We are NEVER going back until covid is 100% gone - MCPS has no leadership

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well it has. Schools back, restaurants and store open. Casinos, movie theaters, escape rooms, mini golf, etc... all open. Office buildings open. Colleges open. Just do it safely.

Yup. I don't think the "quarantine until the vaccine" group realizes how much life has resumed without them.

And here in our county, its encouraging to see so many people comply with the safety rules.

For example, on Saturday my kids has 3 games: soccer, softball, and baseball. Each parent stayed socially distant on the sidelines and wore masks. The kids wore masks in the dugout & on the bench. Then, we went out to dinner. All staff wore masks, and the patrons wore their masks entering and exiting the establishment.

90% of life has resumed.

And if we, as a community, are prepared to allow Escape Rooms to resume (rooms where people are locked in together with no windows into a small room and you literally have to touch everything to get out), then we need to prioritize school re-opening.

For Elementary, we need to keep it simply. One full F2F option 4-5 days a week, and one full DL. F2F must wear masks or be sent home. F2F must consent to a daily temp check. F2F must use hand sanitizer upon entering the room.

Keep it simple, Stupid.

This isn't as hard as we are making it out to be

+1. The over complicated hybrid plans are destined to fail anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

PP here and I definitely agree that there is a degree of hysteria in the US that I rarely encounter now that I'm in Germany, even with cases rising. Americans also have a much more risk-averse attitude to life and especially child-rearing. They demand absolute safety in a way Europeans don't. Not sure if it is the result or the cause of the attitude that you can sue and get sued for everything.

I also think the politicization is a huge factor. Trump says the virus is no big deal, so any good liberal has to take the stance that the virus is a huge threat to everyone. I find it much easier to have a more nuanced conversation about the threat over here, because it is not a hot-button political issue.

Consider the possibility that this is the result of the political leadership in Germany vs the political leadership in the US.

Yes, it is, in the way I described, which is that the danger of the virus is being blown out of proportion in reaction to Trump's downplaying of it.

I don't think it is because Germans feel like they are in such good hands with their government, because that has no bearing on how we assess the threat the virus poses to each individual person.

You don't think that competent government leadership vs incompetent government leadership has any bearing on how people assess the threat? Huh.

I meant how they assess the threat to them as individuals, in the event they catch the virus. I'm not sure that should have anything to do with how your government has responded.

And the German health authorities also seem to be less alarmist about the virus than many people in the US. In my nephew's third grade class in Germany, a kid just tested positive for Covid. And you know what the consequence is? They are quarantaining the three kids who share a table with her (one of whom is my nephew). They are not shutting down the whole class, let alone the whole school. Kids aren't wearing masks in the classroom, by the way. That tells you something about what the German public health officials think the risk of spread within an elementary school classroom is. In the US, people are always screaming that schools would have to be shut down again in no time because cases would occur. Yes, cases would occur, but they would not necessitate shutting down the entire school.

All that said, I am not disputing that the lack of a federal response when it comes to testing especially has been a huge problem, or that Trump is an idiot when he says the virus is no big deal. But there is a sensible middle ground upon which life for kids can go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well it has. Schools back, restaurants and store open. Casinos, movie theaters, escape rooms, mini golf, etc... all open. Office buildings open. Colleges open. Just do it safely.

Yup. I don't think the "quarantine until the vaccine" group realizes how much life has resumed without them.

And here in our county, its encouraging to see so many people comply with the safety rules.

For example, on Saturday my kids has 3 games: soccer, softball, and baseball. Each parent stayed socially distant on the sidelines and wore masks. The kids wore masks in the dugout & on the bench. Then, we went out to dinner. All staff wore masks, and the patrons wore their masks entering and exiting the establishment.

90% of life has resumed.

And if we, as a community, are prepared to allow Escape Rooms to resume (rooms where people are locked in together with no windows into a small room and you literally have to touch everything to get out), then we need to prioritize school re-opening.

For Elementary, we need to keep it simply. One full F2F option 4-5 days a week, and one full DL. F2F must wear masks or be sent home. F2F must consent to a daily temp check. F2F must use hand sanitizer upon entering the room.

Keep it simple, Stupid.

