How to push back against people who want to close schools AGAIN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious. Are there people here who are advocating for their own public DC schools to do all virtual in two weeks?

Exactly none.

But there are a couple of trolls who are whipping others into a Delta denial frenzy - they refuse to consider what additional precautions schools should be taking to ensure that schools DO NOT close. And yet they accuse concerned parents asking that lunch be outdoors, or asking how contingency planning is going, for wanting schools closed, when no one has expressed a preference for that option.

OP and her ilk are either very dumb or Covid denier trolls, who maybe don't even have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Then a virtual option would benefit them in so far as it would remove a number of students from the schools and thus reduce exposure for the ones who stay in-person.

See? None of you "In-person only!" horrors have a leg to stand on. A virtual option ultimately serves everyone's interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Please, please understand that being in school is the thing that will bring safety to many children. And that your definition of safe may be extraordinarily narrow (and incorrect).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Please, please understand that being in school is the thing that will bring safety to many children. And that your definition of safe may be extraordinarily narrow (and incorrect).

Right, so let’s make sure their safe place is actually safe.

[Anonymous]

"Safe" is an impossible standard. There is risk in everything.

And rich white ladies fear-mongering about school not being safe poses a higher risk to a higher number of DC kids than COVID does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Then a virtual option would benefit them in so far as it would remove a number of students from the schools and thus reduce exposure for the ones who stay in-person.

See? None of you "In-person only!" horrors have a leg to stand on. A virtual option ultimately serves everyone's interests.

You don't have to be a COVID-denying troll to be hyper vigilant about DCPS school closures as a possibility. The mayor and school officials did about as poorly as any system in the nation with regard to reopening schools last year (when it was safe to do so), caving at every opportunity to the demands of the WTU, unscientific and fearful parents, and generally punting decision making to individual principals, many of whom didn't lift a finger to come up with a plan to get IPL back for kids. Many, many kids suffered, and many parents (especially working mothers) bore the burden of trying to hold down jobs while effectively becoming our kids' educators.

Virtual 'options' are available to anyone who wants them -- there are plenty of online schooling programs for people who want to homeschool. Use those. Public education is meant to be in-person. If you want "options," either pay for private schools that offer them or apply for Friendship online academy. A virtual option for DCPS serves no one but the ignorant parents who refuse to get vaccinated themselves (or vaccinate their vaccine-eligible older children). For under-12s, Covid is extremely unlikely to kill kids. It's very unlikely to make them sick enough to need hospitalization. Stop listening to fear-mongering cable news on this. And stop demanding that public school parents cater to your demands for "options." IPL is the most effective way for kids to learn, and thanks to vaccines, the risk to them is far lower now than it was last year when most of the nation's kids were back in school in person in the rest of the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Florida pediatric hospitalization figures are soaring
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/566536-flori...-pediatric-covid-19-cases-soar

"In our previous iteration of the pandemic, it was more they’re positive but they’re not sick or minimally sick,” he explained. “This is different. ... There’s a much higher percentage of pediatric patients becoming infected and symptomatic.”

I'm curious as to whether you also spam other places --like the travel threads -- with the rising number of adult hospitalizations and covid cases in Arkansas. Obviously you are trying to suggest that what happens in Florida will happen here. Are you consistent with your thinking? That everywhere is an indication of what will happen here? Does the fact that Florida has a belligerent anti-mitigation, anti-vaccination Governor mean anything? No? Does Floridians' general refusal of masking mean anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Florida pediatric hospitalization figures are soaring
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/566536-flori...-pediatric-covid-19-cases-soar

"In our previous iteration of the pandemic, it was more they’re positive but they’re not sick or minimally sick,” he explained. “This is different. ... There’s a much higher percentage of pediatric patients becoming infected and symptomatic.”

I'm curious as to whether you also spam other places --like the travel threads -- with the rising number of adult hospitalizations and covid cases in Arkansas. Obviously you are trying to suggest that what happens in Florida will happen here. Are you consistent with your thinking? That everywhere is an indication of what will happen here? Does the fact that Florida has a belligerent anti-mitigation, anti-vaccination Governor mean anything? No? Does Floridians' general refusal of masking mean anything?

I would think the UK would be a better indication of DC. Or maybe LA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Then a virtual option would benefit them in so far as it would remove a number of students from the schools and thus reduce exposure for the ones who stay in-person.

See? None of you "In-person only!" horrors have a leg to stand on. A virtual option ultimately serves everyone's interests.

You don't have to be a COVID-denying troll to be hyper vigilant about DCPS school closures as a possibility. The mayor and school officials did about as poorly as any system in the nation with regard to reopening schools last year (when it was safe to do so), caving at every opportunity to the demands of the WTU, unscientific and fearful parents, and generally punting decision making to individual principals, many of whom didn't lift a finger to come up with a plan to get IPL back for kids. Many, many kids suffered, and many parents (especially working mothers) bore the burden of trying to hold down jobs while effectively becoming our kids' educators.

