APS - why are teachers so terrified?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of these decisions are common across schools, you just feel mad because you think your N.Arl house cost you enough you shouldn’t have to do them too.

No. There is only 1 elementary school in Arlington that departmentalizes in 2nd grade. Not common.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my school specials except PE will be virtual but those teachers are still working at school multiple days per week, they are just live in a classroom space. They don’t want one person to see hundreds of kids each week and be a vector.

For departmentalizing grades it’s likely similar. My school typically departmentalized upper grades in pairs. This year we are all not doing that because of virtual so now homeroom teachers do all subjects other than specials. That was up to each principal.

Just because a teacher is teaching your kid virtually doesn’t mean they aren’t in the building. Some things need to give.

Yes, the principal is choosing to keep departmentalization even if it means kids in K-5 won't receive half their core content in person and will be on their iPad for even more time. This is the decision that is the most objectionable.

We were told that PE would be virtual in the classroom with kids at their desks. No physical movements would be permitted because kids are only 6' apart. No materials can be provided to kids because there is no way to disinfect materials. This is also a really bad decision.

JFC. You complained when the kids were virtual. Now you complain when they are back.

It’s a FCKING pandemic. Your kid will be fine. YOU need to deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I blame APS's piss poor planning and foresight for this. However the numbers here were high. APS wasn't wrong or the only one to remain virtual. Yes, people in Georgia and Kentucky returned sooner. That doesn't mean they should have when their numbers were higher than ours or that we were in the wrong because we didn't. COVID is a rapidly changing environment because we have been learning as we go. Remember last year when we were wiping down cereal boxes with clorox wipes? Now we know that isn't needed. We have learned and now have a vaccine.

But also all the other districts are pretty much still virtual too. Our cousins who have kids in MCPS (Potomac) upper elementary aren't returning until after spring break. My APS kid is returning next week. Same number of days. FCPS also returning on about the same schedule. APS isn't some sort of outlier in this area.

There are 6 school districts in NOVA. APS, ACPS, FCPS, FCCPS, PW, and LW.
LW has elementary back, and returns middle and high this week.
PW has elementary back and returns middle and high this week.
FCCPS returned all students last week.

FCPS, ACPS, and APS are lagging behind.

OMG - FCCPS RETURNED ONE WEEK EARLIER!!!!!!!!

You people are ridiculous.

Seriously, I can't believe people are still ranting about this- APS has a plan to get all grades back in for a hybrid model in the next 3 weeks- with the first groups starting TOMORROW!!! Chill out!

But is it really opening? My kid is going back hybrid and all but two subjects will still be delivered virtually. It's a joke.

Why are you so surprised by this? There is a teacher shortage. The shortage existed BEFORE the pandemic and it is now acerbated BY the pandemic. There have been multiple posts to the same effect for the past year. It is not the school system's fault if you are not paying attention.

The school systems must honor ADA accommodation requests because it is illegal to force them to RTS if they qualify for an ADA accommodation. Not only is it the right thing to do ethically but also legally since the school system must follow the law.

Teachers who qualify for ADA accommodations are ethically and legally entitled to do so. They are allowed to prioritize their own health and safety over your child's education.

This has nothing to do with an ADA request.

Sigh. Keep up. It has everything to do with the complaint that "all but two subjects will still be delivered virtually." The virtual teachers are the teachers with ADA accommodations. Do you understand now?

No, you're flat out wrong. Every single specials class plus departmentalized classes (outside of the one or two taught by your homeroom teacher) will be virtual. It's not ADA related. The principal is only asking homeroom teachers to return and has departmentalized subjects, so only 1-2 classes per day will be taught live. All others will be virtual.

This is unique to your school- a lot of schools have virtual specials but most elementary schools are divided by subject like that. Glebe is the only one I know that does that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I blame APS's piss poor planning and foresight for this. However the numbers here were high. APS wasn't wrong or the only one to remain virtual. Yes, people in Georgia and Kentucky returned sooner. That doesn't mean they should have when their numbers were higher than ours or that we were in the wrong because we didn't. COVID is a rapidly changing environment because we have been learning as we go. Remember last year when we were wiping down cereal boxes with clorox wipes? Now we know that isn't needed. We have learned and now have a vaccine.

But also all the other districts are pretty much still virtual too. Our cousins who have kids in MCPS (Potomac) upper elementary aren't returning until after spring break. My APS kid is returning next week. Same number of days. FCPS also returning on about the same schedule. APS isn't some sort of outlier in this area.

There are 6 school districts in NOVA. APS, ACPS, FCPS, FCCPS, PW, and LW.
LW has elementary back, and returns middle and high this week.
PW has elementary back and returns middle and high this week.
FCCPS returned all students last week.

FCPS, ACPS, and APS are lagging behind.

OMG - FCCPS RETURNED ONE WEEK EARLIER!!!!!!!!

