Town Hall today: DCPS is not implementing the protocols that would help to keep schools open

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if I missed it, but what are the protocols not being implemented? Just not 100% daily testing?

Has OP been back to say what’s not being done? I’m really not sure what anyone wants other than a miracle. I honestly think DCPS should concede that it’s not safe, cancel school for two weeks and tack it on to the end of the school year like snow days. Best of both worlds, honestly. (I’m a WTU member.)

OP here. Thanks to everyone for your perspectives. Chancellor said the 100 percent testing of students and staff is a one-off until it proves necessary to do more (mayor later said the next massive testing will be upon return from end of February break). That was to me the most glaring deficiency. Tests come in a two pack. At a minimum parents could be required to present another test result the following Monday. The omicron peak will certainly occur during the first couple weeks of school when mitigating measures will be crucial. The CDC has also approved and recommends test-to-stay which keeps a maximum of kids in school just as effectively as having them quarantine (Moco and FCPS are doing this - FCPS as a pilot). City has been discussing implementing this for months but no plan is in place.

I agree about test-to-stay. Ang I agree that they could probably implement greater testing, although more testing = more logistical headaches. This burdens staff and schools, and they are already overburdened. People here constantly complain about the inefficiency of Central Office, so it's not like giving them huge new tasks is going to go perfectly, particularly the first time.

Plus I think this board really just doesn't think about the majority of DCPS parents who aren't nearly as concerned, or aren't following guidance, like everyone here. I'm not judging them. It's just that if you have A LOT of parents that aren't following guidance, this is going to lead to logistical problems, which creates headaches again for school staff and uses resources. Plus there are optics to it all.

People just need to adjust their expectations for a major metropolitan city public school system, where like three-quarters of students are 'at risk'.

Not disagreeing w you except all kids are at risk. Seeing lots of umc families traveling in unvaxxed zones, not masking, acting like there is no covid. These people also love the excuse of we don’t do x, y and x because of covid. They are all vaxxed but omnicron spreads like crazy.

If we say virtual school then parents who can travel will. I would too but I’d travel to isolate elsewhere. we didn’t travel this holiday because of the omnicron

But for the holiday anyway, the people that went elsewhere were potentially less likely to be exposed. I really, really wouldn't blame umc families for covid, though, particularly talking about "travelling to unvaccinated areas". There's a huge contingent in DC that's unvaccinated, and you don't have to leave the city to be around them.

+ We have the highest rate of COVID in the country i think . Anywhere else would be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No one can keep up with the rapidity of the surge, OP. By the time governments ramp up efforts there will be significant closures because of staff shortages, and then Omicron will recede as rapidly as it came.

Our best bet is to pivot to virtual teaching now while teachers are still not positive and can teach, keep schools open with skeletal day care staff, and those of us who can, work from home the month, to keep EMS and hospital services running. But people don't want that, so we're going to have a disaster instead. Oh well.

This would only delay the inevitable. Teachers and everyone else will eventually get infected, if everyone stays home again now they will get it later and the whole ordeal will be more drawn out. Last time we could say we are waiting for vaccines, this time there is nothing to save us. Yes, drawing it out overall (“flatten the curve”) may help hospitals, but closing schools is going to be a drop in the bucket for that issue. Better keep them running as best we can and avoid the definitive harms closures inflict on children.

No, “let all the kids get covid” is not an acceptable policy.

There’s an easy answer here, and it’s testing.

Testing may slow the spread, but you will need to come to terms with the idea that eventually most people, including kids, will get Covid. I know that’s a tough thing to accept if you’ve been zealous about avoiding the virus for nearly two years. We haven’t caught it yet but I know we will eventually, unless we want to keep up extreme precautions for the rest of our lives. And it will be ok because we are vaccinated.

Even if you believe that catching Omicron/COVID is inevitable, everyone catching it at once certainly isn't.

