DCPS Employee Return to In Person Work Guidance

[Anonymous]

Sadly, that is a rather selfish perspective. Give it a little time. Your child can learn how to learn remotely. This is not something new or something that will disappear tomorrow. Everyone has had to learn new ways of learning, teaching, practicing medicine, working without colleagues next to you, shopping, etc. This could be the start of something new and exciting in education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, that is a rather selfish perspective. Give it a little time. Your child can learn how to learn remotely. This is not something new or something that will disappear tomorrow. Everyone has had to learn new ways of learning, teaching, practicing medicine, working without colleagues next to you, shopping, etc. This could be the start of something new and exciting in education.

Not selfish. Realistic. People learn different ways. Kindergarteners and high schoolers learn differently. Some people need structure and clear instructions, some need space to think. Etc etc.

One of DCs is fine in-person and fine with distance.

One of my DCs is a star at in-person school and thrives at it, but DL gives him/her nothing but aggravation. For this child, it’s tragic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, that is a rather selfish perspective. Give it a little time. Your child can learn how to learn remotely. This is not something new or something that will disappear tomorrow. Everyone has had to learn new ways of learning, teaching, practicing medicine, working without colleagues next to you, shopping, etc. This could be the start of something new and exciting in education.

Not selfish. Realistic. People learn different ways. Kindergarteners and high schoolers learn differently. Some people need structure and clear instructions, some need space to think. Etc etc.

One of DCs is fine in-person and fine with distance.

One of my DCs is a star at in-person school and thrives at it, but DL gives him/her nothing but aggravation. For this child, it’s tragic.

Agree with PP. Also, this assumes that there is an adult that can help the child learn remotely (needed for younger kids). But most homes have parents who both work. Distance learning is a near impossible task for working parents.

That said, I really don't know what the answer is. I go back and forth about whether schools should open. I think they will and I hope that people continue to work at home/social distance so that the spread doesn't surge again. I also really hope that teachers don't end up getting sick. If I were a teacher or worked in schools, I'd go ahead and invest in a face shield or two. I don't think DC will supply those but I would wear one in school if it were my job, along with a mask.

[Anonymous]

I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The teacher’s union is out of control. Teachers are getting every cent while working virtually - minimally. The can do better and should do better. If they can’t work, fine. But they are just making it that much harder for the teachers who will be willing to come teach in person. Come on, you are a teacher, teach.

It's summer.

Yeah, technically we gave the city an interest free loan all year for our summer pay.

No. Your union-negotiated pay is based on the payment structure. If the union had negotiated for 10 months of pay, you would have gotten paid less. That’s how economics works. You didn’t give the city an interest free loan any more than the city gave you free money in exchange for taking your payments over more time. It was a negotiated outcome where the economic cost to teachers / benefit to the city of teachers getting paid more slowly were very much taken into account. These aren’t unsophisticated parties. Don’t kid yourself.

Well we are in fact paid for 10 months according to contract, so I’m not sure what your economics point is there. And if you look at your pay stub, on each check it subtracts an amount for “summer pay”. It also keeps a nifty total of the amount you’ve contributed YTD so far.

The point is that the arrangement was negotiated by sophisticated parties. If the union had prioritized fighting the payment schedule, you would have earned less, so it’s not an interest free loan in that sense... the interest is baked in.

So you think if teachers each individually had a choice, 10 or 12 month payout, that the people who chose 10 months would be paid less? I've been in districts where you could choose and there as no difference in total pay between 10 and 12 months. It just allowed people to choose whether they wanted more money through out the school year or to be paid over the summer.

Yes. I'm a former private school teacher and we all had the choice between a 10 month and 12 month payout -- of course, the salary was the same, just distributed differently! I think the bolded PP was saying that it is like a loan, because that money remains in the coffers of the city for those 10 months, to be used. It's a loan, which means it must be paid eventually (during the summer).

That’s insane. If there is anyone dumb enough to pick 12 months if the pay is literally identical, they should not be teaching math to any year above 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The teacher’s union is out of control. Teachers are getting every cent while working virtually - minimally. The can do better and should do better. If they can’t work, fine. But they are just making it that much harder for the teachers who will be willing to come teach in person. Come on, you are a teacher, teach.

It's summer.

Yeah, technically we gave the city an interest free loan all year for our summer pay.