This isn't as hard as we are making it out to be

+1. The over complicated hybrid plans are destined to fail anyway.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well it has. Schools back, restaurants and store open. Casinos, movie theaters, escape rooms, mini golf, etc... all open. Office buildings open. Colleges open. Just do it safely.

Yup. I don't think the "quarantine until the vaccine" group realizes how much life has resumed without them.

And here in our county, its encouraging to see so many people comply with the safety rules.

For example, on Saturday my kids has 3 games: soccer, softball, and baseball. Each parent stayed socially distant on the sidelines and wore masks. The kids wore masks in the dugout & on the bench. Then, we went out to dinner. All staff wore masks, and the patrons wore their masks entering and exiting the establishment.

90% of life has resumed.

And if we, as a community, are prepared to allow Escape Rooms to resume (rooms where people are locked in together with no windows into a small room and you literally have to touch everything to get out), then we need to prioritize school re-opening.

For Elementary, we need to keep it simply. One full F2F option 4-5 days a week, and one full DL. F2F must wear masks or be sent home. F2F must consent to a daily temp check. F2F must use hand sanitizer upon entering the room.

Keep it simple, Stupid.

This isn't as hard as we are making it out to be

+1. The over complicated hybrid plans are destined to fail anyway.

Agree

::I posted this over in a different thread (apologies to the folks that have now seen it twice). But this was what I sent to the board as a constituent advocating for a simplified approach for ES. If you guys agree, please take time to email the board with your thoughts or even better, submit testimony at the next BOE meeting (can be done in advance; you do not need to be in person)::

My thoughts are limited to elementary, but I think we need to keep it as simple as possible. We are over complicating the return.

Offer families two options: a full return to school option, and an entirely distance learning option. No hybrid option should be offered.

These options offer benefits over the hybrid approach for a variety of reasons:

- Families with students that require more social interaction or face to face instruction can maximize their student’s time at school
- Families that rely on school for child care during core business hours will have a return to normal schedules
- Families that have at-risk children, or at-risk family members at home, can continue with distance learning
- Teachers that are at-risk can continue with distance instruction

This is also the safer model, compared to hybrid. In a hybrid situation, we are increasing some student’s exposure to other people, by having them to go school 1 to 2 days a week, and a childcare center the other days. The aforementioned options will limit their exposure, and arguably reduce community spread, when compared to a hybrid model.

This approach can also be tweaked to meet teacher and staff needs. Perhaps instead of 5 days a week in the building, it is 4 days a week (with one day of asynchronous learning) to allow for deep cleaning of schools, lesson planning, or relief for overworked teachers.

From a safety perspective, a return does not contribute to community spread anymore than the re-opening of any other activity. If our community has deemed nightclubs, or concerts, or even now they are considering Escape Rooms, reasonable activities to resume in-person, then its only reasonable that face to face in person instruction should fall into the same category; I would argue that its more important than the things have already been granted permission to reopen.

This approach would also assume that mask compliance is fully required, temperature checks are done at the door, and PPE equipment provided to teachers.

There are some drawbacks. Students will likely need to be reassigned to a new teacher. And those that select DL may need to go into a county wide pool and temporarily not be associated with a specific elementary school. But those are a small price to pay for the VERY large benefit of a return to school.

This plan could be done in a matter of weeks; the biggest logistical obstacle would be soliciting student and teacher preference, and then mapping DL students to DL teachers.

I'm sure this isn't a perfect approach, and people will pr

[Anonymous]

**oops, copy/paste problem above to cut off the last sentence, but you guys get the jist**

[Anonymous]

This is the FCPS return to school update to be discussed tomorrow. The school board will push back, but this has the bones of being a real plan. Take a look at PPE, etc. on pages #21-23. Has MCPS reported out on any of these measures?

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/BUDFAR3E3621/$file/ReturntoSchoolUpdate10_15_20.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the FCPS return to school update to be discussed tomorrow. The school board will push back, but this has the bones of being a real plan. Take a look at PPE, etc. on pages #21-23. Has MCPS reported out on any of these measures?

