I Work in a Cares Room AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a “Cares” classroom taught by a regular teacher at our DCPS East of the Park since the first week in April, while her younger sister has to remain at home (no Cares option for her grade). Having one kid out of the house has been a huge help to us all. The older child is much happier and more focused in her learning than before. She is tested at school weekly. She has adjusted to school safety protocols. I have more time and energy to help her younger sister with DL and to do my own work on-line. I am pleased. My employer is pleased. My spouse, who works at an office, is pleased. My children are pleased. Nothing is wrong with this picture, thanks.

What type of testing is it - is it the swab way up the nose testing or something else?

[Anonymous]

Nose testing with swab, not way up the nose. We are emailed the result weekly.

[Anonymous]

Why would a parent refuse to let their child be tested and why is that allowed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nose testing with swab, not way up the nose. We are emailed the result weekly.

Thanks - so is it just at the beginning of the nostrils? I've been wondering what the actual testing procedure is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would a parent refuse to let their child be tested and why is that allowed?

I cannot answer either of those questions.
I would ask DC Central office why they allow it. These are not school based decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nose testing with swab, not way up the nose. We are emailed the result weekly.

Thanks - so is it just at the beginning of the nostrils? I've been wondering what the actual testing procedure is.

PP, the depth of the swab depends on the test and test protocols. The one that's just inside the nose, not way up, is just as accurate as the other non-rapid tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nose testing with swab, not way up the nose. We are emailed the result weekly.

Thanks - so is it just at the beginning of the nostrils? I've been wondering what the actual testing procedure is.

PP, the depth of the swab depends on the test and test protocols. The one that's just inside the nose, not way up, is just as accurate as the other non-rapid tests.

This is the same one used at all the public DC test sites as far as I know.

[Anonymous]

My biggest issue with what's been described is the fact that testing is optional for students. I think that's outrageous and dangerous and defeats the purpose of testing students and it wasn't clear enough in the descriptions I had read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

[Anonymous]

No questions. Just thanks for being brave enough to do this important work for the kids that need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

This. There's a lot of self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy fueling those who are loudly shaming anyone who wants schools open. There is already a lot of risk happening outside the schools. Keeping them shut is not compared to a perfect isolation scenario, but many many scenarios of risk taking for many purposes.

Those who are screaming about keeping schools shut need to look at their own lives and all the ways the virus could enter in, thanks to their daily choices.

CARES staff people, we thank you, but we wish more people would take your calculated risks instead of their own secret ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

Blabble dee blabla. Of course my family lives alone, doesn't socialize, and uses online shopping to its maximum extent. Four thousand deaths a day. You're just giving me one more reason to avoid in-building schooling: the self-selecting by families whose bubbles are fat and loose enough that a CARES classroom wouldn't make a big different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

Blabble dee blabla. Of course my family lives alone, doesn't socialize, and uses online shopping to its maximum extent. Four thousand deaths a day. You're just giving me one more reason to avoid in-building schooling: the self-selecting by families whose bubbles are fat and loose enough that a CARES classroom wouldn't make a big different.

Exactly. Because they and their friends are behaving irresponsibly and doing unnecessary things in person, they assume everyone is. Not remotely true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

+1

That’s a whole lot of risk that I’m not willing to take.

And that is fair. I mean there is no way to get your kids (or yourself) back into a building right now without risk.
The point of the AMA was not to convince folks to put their kids in a cares room. But rather, to highlight the good/bad of what is actually happening in these rooms once you are comfortable with the assumed risk. But no need to assume the risk.

There is no way to live your life right now without risk. Stay shut inside all day every day with your children and lose your mind, your health, and perhaps your job. My kids weren't learning enough via DL, a risk to their futures. They're learning a lot more now. We'll take our chances with well-run CARES classrooms.

[Anonymous]

How is attendance in your class? It's been very low in the Cares class at my school.