And that's why you test to slow the spread. But if you close schools, and if that were to actually accomplish your goal of protecting all those kids from the virus for the time that schools are closed (it won't since many will congregate elsewhere), then you would have just delayed the inevitable, as the school population would have to meet the virus eventually. Fortunately, kids are so low risk that it won't send masses of them to the hospital even if they all got infected in relatively short succession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if I missed it, but what are the protocols not being implemented? Just not 100% daily testing?

Has OP been back to say what’s not being done? I’m really not sure what anyone wants other than a miracle. I honestly think DCPS should concede that it’s not safe, cancel school for two weeks and tack it on to the end of the school year like snow days. Best of both worlds, honestly. (I’m a WTU member.)

OP here. Thanks to everyone for your perspectives. Chancellor said the 100 percent testing of students and staff is a one-off until it proves necessary to do more (mayor later said the next massive testing will be upon return from end of February break). That was to me the most glaring deficiency. Tests come in a two pack. At a minimum parents could be required to present another test result the following Monday. The omicron peak will certainly occur during the first couple weeks of school when mitigating measures will be crucial. The CDC has also approved and recommends test-to-stay which keeps a maximum of kids in school just as effectively as having them quarantine (Moco and FCPS are doing this - FCPS as a pilot). City has been discussing implementing this for months but no plan is in place.

I agree about test-to-stay. Ang I agree that they could probably implement greater testing, although more testing = more logistical headaches. This burdens staff and schools, and they are already overburdened. People here constantly complain about the inefficiency of Central Office, so it's not like giving them huge new tasks is going to go perfectly, particularly the first time.

Plus I think this board really just doesn't think about the majority of DCPS parents who aren't nearly as concerned, or aren't following guidance, like everyone here. I'm not judging them. It's just that if you have A LOT of parents that aren't following guidance, this is going to lead to logistical problems, which creates headaches again for school staff and uses resources. Plus there are optics to it all.

People just need to adjust their expectations for a major metropolitan city public school system, where like three-quarters of students are 'at risk'.

Not disagreeing w you except all kids are at risk. Seeing lots of umc families traveling in unvaxxed zones, not masking, acting like there is no covid. These people also love the excuse of we don’t do x, y and x because of covid. They are all vaxxed but omnicron spreads like crazy.

If we say virtual school then parents who can travel will. I would too but I’d travel to isolate elsewhere. we didn’t travel this holiday because of the omnicron

But for the holiday anyway, the people that went elsewhere were potentially less likely to be exposed. I really, really wouldn't blame umc families for covid, though, particularly talking about "travelling to unvaccinated areas". There's a huge contingent in DC that's unvaccinated, and you don't have to leave the city to be around them.

UMC families don’t hang out w the unvaccinated in DC. Please don’t tell me the do. They posts here show a bias that makes that apparent.

I do know UMC families that are more than happy to travel to see the unvaccinated BIL so as not to upset grandma. Posting photos in nightclubs without masks in unvaccinated areas is not the same as staying at home in DC and seeing limited vaccinated people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if I missed it, but what are the protocols not being implemented? Just not 100% daily testing?

Has OP been back to say what’s not being done? I’m really not sure what anyone wants other than a miracle. I honestly think DCPS should concede that it’s not safe, cancel school for two weeks and tack it on to the end of the school year like snow days. Best of both worlds, honestly. (I’m a WTU member.)

OP here. Thanks to everyone for your perspectives. Chancellor said the 100 percent testing of students and staff is a one-off until it proves necessary to do more (mayor later said the next massive testing will be upon return from end of February break). That was to me the most glaring deficiency. Tests come in a two pack. At a minimum parents could be required to present another test result the following Monday. The omicron peak will certainly occur during the first couple weeks of school when mitigating measures will be crucial. The CDC has also approved and recommends test-to-stay which keeps a maximum of kids in school just as effectively as having them quarantine (Moco and FCPS are doing this - FCPS as a pilot). City has been discussing implementing this for months but no plan is in place.