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/BUDFAR3E3621/$file/ReturntoSchoolUpdate10_15_20.pdf

It would be so expensive to do this not to mention the serious and grave risks that covid pose but since it's for a few months at best, it seems like a poorly thought out idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well it has. Schools back, restaurants and store open. Casinos, movie theaters, escape rooms, mini golf, etc... all open. Office buildings open. Colleges open. Just do it safely.

Yup. I don't think the "quarantine until the vaccine" group realizes how much life has resumed without them.

And here in our county, its encouraging to see so many people comply with the safety rules.

For example, on Saturday my kids has 3 games: soccer, softball, and baseball. Each parent stayed socially distant on the sidelines and wore masks. The kids wore masks in the dugout & on the bench. Then, we went out to dinner. All staff wore masks, and the patrons wore their masks entering and exiting the establishment.

90% of life has resumed.

And if we, as a community, are prepared to allow Escape Rooms to resume (rooms where people are locked in together with no windows into a small room and you literally have to touch everything to get out), then we need to prioritize school re-opening.

For Elementary, we need to keep it simply. One full F2F option 4-5 days a week, and one full DL. F2F must wear masks or be sent home. F2F must consent to a daily temp check. F2F must use hand sanitizer upon entering the room.

Keep it simple, Stupid.

This isn't as hard as we are making it out to be

+1. The over complicated hybrid plans are destined to fail anyway.

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

Another person against the hybrid option: more complicated, higher risk, less school, so what's the benefit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

Another person against the hybrid option: more complicated, higher risk, less school, so what's the benefit?

Exactly. There is no benefit.

We all need to make sure our voices are heard. We need a full F2F option and a full DL option. Email the board. Submit testimony. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

Another person against the hybrid option: more complicated, higher risk, less school, so what's the benefit?

Exactly. There is no benefit.

We all need to make sure our voices are heard. We need a full F2F option and a full DL option. Email the board. Submit testimony. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.

There is no benefit aside from breaking the ice to get back to full F2F. You think MCPS is just going to make that leap next year without testing the waters first?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the FCPS return to school update to be discussed tomorrow. The school board will push back, but this has the bones of being a real plan. Take a look at PPE, etc. on pages #21-23. Has MCPS reported out on any of these measures?

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/BUDFAR3E3621/$file/ReturntoSchoolUpdate10_15_20.pdf

It would be so expensive to do this not to mention the serious and grave risks that covid pose but since it's for a few months at best, it seems like a poorly thought out idea.

All of this PPE and HVAC assessment will benefit next school year as well. It's not a waste at all.

I read on another thread over there that schools are already marking one-way hallways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

Another person against the hybrid option: more complicated, higher risk, less school, so what's the benefit?

Exactly. There is no benefit.

We all need to make sure our voices are heard. We need a full F2F option and a full DL option. Email the board. Submit testimony. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.

There is no benefit aside from breaking the ice to get back to full F2F. You think MCPS is just going to make that leap next year without testing the waters first?

I would hope that MCPS would make that leap this year, namely in February at the start of the second semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

Another person against the hybrid option: more complicated, higher risk, less school, so what's the benefit?

Exactly. There is no benefit.

We all need to make sure our voices are heard. We need a full F2F option and a full DL option. Email the board. Submit testimony. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.

There is no benefit aside from breaking the ice to get back to full F2F. You think MCPS is just going to make that leap next year without testing the waters first?

If we go the full year DL, yes, I would expect a full F2F return for the 21-22 school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hybrid involves greater: expense, and risks, but involves even less school than DL. People should accept the reality of the situation and make the best of it.

Another person against the hybrid option: more complicated, higher risk, less school, so what's the benefit?

Exactly. There is no benefit.

We all need to make sure our voices are heard. We need a full F2F option and a full DL option. Email the board. Submit testimony. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.

There is no benefit aside from breaking the ice to get back to full F2F. You think MCPS is just going to make that leap next year without testing the waters first?

If we go the full year DL, yes, I would expect a full F2F return for the 21-22 school year.

I'm in favor of full F2F now, but I just don't think the MCPS leadership has the leadership capacity to pull it off now/next year without interim steps. Their inaction is always excused away with "it's too hard because they're too big...so they shouldn't even try."