You people are ridiculous.

Seriously, I can't believe people are still ranting about this- APS has a plan to get all grades back in for a hybrid model in the next 3 weeks- with the first groups starting TOMORROW!!! Chill out!

But is it really opening? My kid is going back hybrid and all but two subjects will still be delivered virtually. It's a joke.

Why are you so surprised by this? There is a teacher shortage. The shortage existed BEFORE the pandemic and it is now acerbated BY the pandemic. There have been multiple posts to the same effect for the past year. It is not the school system's fault if you are not paying attention.

The school systems must honor ADA accommodation requests because it is illegal to force them to RTS if they qualify for an ADA accommodation. Not only is it the right thing to do ethically but also legally since the school system must follow the law.

Teachers who qualify for ADA accommodations are ethically and legally entitled to do so. They are allowed to prioritize their own health and safety over your child's education.

This has nothing to do with an ADA request.

Sigh. Keep up. It has everything to do with the complaint that "all but two subjects will still be delivered virtually." The virtual teachers are the teachers with ADA accommodations. Do you understand now?

No, you're flat out wrong. Every single specials class plus departmentalized classes (outside of the one or two taught by your homeroom teacher) will be virtual. It's not ADA related. The principal is only asking homeroom teachers to return and has departmentalized subjects, so only 1-2 classes per day will be taught live. All others will be virtual.

This is unique to your school- a lot of schools have virtual specials but most elementary schools are divided by subject like that. Glebe is the only one I know that does that.

Ugh, typo- Are not* divided

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:also- this idea that we should accomodate teachers by letting them teach remotely is flat out wrong and inconsistent with the law.
It would make sense if we were doing fully virtual classes (e.g. divided up kids who wanted to stay virtual and those who wanted to be hybrid.)
There are also tons of t-scale positions at syphax. e.g. curriculum specialist, what have you. if they want to let some teachers be virtual and they don't want to rejigger classes, they need to put the accomodations in those syphax positions and put actual teachers in physical classrooms.

Oh dear. I don't think you understand.

If the teacher qualifies for an ADA accommodation then it must be provided as long as the job exists and there is a way for the teacher to do the job. The school system cannot say "We see that your doctor says you need an accommodation but we disagree. You must continue to do your job, pulling a wagon five miles a day to and fro even though you have no legs and you are blind." If the wagon can be motorized and the robotics exist to make it follow a given path (they can btw) then the school system must provide that accommodation. In the case of teachers, they are able to teach remotely since significant numbers of students also are attending school remotely.

The ADA exists for a reason.

No, I don’t think you understand ADA accommodations and reasonable limits. There is not a way for a kindergarten teacher, for example, to achieve a comparable outcome teaching a class of 20+ 5 year olds virtually compared with teaching in person. An ADA accommodation should not require the employer to incur the expense of hiring a second full time employee (classroom monitor) to satisfy the basic job requirements while simultaneously providing a disparate and far less desirable outcome for a portion of their students/clientele (young children continuing to being taught via screen for hours on end, which is developmentally inappropriate and proven less effective by declining test scores, compared with their counterparts receiving in person learning.) Per your example above, if motorizing the wagon costs an additional $50,000 per unit and the wagon will now only be able to travel 3 miles per day instead of 5 the employer is not required to hire the legless blind employee and make those adjustments in the name of reasonable accommodations.
The ADA exists for a reason

[Anonymous]

Glebe is not the only N Arl school that departmentalizes in 2nd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glebe is not the only N Arl school that departmentalizes in 2nd.

That is true, but is glebe the only school that is still departmentalizing now during concurrent? Glebe seems to be having their teachers continue to teach to kids virtually while also monitoring the kids in person who are logging into teams to learn from other teachers in the building? They are only seeing an in person teacher 25-50% of the time. The rest of the time they are in the classroom with a teacher who is teaching another
class while the students in person are in class learning from another teacher. They are on teams most of the day learning remotely.

[Anonymous]

So what happens to teachers that qualify through ADA requirements to work remotely? Are they able to teach remotely indefinitely, or only for the remainder of this school year? I imagine there will be a limited number of remote teaching opportunities throughout VA and can't imagine a significant number of teachers will be able to remain remote.

I love my kids' teachers and teacher friends, but am trying to understand logistics around the ADA requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my school specials except PE will be virtual but those teachers are still working at school multiple days per week, they are just live in a classroom space. They don’t want one person to see hundreds of kids each week and be a vector.

For departmentalizing grades it’s likely similar. My school typically departmentalized upper grades in pairs. This year we are all not doing that because of virtual so now homeroom teachers do all subjects other than specials. That was up to each principal.

Just because a teacher is teaching your kid virtually doesn’t mean they aren’t in the building. Some things need to give.

Yes, the principal is choosing to keep departmentalization even if it means kids in K-5 won't receive half their core content in person and will be on their iPad for even more time. This is the decision that is the most objectionable.