I agree about test-to-stay. Ang I agree that they could probably implement greater testing, although more testing = more logistical headaches. This burdens staff and schools, and they are already overburdened. People here constantly complain about the inefficiency of Central Office, so it's not like giving them huge new tasks is going to go perfectly, particularly the first time.

Plus I think this board really just doesn't think about the majority of DCPS parents who aren't nearly as concerned, or aren't following guidance, like everyone here. I'm not judging them. It's just that if you have A LOT of parents that aren't following guidance, this is going to lead to logistical problems, which creates headaches again for school staff and uses resources. Plus there are optics to it all.

People just need to adjust their expectations for a major metropolitan city public school system, where like three-quarters of students are 'at risk'.

Not disagreeing w you except all kids are at risk. Seeing lots of umc families traveling in unvaxxed zones, not masking, acting like there is no covid. These people also love the excuse of we don’t do x, y and x because of covid. They are all vaxxed but omnicron spreads like crazy.

If we say virtual school then parents who can travel will. I would too but I’d travel to isolate elsewhere. we didn’t travel this holiday because of the omnicron

But for the holiday anyway, the people that went elsewhere were potentially less likely to be exposed. I really, really wouldn't blame umc families for covid, though, particularly talking about "travelling to unvaccinated areas". There's a huge contingent in DC that's unvaccinated, and you don't have to leave the city to be around them.

+ We have the highest rate of COVID in the country i think . Anywhere else would be better.

The number one place in the country that is testing? Most places in the country doesn’t test.

Also Florida….. hello Orlando!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if I missed it, but what are the protocols not being implemented? Just not 100% daily testing?

Has OP been back to say what’s not being done? I’m really not sure what anyone wants other than a miracle. I honestly think DCPS should concede that it’s not safe, cancel school for two weeks and tack it on to the end of the school year like snow days. Best of both worlds, honestly. (I’m a WTU member.)

OP here. Thanks to everyone for your perspectives. Chancellor said the 100 percent testing of students and staff is a one-off until it proves necessary to do more (mayor later said the next massive testing will be upon return from end of February break). That was to me the most glaring deficiency. Tests come in a two pack. At a minimum parents could be required to present another test result the following Monday. The omicron peak will certainly occur during the first couple weeks of school when mitigating measures will be crucial. The CDC has also approved and recommends test-to-stay which keeps a maximum of kids in school just as effectively as having them quarantine (Moco and FCPS are doing this - FCPS as a pilot). City has been discussing implementing this for months but no plan is in place.

I agree about test-to-stay. Ang I agree that they could probably implement greater testing, although more testing = more logistical headaches. This burdens staff and schools, and they are already overburdened. People here constantly complain about the inefficiency of Central Office, so it's not like giving them huge new tasks is going to go perfectly, particularly the first time.

Plus I think this board really just doesn't think about the majority of DCPS parents who aren't nearly as concerned, or aren't following guidance, like everyone here. I'm not judging them. It's just that if you have A LOT of parents that aren't following guidance, this is going to lead to logistical problems, which creates headaches again for school staff and uses resources. Plus there are optics to it all.

People just need to adjust their expectations for a major metropolitan city public school system, where like three-quarters of students are 'at risk'.

Not disagreeing w you except all kids are at risk. Seeing lots of umc families traveling in unvaxxed zones, not masking, acting like there is no covid. These people also love the excuse of we don’t do x, y and x because of covid. They are all vaxxed but omnicron spreads like crazy.

If we say virtual school then parents who can travel will. I would too but I’d travel to isolate elsewhere. we didn’t travel this holiday because of the omnicron

But for the holiday anyway, the people that went elsewhere were potentially less likely to be exposed. I really, really wouldn't blame umc families for covid, though, particularly talking about "travelling to unvaccinated areas". There's a huge contingent in DC that's unvaccinated, and you don't have to leave the city to be around them.

UMC families don’t hang out w the unvaccinated in DC. Please don’t tell me the do. They posts here show a bias that makes that apparent.

