing all year? I'm from Upstate New York and school districts were buying plexiglass last summer and kids are in school five days a week now.

CDC said ditch the plexiglass because it impedes airflow and potentially makes the situation worse. I hope they aren't buying plexiglass.

No kidding. Everything we are doing is a year behind. Next year schools will normal and many states without masks and we will still have floor stickers and signs and plexiglass.

So move to those states. We like science here.

Fcps has been one of the biggest anti-science, science denying school districts in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Fully vaccinated teachers are still refusing to teach in person, fyi

I am going to guess that is a very small number of Teachers. Any Teacher teaching from home right now has an ADA exemption for this year. The vaccine might not be as effective for whatever their issue is, I have heard that some illnesses lead to diminished performance of vaccines. Some of those ADA exemptions might not be able to get the vaccine due to their specific issue. You have no clue what the issue is for those Teachers.

But, again, that is a small number of Teachers. The vast majority are back in the classroom teaching. I would be surprised if there are many ADA exemptions for next year.

But feel free to dump on the Teachers. I am sure that helps the vast majority of Teachers back in the classroom and who have been working their asses off all year long feel appreciated.

The Teachers at our ES have been great last year and this year. They have worked hard to make this work. It has not been the year we wanted but it has not been awful. We are excited to be back in the classroom next year but greatly appreciate the efforts of DSs Teachers this year.

No one is dumping on teachers in general. My DC's teachers have been great too.

However it IS true, and I heard this from someone at Gatehouse, that Brabrand sent out an email asking teachers with ADAs who had been vaccinated to come back, and many still did not (some have). It is ALSO true that this senior leadership team member told me they had been very generous giving out ADAs (the numbers back this up). They expect to be less generous next year.

Of course these aren't most teachers. There were what, somewhere in the range of 3,000 ADA accomodations out of about 20,000 staff members? It's not everyone, but it's still quite a few.

“Asking” and they stayed on ADA? That doesn’t sound like a refusal if they were given options.