Should we prepare for virtual schooling starting in January?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We'll know better how omnicron is going by the end of winter break. Speculating at this point seems only to cause anxiety.

Catch up. We already know how omicrom is going. Cases are up, beyond anything in the entire pandemic. Because of the sheer numbers it is overwhelming our health care system.
Testing centers are booked up and there won't be any testing for people returning from vacations before school starts. Schools will open with thousands of omicron exposures and no way to test or prevent spread.

1. Many people have at home tests so the import of testing centers being booked is unclear. I also can’t imagine there are fewer tests available now than there were this time last year. I also question….what is the actual utility of testing if the symptoms are milder? The reason why testing was so important earlier in the pandemic was because of how serious the symptoms were. The most frequently reported symptoms of omicron are headache, runny nose, etc. The normal course of pandemics is that the virus mutates to become milder over time. Exactly what happened with h1n1 and the Spanish influenza. The end of this whole thing is not going to be the eradication of all coronaviruses.
2. Anything non-anecdotal about hospitals being overwhelmed?
3. I personally think that omicron has been here since November and all that has changed is people’s awareness of it.

Yes got a PSA txt that Maryland has now surpassed 1500 Covid hospitalizations

And they still have capacity. It will be interesting to see the hospitalization utilization numbers next week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So with all the studies showing this is much milder than previous strains. Can we stop the stupid panic and stay open

If "much milder" meant no hospitalizations or deaths, sure, but it doesn't. What we do know for sure is that it is much more transmissible, which means that more people will get it. If more people get it, that can still strain the healthcare system and kill people even if it is milder on average. But you know all this.

Agreed, we really need to stop the panic.

The concern isn't over just hospitalizations but if that's how they want to justify their poor behavior, its ok.

Poor to you is good to me. It's about point of view.

Your good is why we are in this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So with all the studies showing this is much milder than previous strains. Can we stop the stupid panic and stay open

If "much milder" meant no hospitalizations or deaths, sure, but it doesn't. What we do know for sure is that it is much more transmissible, which means that more people will get it. If more people get it, that can still strain the healthcare system and kill people even if it is milder on average. But you know all this.

Agreed, we really need to stop the panic.

The concern isn't over just hospitalizations but if that's how they want to justify their poor behavior, its ok.

Learning to give with covid means shifting the focus to severity and hospitalizations. It isn’t realistic to eradicate covid— it will always be spreading in significant numbers.

That sounds extremely irresponsible and we aren't living with it if a significant number of people are sick with covid, and its highly contagious and spreading rapidly. Living with it means controlling it and we don't have the ability to control it and it is controlling us. We have had massive outbreaks the past two weeks in MCPS schools. If you cannot see that as an issue, no one can help you.

You want schools to stay in person. Time to be part of the solution, not the problem. Learning to live with it is modifying behavior to keep all our students and families safe and to stop outbreaks from happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So with all the studies showing this is much milder than previous strains. Can we stop the stupid panic and stay open

If "much milder" meant no hospitalizations or deaths, sure, but it doesn't. What we do know for sure is that it is much more transmissible, which means that more people will get it. If more people get it, that can still strain the healthcare system and kill people even if it is milder on average. But you know all this.

Agreed, we really need to stop the panic.

The concern isn't over just hospitalizations but if that's how they want to justify their poor behavior, its ok.

Poor to you is good to me. It's about point of view.

Your good is why we are in this mess.

Okay, my fault. Well, I’ll stay in tonight. Look for the global pandemic to be over tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So with all the studies showing this is much milder than previous strains. Can we stop the stupid panic and stay open

If "much milder" meant no hospitalizations or deaths, sure, but it doesn't. What we do know for sure is that it is much more transmissible, which means that more people will get it. If more people get it, that can still strain the healthcare system and kill people even if it is milder on average. But you know all this.

Agreed, we really need to stop the panic.

The concern isn't over just hospitalizations but if that's how they want to justify their poor behavior, its ok.

Poor to you is good to me. It's about point of view.

Your good is why we are in this mess.

Okay, my fault. Well, I’ll stay in tonight. Look for the global pandemic to be over tomorrow.

No, go out, have fun. Now is the perfect time for you to catch covid while we are on break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What the parents who seem obsessed with "if schools close down, everything needs to shut down..." are failing to see, is the problem isn't shutting down because of omicron itself. The problem is staffing shortages. Teachers are getting sick and cannot be at school. There is no one there to cover for them. Not sure why you're not comprehending this or getting it through your head. School closures will be due to staff shortages. Period.

Actually I think that most people understand school closures that are due to staff shortages...

They will just pack the kids into the auditoriums if there are not enough staff. Expect few actual school closures. The testing is so delayed and hard to manage that we will rarely hit 5%. Loads of unvaxed/untested kids in the buildings who refuse to get tested, vaxed, or wear masks appropriately. Society says at this point it is best to keep kids in the buildings no matter what.