I do know UMC families that are more than happy to travel to see the unvaccinated BIL so as not to upset grandma. Posting photos in nightclubs without masks in unvaccinated areas is not the same as staying at home in DC and seeing limited vaccinated people.

Oh I wasn’t saying the UMc families hang out with the unvaxxed of DC. It’s that we shouldn’t look down on unvaxxed states when there are portions of DC with the same low vax rates. Those portions of DC still send their kids to school.

I think you have a romantic view of the unvaxxed of DC, and the protective measures they are taking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if I missed it, but what are the protocols not being implemented? Just not 100% daily testing?

Has OP been back to say what’s not being done? I’m really not sure what anyone wants other than a miracle. I honestly think DCPS should concede that it’s not safe, cancel school for two weeks and tack it on to the end of the school year like snow days. Best of both worlds, honestly. (I’m a WTU member.)

OP here. Thanks to everyone for your perspectives. Chancellor said the 100 percent testing of students and staff is a one-off until it proves necessary to do more (mayor later said the next massive testing will be upon return from end of February break). That was to me the most glaring deficiency. Tests come in a two pack. At a minimum parents could be required to present another test result the following Monday. The omicron peak will certainly occur during the first couple weeks of school when mitigating measures will be crucial. The CDC has also approved and recommends test-to-stay which keeps a maximum of kids in school just as effectively as having them quarantine (Moco and FCPS are doing this - FCPS as a pilot). City has been discussing implementing this for months but no plan is in place.

I agree about test-to-stay. Ang I agree that they could probably implement greater testing, although more testing = more logistical headaches. This burdens staff and schools, and they are already overburdened. People here constantly complain about the inefficiency of Central Office, so it's not like giving them huge new tasks is going to go perfectly, particularly the first time.

Plus I think this board really just doesn't think about the majority of DCPS parents who aren't nearly as concerned, or aren't following guidance, like everyone here. I'm not judging them. It's just that if you have A LOT of parents that aren't following guidance, this is going to lead to logistical problems, which creates headaches again for school staff and uses resources. Plus there are optics to it all.

People just need to adjust their expectations for a major metropolitan city public school system, where like three-quarters of students are 'at risk'.

Not disagreeing w you except all kids are at risk. Seeing lots of umc families traveling in unvaxxed zones, not masking, acting like there is no covid. These people also love the excuse of we don’t do x, y and x because of covid. They are all vaxxed but omnicron spreads like crazy.

If we say virtual school then parents who can travel will. I would too but I’d travel to isolate elsewhere. we didn’t travel this holiday because of the omnicron

But for the holiday anyway, the people that went elsewhere were potentially less likely to be exposed. I really, really wouldn't blame umc families for covid, though, particularly talking about "travelling to unvaccinated areas". There's a huge contingent in DC that's unvaccinated, and you don't have to leave the city to be around them.

UMC families don’t hang out w the unvaccinated in DC. Please don’t tell me the do. They posts here show a bias that makes that apparent.

I do know UMC families that are more than happy to travel to see the unvaccinated BIL so as not to upset grandma. Posting photos in nightclubs without masks in unvaccinated areas is not the same as staying at home in DC and seeing limited vaccinated people.

Oh I wasn’t saying the UMc families hang out with the unvaxxed of DC. It’s that we shouldn’t look down on unvaxxed states when there are portions of DC with the same low vax rates. Those portions of DC still send their kids to school.

I think you have a romantic view of the unvaxxed of DC, and the protective measures they are taking.

Yeah the one unvaccinated kid bussed in from Ward 8 to Ward 3 is probably vaccinated. Your kid is fine. The family that had to go to Florida and doesn’t exclude “those” cousins are still sending your kids to your Ward 3 school. Some advertise their vacation on FB and others don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if I missed it, but what are the protocols not being implemented? Just not 100% daily testing?

Has OP been back to say what’s not being done? I’m really not sure what anyone wants other than a miracle. I honestly think DCPS should concede that it’s not safe, cancel school for two weeks and tack it on to the end of the school year like snow days. Best of both worlds, honestly. (I’m a WTU member.)