No. Your union-negotiated pay is based on the payment structure. If the union had negotiated for 10 months of pay, you would have gotten paid less. That’s how economics works. You didn’t give the city an interest free loan any more than the city gave you free money in exchange for taking your payments over more time. It was a negotiated outcome where the economic cost to teachers / benefit to the city of teachers getting paid more slowly were very much taken into account. These aren’t unsophisticated parties. Don’t kid yourself. [/quote


If you get paid 69k over 10 months or over 12 months it'd still be 69k.

We are not getting free money, you must not be calculus Karen...

Please tell me you are not this dumb and you understand how interest works? If you have the same amount of $$ 2 months earlier, it is worth more. It’s why the lump sum payout for a lottery winner is so much less in terms of raw amount than if you take the annuity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am also a DC teacher who wants to go back. I hate working from home! But I need DCPS to step up and commit to keeping me safe before I'm comfortable going back to work. Thank goodness we have the union to advocate for us because many of the parents on this thread don't seem to care about the health and well-being of the people who care for their children all day.

The worst part is that many parents are working from home and unwilling to go to work because that would mean they would be putting themselves at risk, yet it is fine to throw all the teachers and kids to the wolves.

But teachers are essential. I want teachers protected just as I want ER doctors protected. I want police and fire people protected and people in the food supply chain. I want lawyers and anyone else who can work from home to do that. I want sports stars and people who cannot work from
home, to stay home and be given fair unemployment. This is all in attempt to keep essential workers safe. Teachers are essential and parents cannot make up for the lost learning and social interactions from distance only education.

I think you are misunderstanding “essential.” Essential are things we can’t live without—food, medical care, etc. My doctor does telehealth visits not because they are just as good as in person but because they can reduce risk that way. Teacher CAN teach remotely. It isn’t perfect or ideal or convenient (like my prenatal health appointments!) but it’s there. You aren’t going to die without in person learning. Though you may want to kill your kids if you’re home with them any longer! -Teacher who wants to go back but also wants guarantees OSSE guidance will be followed.

Education for children is absolutely an essential service. Childhood is short and finite. Education for children
provided by the state is a state obligation and a human right regardless of race, ethnicity or income. Distance learning provided by the state is far from ideal or effective, but for elementary I’d argue it’s pointless. I’d rather have a year without school. Furlough and let’s reconvene next school year. And if DC goes ahead with DL, I for one am going to be very vocal about how DL is impacting my child and improvements needed. If they try this “one 20 minute team meeting zoom” crap again, that ain’t happening. Kids need face-to-face “class time”—and a good amount—every school day. So what are teachers with young children themselves going to do? Are will they be able to teach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The teacher’s union is out of control. Teachers are getting every cent while working virtually - minimally. The can do better and should do better. If they can’t work, fine. But they are just making it that much harder for the teachers who will be willing to come teach in person. Come on, you are a teacher, teach.

It's summer.

Yeah, technically we gave the city an interest free loan all year for our summer pay.

No. Your union-negotiated pay is based on the payment structure. If the union had negotiated for 10 months of pay, you would have gotten paid less. That’s how economics works. You didn’t give the city an interest free loan any more than the city gave you free money in exchange for taking your payments over more time. It was a negotiated outcome where the economic cost to teachers / benefit to the city of teachers getting paid more slowly were very much taken into account. These aren’t unsophisticated parties. Don’t kid yourself.

Well we are in fact paid for 10 months according to contract, so I’m not sure what your economics point is there. And if you look at your pay stub, on each check it subtracts an amount for “summer pay”. It also keeps a nifty total of the amount you’ve contributed YTD so far.

The point is that the arrangement was negotiated by sophisticated parties. If the union had prioritized fighting the payment schedule, you would have earned less, so it’s not an interest free loan in that sense... the interest is baked in.

So you think if teachers each individually had a choice, 10 or 12 month payout, that the people who chose 10 months would be paid less? I've been in districts where you could choose and there as no difference in total pay between 10 and 12 months. It just allowed people to choose whether they wanted more money through out the school year or to be paid over the summer.

Yes. I'm a former private school teacher and we all had the choice between a 10 month and 12 month payout -- of course, the salary was the same, just distributed differently! I think the bolded PP was saying that it is like a loan, because that money remains in the coffers of the city for those 10 months, to be used. It's a loan, which means it must be paid eventually (during the summer).