Yep. We tried the other extreme-closing schools for 400 days and then “returning” part time and it didn’t work out so well. So yes, we are going to try the other way. Stay tuned. I think it’s going to be fine.

Ugh, why can't they just avoid both extremes, be reasonable and go virtual for 2 or 3 weeks in January so there's some orderly albeit imperfect learning going on rather than waiting for dozens of kids and staff to get sick before being forced to shut down with tons of teachers sick and unable to teach (and kids sick and unable to learn)? Obviously what happened last year was extreme, but so is forcing teachers and kids to get sick in the middle of a brutally contagious but likely shortlived outbreak and contribute to an overstressed medical and hospital system before most schools just shut down anyway, when there's an easy solution to sidestep all that.

What’s ridiculous is that students have no choice at this point. If they don’t want to catch covid at school, then they have to quit school for a month

THIS!!!!!

And the people on here who say that kids who are afraid of Covid, afraid of bringing Covid home to a vulnerable family member or kids who are vulnerable themselves should just be homeschooled are absolutely ridiculous. I can't homeschool my kid in Pre Calculus or AP Psychology. Kids are entitled to an education and this pandemic is certainly not their fault yet they are used as pawns. MCPS is afraid to go virtual because parents will freak out. Some parents don't care about Covid, some have real reasons why they can't care for kids during the day and some special needs kids struggle with virtual. I get it. Maybe we have some in person options if needed. Certainly a limited in person situation is better than the shoulder to shoulder option we have now.

Are there really no viable options for virtual learning if we are headed toward crisis but not quite there yet? Surely a team teaching approach where one teacher is online that day and another is planning or providing support could minimize the burden (yes classes would be bigger)


I've been furious all along that kids with Covid or in quarantine are not entitled to any education while they are out. This places a strain on high school kids especially and their teachers are constantly having to deal with kids making up work.

WE NEED A VIRTUAL OPTION during this current crisis. I don't want to hear that my kid's school is at 4.98% Covid infection and if another few kids fall, we go virtual. That seems a bit cruel. Why isn't health and safety the #1 priority?

Some high schools hit the 5% mark last week.

No they didn't. Look at the MCPS Covid dashboard and the current numbers. None of them have reached it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What the parents who seem obsessed with "if schools close down, everything needs to shut down..." are failing to see, is the problem isn't shutting down because of omicron itself. The problem is staffing shortages. Teachers are getting sick and cannot be at school. There is no one there to cover for them. Not sure why you're not comprehending this or getting it through your head. School closures will be due to staff shortages. Period.

Actually I think that most people understand school closures that are due to staff shortages...

They will just pack the kids into the auditoriums if there are not enough staff. Expect few actual school closures. The testing is so delayed and hard to manage that we will rarely hit 5%. Loads of unvaxed/untested kids in the buildings who refuse to get tested, vaxed, or wear masks appropriately. Society says at this point it is best to keep kids in the buildings no matter what.

Yep. We tried the other extreme-closing schools for 400 days and then “returning” part time and it didn’t work out so well. So yes, we are going to try the other way. Stay tuned. I think it’s going to be fine.

Ugh, why can't they just avoid both extremes, be reasonable and go virtual for 2 or 3 weeks in January so there's some orderly albeit imperfect learning going on rather than waiting for dozens of kids and staff to get sick before being forced to shut down with tons of teachers sick and unable to teach (and kids sick and unable to learn)? Obviously what happened last year was extreme, but so is forcing teachers and kids to get sick in the middle of a brutally contagious but likely shortlived outbreak and contribute to an overstressed medical and hospital system before most schools just shut down anyway, when there's an easy solution to sidestep all that.

What’s ridiculous is that students have no choice at this point. If they don’t want to catch covid at school, then they have to quit school for a month

THIS!!!!!

And the people on here who say that kids who are afraid of Covid, afraid of bringing Covid home to a vulnerable family member or kids who are vulnerable themselves should just be homeschooled are absolutely ridiculous. I can't homeschool my kid in Pre Calculus or AP Psychology. Kids are entitled to an education and this pandemic is certainly not their fault yet they are used as pawns. MCPS is afraid to go virtual because parents will freak out. Some parents don't care about Covid, some have real reasons why they can't care for kids during the day and some special needs kids struggle with virtual. I get it. Maybe we have some in person options if needed. Certainly a limited in person situation is better than the shoulder to shoulder option we have now.

Are there really no viable options for virtual learning if we are headed toward crisis but not quite there yet? Surely a team teaching approach where one teacher is online that day and another is planning or providing support could minimize the burden (yes classes would be bigger)


I've been furious all along that kids with Covid or in quarantine are not entitled to any education while they are out. This places a strain on high school kids especially and their teachers are constantly having to deal with kids making up work.