OP here. Thanks to everyone for your perspectives. Chancellor said the 100 percent testing of students and staff is a one-off until it proves necessary to do more (mayor later said the next massive testing will be upon return from end of February break). That was to me the most glaring deficiency. Tests come in a two pack. At a minimum parents could be required to present another test result the following Monday. The omicron peak will certainly occur during the first couple weeks of school when mitigating measures will be crucial. The CDC has also approved and recommends test-to-stay which keeps a maximum of kids in school just as effectively as having them quarantine (Moco and FCPS are doing this - FCPS as a pilot). City has been discussing implementing this for months but no plan is in place.

I agree about test-to-stay. Ang I agree that they could probably implement greater testing, although more testing = more logistical headaches. This burdens staff and schools, and they are already overburdened. People here constantly complain about the inefficiency of Central Office, so it's not like giving them huge new tasks is going to go perfectly, particularly the first time.

Plus I think this board really just doesn't think about the majority of DCPS parents who aren't nearly as concerned, or aren't following guidance, like everyone here. I'm not judging them. It's just that if you have A LOT of parents that aren't following guidance, this is going to lead to logistical problems, which creates headaches again for school staff and uses resources. Plus there are optics to it all.

People just need to adjust their expectations for a major metropolitan city public school system, where like three-quarters of students are 'at risk'.

Not disagreeing w you except all kids are at risk. Seeing lots of umc families traveling in unvaxxed zones, not masking, acting like there is no covid. These people also love the excuse of we don’t do x, y and x because of covid. They are all vaxxed but omnicron spreads like crazy.

If we say virtual school then parents who can travel will. I would too but I’d travel to isolate elsewhere. we didn’t travel this holiday because of the omnicron

But for the holiday anyway, the people that went elsewhere were potentially less likely to be exposed. I really, really wouldn't blame umc families for covid, though, particularly talking about "travelling to unvaccinated areas". There's a huge contingent in DC that's unvaccinated, and you don't have to leave the city to be around them.

UMC families don’t hang out w the unvaccinated in DC. Please don’t tell me the do. They posts here show a bias that makes that apparent.

I do know UMC families that are more than happy to travel to see the unvaccinated BIL so as not to upset grandma. Posting photos in nightclubs without masks in unvaccinated areas is not the same as staying at home in DC and seeing limited vaccinated people.

Oh I wasn’t saying the UMc families hang out with the unvaxxed of DC. It’s that we shouldn’t look down on unvaxxed states when there are portions of DC with the same low vax rates. Those portions of DC still send their kids to school.

I think you have a romantic view of the unvaxxed of DC, and the protective measures they are taking.

Yeah the one unvaccinated kid bussed in from Ward 8 to Ward 3 is probably vaccinated. Your kid is fine. The family that had to go to Florida and doesn’t exclude “those” cousins are still sending your kids to your Ward 3 school. Some advertise their vacation on FB and others don’t.

??

Vaccinated or unvaccinated? Whose kid is going where? Pls explain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah the one unvaccinated kid bussed in from Ward 8 to Ward 3 is probably vaccinated. Your kid is fine. The family that had to go to Florida and doesn’t exclude “those” cousins are still sending your kids to your Ward 3 school. Some advertise their vacation on FB and others don’t.

??

Vaccinated or unvaccinated? Whose kid is going where? Pls explain.

PP means the rich are traveling and mixing, and aren't as safe as you think, despite their vaccinated status.

My take is that the poor families are probably the ones lined up first for vaccines, since their families are more likely to be frontline workers, and suffered most in 2020.

However, since Omicron can infect both unvaccinated and vaccinated in equal measure, all of this is moot.