We were told that PE would be virtual in the classroom with kids at their desks. No physical movements would be permitted because kids are only 6' apart. No materials can be provided to kids because there is no way to disinfect materials. This is also a really bad decision.

JFC. You complained when the kids were virtual. Now you complain when they are back.

It’s a FCKING pandemic. Your kid will be fine. YOU need to deal with it.

They're not back. They're still getting most instruction virtually because Glebe has decided in person education isn't important for K-5. It's a farce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glebe is not the only N Arl school that departmentalizes in 2nd.

That is true, but is glebe the only school that is still departmentalizing now during concurrent? Glebe seems to be having their teachers continue to teach to kids virtually while also monitoring the kids in person who are logging into teams to learn from other teachers in the building? They are only seeing an in person teacher 25-50% of the time. The rest of the time they are in the classroom with a teacher who is teaching another
class while the students in person are in class learning from another teacher. They are on teams most of the day learning remotely.

Such an absurd choice.

[Anonymous]

Discovery is still departmentalizing in 4th and 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of these decisions are common across schools, you just feel mad because you think your N.Arl house cost you enough you shouldn’t have to do them too.

No. There is only 1 elementary school in Arlington that departmentalizes in 2nd grade. Not common.

Mine does in N. Arl, Glebe. I think it is more important now than ever actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:also- this idea that we should accomodate teachers by letting them teach remotely is flat out wrong and inconsistent with the law.
It would make sense if we were doing fully virtual classes (e.g. divided up kids who wanted to stay virtual and those who wanted to be hybrid.)
There are also tons of t-scale positions at syphax. e.g. curriculum specialist, what have you. if they want to let some teachers be virtual and they don't want to rejigger classes, they need to put the accomodations in those syphax positions and put actual teachers in physical classrooms.

Oh dear. I don't think you understand.

If the teacher qualifies for an ADA accommodation then it must be provided as long as the job exists and there is a way for the teacher to do the job. The school system cannot say "We see that your doctor says you need an accommodation but we disagree. You must continue to do your job, pulling a wagon five miles a day to and fro even though you have no legs and you are blind." If the wagon can be motorized and the robotics exist to make it follow a given path (they can btw) then the school system must provide that accommodation. In the case of teachers, they are able to teach remotely since significant numbers of students also are attending school remotely.

The ADA exists for a reason.

No, I don’t think you understand ADA accommodations and reasonable limits. There is not a way for a kindergarten teacher, for example, to achieve a comparable outcome teaching a class of 20+ 5 year olds virtually compared with teaching in person. An ADA accommodation should not require the employer to incur the expense of hiring a second full time employee (classroom monitor) to satisfy the basic job requirements while simultaneously providing a disparate and far less desirable outcome for a portion of their students/clientele (young children continuing to being taught via screen for hours on end, which is developmentally inappropriate and proven less effective by declining test scores, compared with their counterparts receiving in person learning.) Per your example above, if motorizing the wagon costs an additional $50,000 per unit and the wagon will now only be able to travel 3 miles per day instead of 5 the employer is not required to hire the legless blind employee and make those adjustments in the name of reasonable accommodations.
The ADA exists for a reason

Another poster here to tell you that you are wrong. Even your example about the kindergarten teacher is wrong. Sheesh. You're crazy. I can see why you want your kid out of your house because you're bat sheetz crazy but still...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my school specials except PE will be virtual but those teachers are still working at school multiple days per week, they are just live in a classroom space. They don’t want one person to see hundreds of kids each week and be a vector.

For departmentalizing grades it’s likely similar. My school typically departmentalized upper grades in pairs. This year we are all not doing that because of virtual so now homeroom teachers do all subjects other than specials. That was up to each principal.

Just because a teacher is teaching your kid virtually doesn’t mean they aren’t in the building. Some things need to give.

Yes, the principal is choosing to keep departmentalization even if it means kids in K-5 won't receive half their core content in person and will be on their iPad for even more time. This is the decision that is the most objectionable.

We were told that PE would be virtual in the classroom with kids at their desks. No physical movements would be permitted because kids are only 6' apart. No materials can be provided to kids because there is no way to disinfect materials. This is also a really bad decision.

JFC. You complained when the kids were virtual. Now you complain when they are back.

It’s a FCKING pandemic. Your kid will be fine. YOU need to deal with it.

They're not back. They're still getting most instruction virtually because Glebe has decided in person education isn't important for K-5. It's a farce.

The teachers' health is more important than your kid's education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of these decisions are common across schools, you just feel mad because you think your N.Arl house cost you enough you shouldn’t have to do them too.

No. There is only 1 elementary school in Arlington that departmentalizes in 2nd grade. Not common.

Mine does in N. Arl, Glebe. I think it is more important now than ever actually.

Why is it better to departmentalized? I would love to hear your opinion.