Barriers to more fully opening schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to determine the requirements that are preventing schools from opening more fully for a letter to DOH and the mayor/councilmembers. Here are the ones I have come up with so far and would appreciate it if others would chime in if there are others:

1. Six feet of distance between each student/desk in the classroom.

2. No classroom can be used for more than one cohort (is this per day? or needs to be cleaned between cohorts?)

3. Bathrooms- how many classrooms/kids can use at the same time?

4. No more than 11 students in a classroom at a time.

The limit on 11 students per classroom is HUGE and also very dumb.

I'm in favor of the limits, because that's how you maintain distance, which is one part of reopening safely.

If the teachers are vaccinated, then what's the problem? These kids may never be vaccinated. We are nowhere near pediatric vaccines being available. People need to stop the fear mongering and get these children back in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If teachers are vaccinated or the vaccine is at least made avaiable to all of them, how can they refuse to come back to the classroom?

A lot still don’t have school for their own kids. We need enough vaccines for all school staff in multiple districts and states.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Direct your complaints to:

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

If it is controlled by the mayor then is the DME ultimately responsible for these decisions? Does NYC limit to 11 kids per room arbitrarily? If not, why does DC??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If teachers are vaccinated or the vaccine is at least made avaiable to all of them, how can they refuse to come back to the classroom?

A lot still don’t have school for their own kids. We need enough vaccines for all school staff in multiple districts and states.

But school isn’t childcare, right? So they need to figure it out on their own just like everybody else!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If teachers are vaccinated or the vaccine is at least made avaiable to all of them, how can they refuse to come back to the classroom?

A lot still don’t have school for their own kids. We need enough vaccines for all school staff in multiple districts and states.

too bad. they need to arrange for child care just like everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If teachers are vaccinated or the vaccine is at least made avaiable to all of them, how can they refuse to come back to the classroom?

A lot still don’t have school for their own kids. We need enough vaccines for all school staff in multiple districts and states.

so what? everyone else has been dealing with this for a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In some schools -- ventilation. I think an hour is plenty to wipe down surfaces between cohorts, but you need to have a robust ventilation system (HVAC, air purifiers, opening windows) to fully turn over the air in the space. And you need an HVAC system that isn't recirculating air, but is pulling 100 percent in from outside, plus air purifiers in the classroom to cycle the air several times an hour while the kids are in the classroom.

In our school, which is using two separate classrooms for the am and pm cohorts, there is also upgraded ventilation that fully recirculates the air every 30 minutes. So the only “issue” is cleaning surfaces which can easily be wiped down in the hour between cohorts. This policy of needing two separate classrooms for different cohorts attending at different times needs to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to determine the requirements that are preventing schools from opening more fully for a letter to DOH and the mayor/councilmembers. Here are the ones I have come up with so far and would appreciate it if others would chime in if there are others:

1. Six feet of distance between each student/desk in the classroom.

2. No classroom can be used for more than one cohort (is this per day? or needs to be cleaned between cohorts?)

3. Bathrooms- how many classrooms/kids can use at the same time?

4. No more than 11 students in a classroom at a time.

At our dcps elementary school, #2 is per day. The daily am and pm cohorts taught by the same teacher each have totally separate classrooms. This seems I necessary and doing away with this would greatly increase the number of children in school. An hour in between cohorts is sufficient to wipe down surfaces.

Sorry meant to say it’s UNNECESSARY to have separate classrooms for am and pm cohorts.

Saying it is unnecessary is a very kind way to put it - it is INSANE to keep any, let alone many, kids out of school due to a thoroughly debunked theory of the threat of surface transmission from the early days of the pandemic. Yes, the virus lasts on surfaces, but it getting transmitted this way is extremely rare. It's this kind of unscientific, fear-based approach that aims to eliminate every residual risk (no pun intended) that is ruining everybody's life and especially those of kids.

And yet the CDC has said otherwise.

Well, the CDC, or the CDC people who wrote the guidelines, are being excessively cautious based on outdated information. No surprise that there would be a certain amount of inertia and also no surprise that people at the CDC aren’t immune to the fear-based discourse around Covid, but if it causes this much harm, it needs to get called out.

So you know better than the CDC?

Just this week this insult was used against the WTU demands. “How dare these teachers think they know better than the CDC!” Etc. But yet here you are saying you know better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS needs to open a virtual-only school like Friendship. Then students who cannot attend in person in the fall can temporarily enroll (or permanently if DL is working well for them) to that virtual school. DCPS could technically "hold their spot" at their current school for the year (I know many people are worried about losing a lottery spot or overcrowding because IB kids will be coming back eventually.) That would create a lot of efficiencies so that every school at every grade didn't have to have a DL teacher to accommodate those students.

This! Having a city-wide virtual school would also allow teachers/students who are back in person to limit screen time. (Our IPL teachers teach both virtual and in-person kids at the same time, so everyone is still on a screen).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In some schools -- ventilation. I think an hour is plenty to wipe down surfaces between cohorts, but you need to have a robust ventilation system (HVAC, air purifiers, opening windows) to fully turn over the air in the space. And you need an HVAC system that isn't recirculating air, but is pulling 100 percent in from outside, plus air purifiers in the classroom to cycle the air several times an hour while the kids are in the classroom.