For school openings, it's positivity rate that counts, not case severity. So no one cares about your vaccine status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah the one unvaccinated kid bussed in from Ward 8 to Ward 3 is probably vaccinated. Your kid is fine. The family that had to go to Florida and doesn’t exclude “those” cousins are still sending your kids to your Ward 3 school. Some advertise their vacation on FB and others don’t.

??

Vaccinated or unvaccinated? Whose kid is going where? Pls explain.

PP means the rich are traveling and mixing, and aren't as safe as you think, despite their vaccinated status.

My take is that the poor families are probably the ones lined up first for vaccines, since their families are more likely to be frontline workers, and suffered most in 2020.

However, since Omicron can infect both unvaccinated and vaccinated in equal measure, all of this is moot.

For school openings, it's positivity rate that counts, not case severity. So no one cares about your vaccine status.

This is not true. You are still significantly less likely to get infected if you are vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah the one unvaccinated kid bussed in from Ward 8 to Ward 3 is probably vaccinated. Your kid is fine. The family that had to go to Florida and doesn’t exclude “those” cousins are still sending your kids to your Ward 3 school. Some advertise their vacation on FB and others don’t.

??

Vaccinated or unvaccinated? Whose kid is going where? Pls explain.

PP means the rich are traveling and mixing, and aren't as safe as you think, despite their vaccinated status.

My take is that the poor families are probably the ones lined up first for vaccines, since their families are more likely to be frontline workers, and suffered most in 2020.

However, since Omicron can infect both unvaccinated and vaccinated in equal measure, all of this is moot.

For school openings, it's positivity rate that counts, not case severity. So no one cares about your vaccine status.

This is not true. You are still significantly less likely to get infected if you are vaccinated.

Your lowest risk is vaccinated and boosted.

And no poor families in DC are not getting vaccinated. Hasn’t PP above looked at the data at all? Ward 3 highest vaccination rate. Ward 7 and 8 lowest, think is was in the percentages of 20’s last time I saw. Abysmally low.

Access in ward 7 and 8 is not an issue either. Tons of pop up vaccine sites offerring incentives to get vax, churches there doing outreach, DC people knocking door to door, etc…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah the one unvaccinated kid bussed in from Ward 8 to Ward 3 is probably vaccinated. Your kid is fine. The family that had to go to Florida and doesn’t exclude “those” cousins are still sending your kids to your Ward 3 school. Some advertise their vacation on FB and others don’t.

??

Vaccinated or unvaccinated? Whose kid is going where? Pls explain.

PP means the rich are traveling and mixing, and aren't as safe as you think, despite their vaccinated status.

My take is that the poor families are probably the ones lined up first for vaccines, since their families are more likely to be frontline workers, and suffered most in 2020.

However, since Omicron can infect both unvaccinated and vaccinated in equal measure, all of this is moot.

For school openings, it's positivity rate that counts, not case severity. So no one cares about your vaccine status.

This is not true. You are still significantly less likely to get infected if you are vaccinated.

Your lowest risk is vaccinated and boosted.

And no poor families in DC are not getting vaccinated. Hasn’t PP above looked at the data at all? Ward 3 highest vaccination rate. Ward 7 and 8 lowest, think is was in the percentages of 20’s last time I saw. Abysmally low.

Access in ward 7 and 8 is not an issue either. Tons of pop up vaccine sites offerring incentives to get vax, churches there doing outreach, DC people knocking door to door, etc…

34% in ward 7 and 40% in ward 8, compared to mid 50s in most other wards.

[Anonymous]

I like this quote from the governor of Massachusetts, the state with the largest test to stay program in the country. The testing, which is being done on a massive scale, is crucial to keeping kids in schools:

"Kids need to be in school," Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday, when asked about flexibility when it comes to in-person learning.
"We also have the largest test and stay program in the country and we saved 350,000 school days so far this year as a result of that program. There are a lot of tools and capabilities available to keep kids and adults safe in school, and we should do everything in our power to make sure that kids stay in school," he said.

Colleges and K-12 schools adapt schedules and requirements as Covid cases rise
By Elizabeth Stuart, CNN