That’s insane. If there is anyone dumb enough to pick 12 months if the pay is literally identical, they should not be teaching math to any year above 2nd grade.

It’s not insane. It’s a budgeting tool. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

Nope, I’m a teacher and a parent. I will continue to fight for what is best for me and my family. My family depends on me and needs me alive. I assume you feel the same way about yourself. The same way you are fighting for what you believe is best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

False equivalency and you know it. Teachers are not doctors, nor are they police officers. You sound just as ridiculous as the folks who want to arm teachers with guns in the classroom. They teach, that’s their job, and if it’s not safe to do that in person during a pandemic then by all means they can and should do that virtually. It’s 2020, that’s an option. Yes, that’s going to create major issues for my husband and I who both need to work fulltime, but these aren’t normal times. We have to do things that are uncomfortable!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

In this year of corona, the best hope I have for my DCPS student is that she makes it out alive.

I have the same hope for DCPS teachers. And for all our children.

I also pray for doctors and nurses. We “demand” that doctors and nurses help corona patients, in some cases risking their own lives. For this reason, we owe it to them to keep the caseload down by every means possible.

The more we see this virus develop, we begin to fathom how quickly its spread can go from anecdotal to tragic, how deadly it can be, and how damaged it leaves some survivors. We also fathom how little we know.

Survival is “what’s best”, it’s for that I am praying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

False equivalency and you know it. Teachers are not doctors, nor are they police officers. You sound just as ridiculous as the folks who want to arm teachers with guns in the classroom. They teach, that’s their job, and if it’s not safe to do that in person during a pandemic then by all means they can and should do that virtually. It’s 2020, that’s an option. Yes, that’s going to create major issues for my husband and I who both need to work fulltime, but these aren’t normal times. We have to do things that are uncomfortable!

I'm a parent here, but it seems to me that if schools were to ensure the same things hospitals do -- PPE, regular testing, protocols for when students or family members get ill that don't penalize them -- teachers could feel safe stepping up to the level of a health care worker. But since that's not happening, I don't blame them for balking at in person school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

In this year of corona, the best hope I have for my DCPS student is that she makes it out alive.

I have the same hope for DCPS teachers. And for all our children.

I also pray for doctors and nurses. We “demand” that doctors and nurses help corona patients, in some cases risking their own lives. For this reason, we owe it to them to keep the caseload down by every means possible.

The more we see this virus develop, we begin to fathom how quickly its spread can go from anecdotal to tragic, how deadly it can be, and how damaged it leaves some survivors. We also fathom how little we know.

Survival is “what’s best”, it’s for that I am praying.

This is a good reminder. Well said. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’ve all established that we WANT our kids to go back to school in-person and agree that it’s how they learn BEST, but that doesn’t mean our kids can’t be taught remotely. Being the suckiest option doesn’t make it not an option. Sadly, during a pandemic we don’t get to just sit around and demand business as usual.

But this thread isn't about what parents want. The thread is about teachers pushing back against what may be best for their students because the teachers do not want to put themselves at risk. If ER doctors said, well we don't have the PPE or the space to keep ourselves safe, so call us when you have a heart attack and we will walk you through CPR, we would be up in arms.

Teachers need to realize that they are essential and with that comes responsibility. DCPS proved last year they cannot pull distance learning off. Teachers need to step up and fight for what is best for their students and stop worrying about what is best for them.

False equivalency and you know it. Teachers are not doctors, nor are they police officers. You sound just as ridiculous as the folks who want to arm teachers with guns in the classroom. They teach, that’s their job, and if it’s not safe to do that in person during a pandemic then by all means they can and should do that virtually. It’s 2020, that’s an option. Yes, that’s going to create major issues for my husband and I who both need to work fulltime, but these aren’t normal times. We have to do things that are uncomfortable!

I'm a parent here, but it seems to me that if schools were to ensure the same things hospitals do -- PPE, regular testing, protocols for when students or family members get ill that don't penalize them -- teachers could feel safe stepping up to the level of a health care worker. But since that's not happening, I don't blame them for balking at in person school.

Agreed. At my son’s school teachers were once told to bring their own toilet paper for a month until the school could afford some more for the staff bathrooms. Those teachers should not feel safe walking into their building!!!