In our school, which is using two separate classrooms for the am and pm cohorts, there is also upgraded ventilation that fully recirculates the air every 30 minutes. So the only “issue” is cleaning surfaces which can easily be wiped down in the hour between cohorts. This policy of needing two separate classrooms for different cohorts attending at different times needs to change.

Are the windows open during this hour? I think that should be sufficient between cohorts esp as kids have on masks.

[Anonymous]

Don't feed the troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS needs to open a virtual-only school like Friendship. Then students who cannot attend in person in the fall can temporarily enroll (or permanently if DL is working well for them) to that virtual school. DCPS could technically "hold their spot" at their current school for the year (I know many people are worried about losing a lottery spot or overcrowding because IB kids will be coming back eventually.) That would create a lot of efficiencies so that every school at every grade didn't have to have a DL teacher to accommodate those students.

This! Having a city-wide virtual school would also allow teachers/students who are back in person to limit screen time. (Our IPL teachers teach both virtual and in-person kids at the same time, so everyone is still on a screen).

Right idea, but should also acknowledge that each charter school is also going to have to stand something up (because IDEA/Rehab Act require each LEA to provide FAPE, not just DC through DCPS). Also, it has to be at different grade levels (and all HS content). If you do it so everything is recorded/asynchronous it will require less staffing, but require more from parents and, likely, increase inequity. If you do it so you have more active teaching (similar to current DL) you will have a cap of the number of students for each teacher- these are teachers that will likely require extra funding because the number of students attending from each school isn't going to be significant enough to lower the number of teachers required in buildings. All to say, it is not going to be without many challenges. All of which should be addressed NOW...but I know we haven't gotten a single communication/inquiry about next year and if our kid can safely return to school without a vaccine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to determine the requirements that are preventing schools from opening more fully for a letter to DOH and the mayor/councilmembers. Here are the ones I have come up with so far and would appreciate it if others would chime in if there are others:

1. Six feet of distance between each student/desk in the classroom.

2. No classroom can be used for more than one cohort (is this per day? or needs to be cleaned between cohorts?)

3. Bathrooms- how many classrooms/kids can use at the same time?

4. No more than 11 students in a classroom at a time.

At our dcps elementary school, #2 is per day. The daily am and pm cohorts taught by the same teacher each have totally separate classrooms. This seems I necessary and doing away with this would greatly increase the number of children in school. An hour in between cohorts is sufficient to wipe down surfaces.

Sorry meant to say it’s UNNECESSARY to have separate classrooms for am and pm cohorts.

Saying it is unnecessary is a very kind way to put it - it is INSANE to keep any, let alone many, kids out of school due to a thoroughly debunked theory of the threat of surface transmission from the early days of the pandemic. Yes, the virus lasts on surfaces, but it getting transmitted this way is extremely rare. It's this kind of unscientific, fear-based approach that aims to eliminate every residual risk (no pun intended) that is ruining everybody's life and especially those of kids.

And yet the CDC has said otherwise.

Well, the CDC, or the CDC people who wrote the guidelines, are being excessively cautious based on outdated information. No surprise that there would be a certain amount of inertia and also no surprise that people at the CDC aren’t immune to the fear-based discourse around Covid, but if it causes this much harm, it needs to get called out.

So you know better than the CDC?

Just this week this insult was used against the WTU demands. “How dare these teachers think they know better than the CDC!” Etc. But yet here you are saying you know better.

It's not me knowing better. It's a very broad consensus right now. The same could not be said of the WTU demands.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00277-8

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/11/covid-19-airborne-transmission-cleaning-surfaces/

And before you say these are just "editorials" and "opinions", you can follow the footnotes of that recent piece in Nature and read up on the actual research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If teachers are vaccinated or the vaccine is at least made avaiable to all of them, how can they refuse to come back to the classroom?

A lot still don’t have school for their own kids. We need enough vaccines for all school staff in multiple districts and states.

so what? everyone else has been dealing with this for a year.

Because the issue is still staffing. If I have to go back in person, I don’t have childcare so I’ll be quitting. You’re either out a teacher or I stay distance learning. My school has no subs and is routinely understaffed so the whole “we’ll just hire someone else” argument doesn’t work either. So again, only issue is staffing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If teachers are vaccinated or the vaccine is at least made avaiable to all of them, how can they refuse to come back to the classroom?

A lot still don’t have school for their own kids. We need enough vaccines for all school staff in multiple districts and states.

so what? everyone else has been dealing with this for a year.

Because the issue is still staffing. If I have to go back in person, I don’t have childcare so I’ll be quitting. You’re either out a teacher or I stay distance learning. My school has no subs and is routinely understaffed so the whole “we’ll just hire someone else” argument doesn’t work either. So again, only issue is staffing.

You're going to get zero sympathy from parents when, thanks to teachers' selfishness, people have been dealing with these kinds of child care problems for a year and counting. Go ahead and quit. They'll find someone else. You are extremely replaceable.