Burgundy Farm

[Anonymous]

Pp here - and, FWIW, my husband is an engineer at a military-adjacent facility, and has been working the whole time. We were worried initially, but they immediately spread everyone out, required and provided substantial PPE, and used other tools like special contact tracing devices - they all wear them to track who they have contact with throughout the day. My school doesn’t even have a clear plan for who they will send home if someone tests positive. There are good ways to do this, and there are measures that need to be put in place. Schools in other parts of the country are banding together to set up testing labs so that they CAN do regular, fast testing. But schools around here aren’t. But parents like you just want what they want, and they want it NOW, and anyone who gets in the way is a “special flower”.

[Anonymous]

Former Burgundy parent here. It is reasonable for teachers to want to work remotely right now -- this is what the majority of private and public schools are doing in our area. It is up to each individual family to determine if the Burgundy DL program is worth the tuition, and you should assume that it will be a DL program for the entire year. I think each family may have a different answer to that question, and that is fine. Stop comparing Burgundy teachers to soccer coaches or other professionals, that is demeaning and illogical. Feel free to compare them to other teachers -- and since the majoirty of other teachers are working remotely, that is your answer. As for the few private schools that are opening in-person, my guess is that they all will be remote by flu season.

Also, please keep in mind the tight spot that all private schools are in right now. They WANT to open in person, and they understand that they might not be financially viable going forward if enough parents pull their children. I also understand the tough spot that parents are in. We have two full-time jobs here and we have to manage two DL programs for our children. The only difference between your tight spot and everyone else's is the tuition cost. If you can't afford it or if you don't think it is worth it, then pull your child. There really is nothing else to talk about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former Burgundy parent here. It is reasonable for teachers to want to work remotely right now -- this is what the majority of private and public schools are doing in our area. It is up to each individual family to determine if the Burgundy DL program is worth the tuition, and you should assume that it will be a DL program for the entire year. I think each family may have a different answer to that question, and that is fine. Stop comparing Burgundy teachers to soccer coaches or other professionals, that is demeaning and illogical. Feel free to compare them to other teachers -- and since the majoirty of other teachers are working remotely, that is your answer. As for the few private schools that are opening in-person, my guess is that they all will be remote by flu season.

Also, please keep in mind the tight spot that all private schools are in right now. They WANT to open in person, and they understand that they might not be financially viable going forward if enough parents pull their children. I also understand the tough spot that parents are in. We have two full-time jobs here and we have to manage two DL programs for our children. The only difference between your tight spot and everyone else's is the tuition cost. If you can't afford it or if you don't think it is worth it, then pull your child. There really is nothing else to talk about.

I am empathetic with the position of the school and the teachers. However, there needs to be a recognition that DL simply doesn't work for K and 1, and that it is the children and parents who are getting the shaft. We are ALL in a tight spot and the way communications come across, it's all about supporting the school and the teachers.

So, please offer a solution for me on how I am supposed to work full-time while teaching my 1st grader? Part of what is missing from communications is empathy from parents. My child will likely not get a real education this year, but I am bound by contract to pay for it anyway, leaving me with no money to pay for childcare or some other solution.

What should I do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Former Burgundy parent here. It is reasonable for teachers to want to work remotely right now -- this is what the majority of private and public schools are doing in our area. It is up to each individual family to determine if the Burgundy DL program is worth the tuition, and you should assume that it will be a DL program for the entire year. I think each family may have a different answer to that question, and that is fine. Stop comparing Burgundy teachers to soccer coaches or other professionals, that is demeaning and illogical. Feel free to compare them to other teachers -- and since the majoirty of other teachers are working remotely, that is your answer. As for the few private schools that are opening in-person, my guess is that they all will be remote by flu season.

Also, please keep in mind the tight spot that all private schools are in right now. They WANT to open in person, and they understand that they might not be financially viable going forward if enough parents pull their children. I also understand the tough spot that parents are in. We have two full-time jobs here and we have to manage two DL programs for our children. The only difference between your tight spot and everyone else's is the tuition cost. If you can't afford it or if you don't think it is worth it, then pull your child. There really is nothing else to talk about.

I am empathetic with the position of the school and the teachers. However, there needs to be a recognition that DL simply doesn't work for K and 1, and that it is the children and parents who are getting the shaft. We are ALL in a tight spot and the way communications come across, it's all about supporting the school and the teachers.

So, please offer a solution for me on how I am supposed to work full-time while teaching my 1st grader? Part of what is missing from communications is empathy from parents. My child will likely not get a real education this year, but I am bound by contract to pay for it anyway, leaving me with no money to pay for childcare or some other solution.

