Fairfax has a plan. Interesting preview of what might come to MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former MCPS and current FCPS parent here.

Our options are slightly different from the first post.

1. 100% distance learning. Live instruction four days/week. High School may have reduced course selection (AP/IB not guaranteed)/few electives will be offered (only what is required for graduation).

2. Two days/week in person instruction. Social distancing in classroom. Other days are ALL asynchronous. No live zoom classes, etc.

So option 1 is 4 days of live instruction via internet and option 2 is 2 days of live instruction in person. Good luck navigating through the online “resources” and assignments on the other days.

Parents seem to be split. Decisions for the entire year must be made by July 10 - no take-backsies.

It seems unlikely that parents who opt for the in person choice will not be able to decide at any point to go fully distance learning. There would be a million reasons why a family would need to do this -- someone gets sick, exposure likelihood changes, not happy with how social distancing at school is going, etc.

It seems unlikely (and illegal) that schools would refuse to allow students to access distance learning if they decided they were no longer comfortable with in person options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ Kimberly Adams, president of the Fairfax Education Association, said her organization’s view is that no teacher should return to work until a vaccine or treatment for the coronavirus becomes widely available. She said all school staffers must be allowed to teach virtually for as long as they feel is necessary.”

Wow. Hope a vaccine doesn’t take years.

What are her criteria for a widely available treatment? The dexamethasone data are really promising, and it's cheap and abundant.

I think waiting for a vaccine is dereliction of duty, given how long it could take. Or, they can take a substantial pay cut to really augment services for the kids who don't/can't learn well remotely. Continued full pay for the disaster that was the past Spring is, IMO, unacceptable.

I'm not a doctor, just parent with a science background, but based on the reports of read on dexamethasone, this is overselling the drug

Dexamethasone seems to cause worse outcomes if it is given early in the course of the disease. It has been shown to reduce mortality in those who are on ventilators (that mortality rate had been very very high, ~40%, and according to the preprint of the the study that came out recently dexamethasone reduces that mortality rate by 1/3). It has also been shown to reduce the mortality on those who are on oxygen by 1/5.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.22.20137273v1

It's a drug that seems to produce better outcomes for those who have been hospitalized and are having severe lung issues, but telling someone that they should go ahead and take the risk of catching the disease because if they get it and it is a severe enough case to warrant respiratory support they will be somewhat less likely to die....

THAT IS ASKING A LOT OF AN EMPLOYEE!


The medical community is surely getting better at treating COVID-19 and I am super thankful for that, but it is still a dangerous disease that can progress quickly and still be quite deadly. I just don't want people to jump to the conclusion that teachers who don't want to go back to in-person teaching are being selfish and irrational. A significant portion of teachers are in high risk categories.

And yet, we're asking it of grocery store employees, waitstaff, bartenders, cooks, retail staff, etc.

Is going back to in-person teaching without risk? No.

Is keeping children out of school INDEFINITELY also without risk? No.

There has *got* to be some consideration of the negative outcomes for literally millions of children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why is a cashier at walmart considered essential and a teacher isn't? Teachers need to return to school. They can wear protective shields and maintain distance while teaching in a lecture format. They can wash their hands after each class and use sanitizer throughout the day. The whole world is returning to work and teachers need to do the same. those who have health issues can be assigned to DL.

MCPS isn’t really trying to figure out what teachers can’t return to F2F for documentable health reasons. My DH’s doctor is ready to fill out whatever form MCPS needs. Only there’s no form for well-enough for DL, but not for F2F. Right now, the forms are for doctors to say you can’t return PERIOD or you can return without any restrictions. MCPS does not provide reasonable accommodations beyond ergonomics in our experience. None of things that we know from the private sector or other government jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS parent again. Default is 2 days in person. Must opt in to 100% DL by July 10.

You are essentially registering for a DL school. Classes will he composed once they have all the numbers in (including teachers who opt to distance teach). No guarantees your teacher or classmates are from base school.

You can’t change your mind afterwards, because they need hard numbers to allocate teachers, resources, buses, etc. Deadline is early, because this is a massive undertaking and figuring out adjusted bus routes (with distancing) and class assignments will take weeks.

So once you are DL or in person, you are locked in for the year.

What do you think is the likelihood that in person will not experience near constant rolling closures? I assume that regardless of the form school takes in September, there will be some families roaming all over maskless who will then send feverish Larla to school under a dose of Tylenol.

No idea. If kids are wearing masks in schools and are spaced out at desks all facing forward, there should be minimal spread (though I don’t assume zero). Superintendent says they will crack down hard on sick kids in school (Tylenol will wear off). Execution is everything. We’ll see.

Young elementary parents have a different set of challenges than I do when making their decisions. My inattentive/anxious 9th grader needs to be in class as much as possible. Unfortunately, she doesn’t learn well through the computer and the Q4 was a complete waste for her, even though she logged in for every class.

Honestly, I think there’s a good chance of a second wave shut down. I want to give DD at least a couple months to meet her new teachers and classmates and go into the building of her new school (going from middle to high).

I hear you! My child's going to a magnet middle school (6th grade), and while she doesn't have any diagnosis, she also doesn't learn well through the computer. Might be just immaturity, I don't know, but I can clearly see that my child isn't 'thriving' online, she's regressing. So I'd choose 2 days in person without hesitation.

But why is this the plan for the entire year? Didn't they say that by February, life will be back to normal with the vaccine available?

Bless your heart... ( google the southern meaning of this)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why is a cashier at walmart considered essential and a teacher isn't? Teachers need to return to school. They can wear protective shields and maintain distance while teaching in a lecture format. They can wash their hands after each class and use sanitizer throughout the day. The whole world is returning to work and teachers need to do the same. those who have health issues can be assigned to DL.

MCPS isn’t really trying to figure out what teachers can’t return to F2F for documentable health reasons. My DH’s doctor is ready to fill out whatever form MCPS needs. Only there’s no form for well-enough for DL, but not for F2F. Right now, the forms are for doctors to say you can’t return PERIOD or you can return without any restrictions. MCPS does not provide reasonable accommodations beyond ergonomics in our experience. None of things that we know from the private sector or other government jobs.

1)And there likely won't be a form. Not only is it not really fair to other employees.. that's like saying "those with children can get off work at 4pm". It also would almost hold them responsible to accommodate. It's not difficult to get a doctor's note..most heart disease is considered higher risk..even hypertension which millions of people have that you wouldn't realize. Or a 50 year old who had childhood asthma but hasn't had a flare up for 40 years. Its on their record so they get a note. So if 80% of the teachers return with a doctor's note and say they're higher risk, who will do the in person teaching? Now mcps is stuck.

2) unfortunately jobs don't have to provide "covid accommodations". Plenty of health personnel have taken extended leave of abscence without pay or quit because they did not want to work or were not healthy enough to work on covid positive floors. They got doctors note to write them off work or they worked. Any accommodations given were up to ther manager, not required.