Virtual 'options' are available to anyone who wants them -- there are plenty of online schooling programs for people who want to homeschool. Use those. Public education is meant to be in-person. If you want "options," either pay for private schools that offer them or apply for Friendship online academy. A virtual option for DCPS serves no one but the ignorant parents who refuse to get vaccinated themselves (or vaccinate their vaccine-eligible older children). For under-12s, Covid is extremely unlikely to kill kids. It's very unlikely to make them sick enough to need hospitalization. Stop listening to fear-mongering cable news on this. And stop demanding that public school parents cater to your demands for "options." IPL is the most effective way for kids to learn, and thanks to vaccines, the risk to them is far lower now than it was last year when most of the nation's kids were back in school in person in the rest of the country.

I think it's fair to say that school closures traumatized a lot of us, in a variety of ways. It traumatized some of our kids in ways we don't really talk about. So yeah, people are very vigilant about the possibility of school closures. People are also very alarmed about delta right now. Everyone is alarmed.

[Anonymous]

https://fortune.com/2021/08/12/as-delta-infections-spiked-covid-cases-in-schools-actually-fell-a-lesson-from-england/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

As Delta infections spiked, COVID cases in schools actually fell—a lesson from England

And they didn't even mask! (Although they tested 2x / week)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious. Are there people here who are advocating for their own public DC schools to do all virtual in two weeks?

Exactly none.

But there are a couple of trolls who are whipping others into a Delta denial frenzy - they refuse to consider what additional precautions schools should be taking to ensure that schools DO NOT close. And yet they accuse concerned parents asking that lunch be outdoors, or asking how contingency planning is going, for wanting schools closed, when no one has expressed a preference for that option.

OP and her ilk are either very dumb or Covid denier trolls, who maybe don't even have kids.

It's not a "Delta denial frenzy" to want DCPS to be guided by what they think is best, in consultation with experts, instead of being subject to every DCUM Debbie with her PhD in epidemiology from Twitter U. There are a few things that are clear (like vaccinations) but other than that, there really is very little hard & fast evidence about what reduces spread in schools. I also think it's unrealistic for DCPS to announce detailed plans in such a rapidly changing environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Then a virtual option would benefit them in so far as it would remove a number of students from the schools and thus reduce exposure for the ones who stay in-person.

See? None of you "In-person only!" horrors have a leg to stand on. A virtual option ultimately serves everyone's interests.

You don't have to be a COVID-denying troll to be hyper vigilant about DCPS school closures as a possibility. The mayor and school officials did about as poorly as any system in the nation with regard to reopening schools last year (when it was safe to do so), caving at every opportunity to the demands of the WTU, unscientific and fearful parents, and generally punting decision making to individual principals, many of whom didn't lift a finger to come up with a plan to get IPL back for kids. Many, many kids suffered, and many parents (especially working mothers) bore the burden of trying to hold down jobs while effectively becoming our kids' educators.

Virtual 'options' are available to anyone who wants them -- there are plenty of online schooling programs for people who want to homeschool. Use those. Public education is meant to be in-person. If you want "options," either pay for private schools that offer them or apply for Friendship online academy. A virtual option for DCPS serves no one but the ignorant parents who refuse to get vaccinated themselves (or vaccinate their vaccine-eligible older children). For under-12s, Covid is extremely unlikely to kill kids. It's very unlikely to make them sick enough to need hospitalization. Stop listening to fear-mongering cable news on this. And stop demanding that public school parents cater to your demands for "options." IPL is the most effective way for kids to learn, and thanks to vaccines, the risk to them is far lower now than it was last year when most of the nation's kids were back in school in person in the rest of the country.

I don't think you know your audience at all, PP. Virtual public school does not enable vaccine hesitancy. I fundamentally disagree with you there. I believe a virtual option in public school makes school accessible to more children with varying needs, and makes school buildings safer by decreasing the number of students inside.

You cannot seriously suggest home schooling and private online schools as a viable alternative to public online school: the costs of the former are prohibitive for many parents. Yet organizing a virtual option for DCPS is not cost-prohibitive at all. Brick and mortar schools' most expensive line items are related to wear and tear on buildings, or paying for new ones, as well as salaries. Virtual schooling reduces building maintenance costs, and reduces hiring since in an online environment, you don't duplicates of posts that have few students. You can put together one class with one teacher, even if the students belong to different home schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Then a virtual option would benefit them in so far as it would remove a number of students from the schools and thus reduce exposure for the ones who stay in-person.

See? None of you "In-person only!" horrors have a leg to stand on. A virtual option ultimately serves everyone's interests.