What should I do?

This should read empathy FOR parents.

I will defend Burgundy teachers with everything I have. This is not teachers vs. parents. We just want to see, from administration, that we are cared about, too... and so far I don't see that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Now, we were just told last week that we will be DL (at least at the start of the year). I can give up my entire summer to re-plan for one scenario, but there was literally not enough time to recreate two new plans for both scenarios. Teachers are in a hopeless situation. The reality is that every job you people keep bringing up is completely different from being trapped in a room with fifteen kids all day. Even with masks, they aren’t perfect. And having to constantly watch and enforce mask protocol is yet another thing that will be taking me away from teaching. Our HVAC system sucks. Grocery store workers deal with tons of people every day, but the amount of time they are exposed to each potentially infectious individual is small - that affects the likelihood of transmission in a huge way. Truck drivers and delivery people - not trapped in a room with potentially viral people all day. Office workers - last I checked, not trapped in a 30x30 foot room with 15 kids for the entire day. There aren’t many other jobs I can think of that place workers in this uniquely worrisome situation.


Well, it may not be exactly the same, but let's not quibble about the enormous risk that many occupations are currently exposed to including:

Law enforcement
Military
Health care
Amazon fulfillment
Meat packing and processing
Social workers
Occupational and speech therapists

I know you think you are special, but a lot of people are dealing with risk right now - including me.


Again, explain to me how any of those careers are the same as the risks associated with teaching? I’ll be trapped in a room full of kids with poor ventilation, kids who will probably be wearing their masks incorrectly. I’m not in a giant warehouse, I’m in a small classroom with fifteen kids. I have family members who are social workers and they will be seeing one client at a time, with masks, client removed if they don’t comply with the mask, and plexiglass between them and others.

If you worked in an office that turned out to have a serious asbestos issue, or black mold growing everywhere, or some sort of health risk like that, you would be well within your legal rights to refuse going in until the workplace is a safe environment again. It is not unreasonable to want to teach out of the classroom until rapid test results and reduced test costs are available. Teachers and students should be tested twice a week at minimum - temperature checks are functionally useless, especially when you factor in the parents that will inevitably give their kid a Tylenol before leaving for school. On some other boards, there are already parents at schools that are reopening in the hybrid model who are complaining about the restrictions placed on their activities at home - they already said their plans are to continue doing what they want, in large groups, with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality. All it takes is a handful of families who think this way, combined with a lack of testing, to create a serious issue. NOT the same at all as those other professions you listed.

You are right, your job is really dangerous and every job I listed is really safe. I mean, I am definitely NOT behind a plexiglass shield with calm, compliant clients - I work with the mentally ill and homeless popultation, but you are exposed to so much risk and I am exposed to none. You are very special and people who work in meatpacking plants are much better off than you for sure.

Don't go to work, teach from home, that is your right if the school supports it. I'm actually fine with that. What I am not fine with is what a special flower you consider yourself to be.

????? I don’t consider myself to be a special flower. Anyone in any other position should be asking their workplaces to provide protections as well. Why are you so bitter about this? Why are you assuming that teachers think they’re so special? It just seems like you’re bitter about the fact that the schools made a decision that will happen to keep teachers and students safer, even though I’m certain they made the call to prevent liability.

May I ask what kind of protections you are asking for?

Accommodations are every working person's right in the U.S. However, they must be reasonable, and you must still be able to carry out your job. At my place of employment, certain positions can work from home and others cannot (security guards, receptionists, cleaners, cafeteria workers, certain IT professionals, maintenance/facilities staff, etc.). For the positions listed, asking to telecommute is not a reasonable accommodation request under the law. I would argue that 4, 5, 6, and some 7 year olds cannot be taught via group Zoom classes. Thus, teachers who lead those grades asking to telecommute is not a reasonable accommodation request under the law.

[Anonymous]

I agree that K and 1st grade is terrible for DL. Since you asked, I would pull my child and seek to get out of my contract with Burgundy. Again, your children are no different than all the other K and 1st grade children who will be struggling with DL this year. Most parents cannot afford childcare, even though they are not paying Burgundy's tuition.