WE NEED A VIRTUAL OPTION during this current crisis. I don't want to hear that my kid's school is at 4.98% Covid infection and if another few kids fall, we go virtual. That seems a bit cruel. Why isn't health and safety the #1 priority?

Some high schools hit the 5% mark last week.

No they didn't. Look at the MCPS Covid dashboard and the current numbers. None of them have reached it.

The dashboard is not showing everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So with all the studies showing this is much milder than previous strains. Can we stop the stupid panic and stay open

If "much milder" meant no hospitalizations or deaths, sure, but it doesn't. What we do know for sure is that it is much more transmissible, which means that more people will get it. If more people get it, that can still strain the healthcare system and kill people even if it is milder on average. But you know all this.

Agreed, we really need to stop the panic.

The concern isn't over just hospitalizations but if that's how they want to justify their poor behavior, its ok.

Poor to you is good to me. It's about point of view.

Your good is why we are in this mess.

Okay, my fault. Well, I’ll stay in tonight. Look for the global pandemic to be over tomorrow.

No, go out, have fun. Now is the perfect time for you to catch covid while we are on break.

I’m so sad these high and mighty covidiots are putting front line workers (and all of us) at risk.
The selfishness is overwhelming. And when they talk about being good people or believers in God, the hypocrisy enrages me.

What happened to us all working together to protect the most vulnerable?

[Anonymous]

^^^ how are frontline workers at risk? They’ve all had the opportunity to get vaccinated and omricon is more mild anyway. Good grief. It’s past time to move on.

[Anonymous]

I thought Biden’s whole platform was that there would not be testing shortages???! We should just be testing more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So with all the studies showing this is much milder than previous strains. Can we stop the stupid panic and stay open

If "much milder" meant no hospitalizations or deaths, sure, but it doesn't. What we do know for sure is that it is much more transmissible, which means that more people will get it. If more people get it, that can still strain the healthcare system and kill people even if it is milder on average. But you know all this.

Agreed, we really need to stop the panic.

The concern isn't over just hospitalizations but if that's how they want to justify their poor behavior, its ok.

Poor to you is good to me. It's about point of view.

Your good is why we are in this mess.

Okay, my fault. Well, I’ll stay in tonight. Look for the global pandemic to be over tomorrow.

No, go out, have fun. Now is the perfect time for you to catch covid while we are on break.

I’m so sad these high and mighty covidiots are putting front line workers (and all of us) at risk.
The selfishness is overwhelming. And when they talk about being good people or believers in God, the hypocrisy enrages me.

What happened to us all working together to protect the most vulnerable?

What are you doing? Outsourcing your risk to delivery drivers? Bravo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We'll know better how omnicron is going by the end of winter break. Speculating at this point seems only to cause anxiety.

Catch up. We already know how omicrom is going. Cases are up, beyond anything in the entire pandemic. Because of the sheer numbers it is overwhelming our health care system.
Testing centers are booked up and there won't be any testing for people returning from vacations before school starts. Schools will open with thousands of omicron exposures and no way to test or prevent spread.

1. Many people have at home tests so the import of testing centers being booked is unclear. I also can’t imagine there are fewer tests available now than there were this time last year. I also question….what is the actual utility of testing if the symptoms are milder? The reason why testing was so important earlier in the pandemic was because of how serious the symptoms were. The most frequently reported symptoms of omicron are headache, runny nose, etc. The normal course of pandemics is that the virus mutates to become milder over time. Exactly what happened with h1n1 and the Spanish influenza. The end of this whole thing is not going to be the eradication of all coronaviruses.
2. Anything non-anecdotal about hospitals being overwhelmed?
3. I personally think that omicron has been here since November and all that has changed is people’s awareness of it.

Yes got a PSA txt that Maryland has now surpassed 1500 Covid hospitalizations

And they still have capacity. It will be interesting to see the hospitalization utilization numbers next week.

Txt said “surpassed the threshold” so the ## is important and an issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ how are frontline workers at risk? They’ve all had the opportunity to get vaccinated and omricon is more mild anyway. Good grief. It’s past time to move on.

We were more at risk at the beginning of the pandemic.
I am a frontline worker. We need to move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ how are frontline workers at risk? They’ve all had the opportunity to get vaccinated and omricon is more mild anyway. Good grief. It’s past time to move on.

We were more at risk at the beginning of the pandemic.
I am a frontline worker. We need to move on.

Moving on means stoping the spread. How do you propose we do that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ how are frontline workers at risk? They’ve all had the opportunity to get vaccinated and omricon is more mild anyway. Good grief. It’s past time to move on.

We were more at risk at the beginning of the pandemic.
I am a frontline worker. We need to move on.

Moving on means stoping the spread. How do you propose we do that?

Um that’s not what moving on means. It means get vaxxed, boosted, wear your mask indoors in public, and go about your life. You know, MOVE ON.