You don't have to be a COVID-denying troll to be hyper vigilant about DCPS school closures as a possibility. The mayor and school officials did about as poorly as any system in the nation with regard to reopening schools last year (when it was safe to do so), caving at every opportunity to the demands of the WTU, unscientific and fearful parents, and generally punting decision making to individual principals, many of whom didn't lift a finger to come up with a plan to get IPL back for kids. Many, many kids suffered, and many parents (especially working mothers) bore the burden of trying to hold down jobs while effectively becoming our kids' educators.

Virtual 'options' are available to anyone who wants them -- there are plenty of online schooling programs for people who want to homeschool. Use those. Public education is meant to be in-person. If you want "options," either pay for private schools that offer them or apply for Friendship online academy. A virtual option for DCPS serves no one but the ignorant parents who refuse to get vaccinated themselves (or vaccinate their vaccine-eligible older children). For under-12s, Covid is extremely unlikely to kill kids. It's very unlikely to make them sick enough to need hospitalization. Stop listening to fear-mongering cable news on this. And stop demanding that public school parents cater to your demands for "options." IPL is the most effective way for kids to learn, and thanks to vaccines, the risk to them is far lower now than it was last year when most of the nation's kids were back in school in person in the rest of the country.

I don't think you know your audience at all, PP. Virtual public school does not enable vaccine hesitancy. I fundamentally disagree with you there. I believe a virtual option in public school makes school accessible to more children with varying needs, and makes school buildings safer by decreasing the number of students inside.

You cannot seriously suggest home schooling and private online schools as a viable alternative to public online school: the costs of the former are prohibitive for many parents. Yet organizing a virtual option for DCPS is not cost-prohibitive at all. Brick and mortar schools' most expensive line items are related to wear and tear on buildings, or paying for new ones, as well as salaries. Virtual schooling reduces building maintenance costs, and reduces hiring since in an online environment, you don't duplicates of posts that have few students. You can put together one class with one teacher, even if the students belong to different home schools.

It's extremely costly because teachers are expensive and in limited supply right now. But sure, if you're willing to be in a virtual class of 100 with 1 teacher (mostly asynchonous) have at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop blaming foster kids and homeless and make this about you as that is what it is about. We want our kids safe. Those kids are in foster care to keep them safe.

What are you talking about? It is indisputable that these kids (and underprivileged kids generally) suffered tremendously due to distance learning last year.

Then a virtual option would benefit them in so far as it would remove a number of students from the schools and thus reduce exposure for the ones who stay in-person.

See? None of you "In-person only!" horrors have a leg to stand on. A virtual option ultimately serves everyone's interests.

You don't have to be a COVID-denying troll to be hyper vigilant about DCPS school closures as a possibility. The mayor and school officials did about as poorly as any system in the nation with regard to reopening schools last year (when it was safe to do so), caving at every opportunity to the demands of the WTU, unscientific and fearful parents, and generally punting decision making to individual principals, many of whom didn't lift a finger to come up with a plan to get IPL back for kids. Many, many kids suffered, and many parents (especially working mothers) bore the burden of trying to hold down jobs while effectively becoming our kids' educators.

Virtual 'options' are available to anyone who wants them -- there are plenty of online schooling programs for people who want to homeschool. Use those. Public education is meant to be in-person. If you want "options," either pay for private schools that offer them or apply for Friendship online academy. A virtual option for DCPS serves no one but the ignorant parents who refuse to get vaccinated themselves (or vaccinate their vaccine-eligible older children). For under-12s, Covid is extremely unlikely to kill kids. It's very unlikely to make them sick enough to need hospitalization. Stop listening to fear-mongering cable news on this. And stop demanding that public school parents cater to your demands for "options." IPL is the most effective way for kids to learn, and thanks to vaccines, the risk to them is far lower now than it was last year when most of the nation's kids were back in school in person in the rest of the country.

I don't think you know your audience at all, PP. Virtual public school does not enable vaccine hesitancy. I fundamentally disagree with you there. I believe a virtual option in public school makes school accessible to more children with varying needs, and makes school buildings safer by decreasing the number of students inside.

You cannot seriously suggest home schooling and private online schools as a viable alternative to public online school: the costs of the former are prohibitive for many parents. Yet organizing a virtual option for DCPS is not cost-prohibitive at all. Brick and mortar schools' most expensive line items are related to wear and tear on buildings, or paying for new ones, as well as salaries. Virtual schooling reduces building maintenance costs, and reduces hiring since in an online environment, you don't duplicates of posts that have few students. You can put together one class with one teacher, even if the students belong to different home schools.

LOL. Just loss of teachers if they have to teach concurrent, or extra staff to teach virtual, plus the cost of entirely new curricula that can be delivered virtually. Man, didn't we already have this discussion? For 43 pages?