I also will say, and trust me I am saying this gently, I would have added language to my Burgundy contract in June stating that I would not be bound to pay if there was DL in September. And if Burgundy said no, I would have not signed and would have forfeited my February deposit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Now, we were just told last week that we will be DL (at least at the start of the year). I can give up my entire summer to re-plan for one scenario, but there was literally not enough time to recreate two new plans for both scenarios. Teachers are in a hopeless situation. The reality is that every job you people keep bringing up is completely different from being trapped in a room with fifteen kids all day. Even with masks, they aren’t perfect. And having to constantly watch and enforce mask protocol is yet another thing that will be taking me away from teaching. Our HVAC system sucks. Grocery store workers deal with tons of people every day, but the amount of time they are exposed to each potentially infectious individual is small - that affects the likelihood of transmission in a huge way. Truck drivers and delivery people - not trapped in a room with potentially viral people all day. Office workers - last I checked, not trapped in a 30x30 foot room with 15 kids for the entire day. There aren’t many other jobs I can think of that place workers in this uniquely worrisome situation.

Well, it may not be exactly the same, but let's not quibble about the enormous risk that many occupations are currently exposed to including:

Law enforcement
Military
Health care
Amazon fulfillment
Meat packing and processing
Social workers
Occupational and speech therapists

I know you think you are special, but a lot of people are dealing with risk right now - including me.

Again, explain to me how any of those careers are the same as the risks associated with teaching? I’ll be trapped in a room full of kids with poor ventilation, kids who will probably be wearing their masks incorrectly. I’m not in a giant warehouse, I’m in a small classroom with fifteen kids. I have family members who are social workers and they will be seeing one client at a time, with masks, client removed if they don’t comply with the mask, and plexiglass between them and others.

If you worked in an office that turned out to have a serious asbestos issue, or black mold growing everywhere, or some sort of health risk like that, you would be well within your legal rights to refuse going in until the workplace is a safe environment again. It is not unreasonable to want to teach out of the classroom until rapid test results and reduced test costs are available. Teachers and students should be tested twice a week at minimum - temperature checks are functionally useless, especially when you factor in the parents that will inevitably give their kid a Tylenol before leaving for school. On some other boards, there are already parents at schools that are reopening in the hybrid model who are complaining about the restrictions placed on their activities at home - they already said their plans are to continue doing what they want, in large groups, with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality. All it takes is a handful of families who think this way, combined with a lack of testing, to create a serious issue. NOT the same at all as those other professions you listed.

You described teaching as being trapped in a room will small hellions. Are you for real?

This is why Burgundy leadership is to blame. Teachers who view going back into the classroom until there is a vaccine still have talents and they should use them. They should have been given the opportunity to be master distance teachers. They can manage extra zooms, extra 1 on 1 check-ins, small groups, etc. This frees up teachers who are able to go back into the classroom to do so. The idea that any committee with this mindset will be back in person in October seems like a pipe dream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: So, please offer a solution for me on how I am supposed to work full-time while teaching my 1st grader? Part of what is missing from communications is empathy from parents. My child will likely not get a real education this year, but I am bound by contract to pay for it anyway, leaving me with no money to pay for childcare or some other solution.

What should I do?

Single working Burgundy parent here. I think what you should do is accept that this is a global pandemic, that things may get worse before they get better, and that it's not up to Burgundy to figure out how we working parents are going to manage all this. Yes, it sucks! Yes, we're in an impossible situation. No, that's not Burgundy's fault. Burgundy can't solve this for us.

There are no good answers. That's the nature of emergencies -- they're terrible. And it's normal and natural to be furious about it. But we need to be rational and to stop getting mad at Burgundy for being unable to find a magical answer that will make everyone happy.

(Has Burgundy handled this perfectly? Nope. Has anyone? Nope. And I bet you $5 that all those private schools that are managing somehow to open end up closing right back down before September's out.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: So, please offer a solution for me on how I am supposed to work full-time while teaching my 1st grader? Part of what is missing from communications is empathy from parents. My child will likely not get a real education this year, but I am bound by contract to pay for it anyway, leaving me with no money to pay for childcare or some other solution.

What should I do?

Single working Burgundy parent here. I think what you should do is accept that this is a global pandemic, that things may get worse before they get better, and that it's not up to Burgundy to figure out how we working parents are going to manage all this. Yes, it sucks! Yes, we're in an impossible situation. No, that's not Burgundy's fault. Burgundy can't solve this for us.

There are no good answers. That's the nature of emergencies -- they're terrible. And it's normal and natural to be furious about it. But we need to be rational and to stop getting mad at Burgundy for being unable to find a magical answer that will make everyone happy.

(Has Burgundy handled this perfectly? Nope. Has anyone? Nope. And I bet you $5 that all those private schools that are managing somehow to open end up closing right back down before September's out.)

I disagree. It *is* up to Burgundy to help me figure out how to educate my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: So, please offer a solution for me on how I am supposed to work full-time while teaching my 1st grader? Part of what is missing from communications is empathy from parents. My child will likely not get a real education this year, but I am bound by contract to pay for it anyway, leaving me with no money to pay for childcare or some other solution.

What should I do?

Single working Burgundy parent here. I think what you should do is accept that this is a global pandemic, that things may get worse before they get better, and that it's not up to Burgundy to figure out how we working parents are going to manage all this. Yes, it sucks! Yes, we're in an impossible situation. No, that's not Burgundy's fault. Burgundy can't solve this for us.

There are no good answers. That's the nature of emergencies -- they're terrible. And it's normal and natural to be furious about it. But we need to be rational and to stop getting mad at Burgundy for being unable to find a magical answer that will make everyone happy.

(Has Burgundy handled this perfectly? Nope. Has anyone? Nope. And I bet you $5 that all those private schools that are managing somehow to open end up closing right back down before September's out.)

I also disagree that because of the “nature” of emergencies we have to just throw up our hands and accept incompetence. WE MAY NEVER GET A VACCINE. We may be living with this for years. We have to work. The world is continuing to turn. Life goes on. We have to learn to live with this and the “it’s an emergency!!!” excuse is getting old fast. Find a way to work through the emergency.

[Anonymous]

But parents like you just want what they want, and they want it NOW, and anyone who gets in the way is a “special flower”.

Reading comprehension is not your strong suit, huh? I specifically said I am fine with what teachers have decided they need to do. But what I disagree with is the position that you have it worse than everyone else and are in more danger than every single other occupation. I've made that quite clear. But you know you're wrong, so try to spin it whatever nonsense way you want, hun.

[Anonymous]

Stop comparing Burgundy teachers to soccer coaches or other professionals, that is demeaning and illogical.

Jesus, you are an elitist snob. Illogical, maybe, but demeaning? Those professions, including soccer coaches, are work that someone does and gets paid for. There is nothing demeaning about it. It's a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It is a measured approach, and how can we reasonably argue with that, IF the plan is really to get the kids on campus in October? We do need that assurance, I will grant you that.

But why would that happen? Experts are predicting things will get worse in the fall in terms of COVID, not better. It's just not a realistic plan. If they couldn't do it now, aren't they LESS likely to do it in October?

+1000 Burgundy is going to be telling everyone at the end of September that the odd 1/2 day schedule they are proposing will not be happening in October after all. Prepare for DL through the fall and winter. I predict on campus school in April. But maybe not until September 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is a measured approach, and how can we reasonably argue with that, IF the plan is really to get the kids on campus in October? We do need that assurance, I will grant you that.

But why would that happen? Experts are predicting things will get worse in the fall in terms of COVID, not better. It's just not a realistic plan. If they couldn't do it now, aren't they LESS likely to do it in October?

+1000 Burgundy is going to be telling everyone at the end of September that the odd 1/2 day schedule they are proposing will not be happening in October after all. Prepare for DL through the fall and winter. I predict on campus school in April. But maybe not until September 2021.

This is totally what's going to happen.

Dear Burgundy Administration and Board: If you think people are angry now, if this happens with no warning, families are going to go absolutely INSANE. If this is a likely outcome, you need to come to terms with it NOW and start preparing families NOW.

If the teachers say they need X, Y, Z in order to safely teach in classrooms, are X, Y, Z something you can offer? If not, you need to prepare families NOW.

Figure out what safety measures teachers want that you CAN put into place, and survey teachers NOW, asking - if we put, X and Y into place (but not Z), will you feel safe returning to campus?

I see administration traveling down the same happy road they were in June with regard to an October opening. They are going full steam ahead as if it is a definite... essentially, repeating the same mistake that has people so pissed off in the first place. Please learn from the first time around. It is clear from the tone of EL's recent email welcoming families to school that you all just don't get it. Completely tone deaf.

And by the way, I am on your side. I think the plans you've outlined are decent. But you need to be honest with yourselves so you can be honest with the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is a measured approach, and how can we reasonably argue with that, IF the plan is really to get the kids on campus in October? We do need that assurance, I will grant you that.

But why would that happen? Experts are predicting things will get worse in the fall in terms of COVID, not better. It's just not a realistic plan. If they couldn't do it now, aren't they LESS likely to do it in October?

+1000 Burgundy is going to be telling everyone at the end of September that the odd 1/2 day schedule they are proposing will not be happening in October after all. Prepare for DL through the fall and winter. I predict on campus school in April. But maybe not until September 2021.

Agree. Goodbye fall semester.