Is Brent really bringing back a class per grade for live instruction today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This definitely isn't the way things should work. DCPS should be helping elementary schools reopen through a phased approach, vs. ignoring them and letting the WTU push teachers who want to return to in-person instruction around. On the other hand, if Brent and other public schools dabbling in in-person learning find a safe way forward, good. Their success with embolden other parents, admins and teachers who support in-person learning before a vaccine is in wide use. Gradually, more cracks in the WTU's shield will appear and pressure on refusenik principals to start moving to reopen will grow.

DCPS tried and got rejected. They really were not left with any other option than to let these school-level decisions be made. And maybe it’s for the best to let the communities that are ready for it to try it out. Yes I’m bitter my school is closed but I am thankful to Brent for showing the way.

DP here. I'll never forgive WTU and those who support them for their obstruction of reopening, but DCPS had the power to reopen and assign teachers back to work anyway and should have done so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I applaud any school principal that is following the science and acknowledging, unlike the WTU and the city, that kids and teachers can safely return in some capacity. That's leadership.

Bringing anybody back into buildings on December 7th with the state of the virus in this country and the climbing rates (without even seeing the 14-17 day full effect of Thanksgiving gatherings) is not leadership. It's abject idiocy.

But we know you don't care. Just get your kids out of your house already!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get all the person who want in-person school. You have threads on this same board from people who are scared to go into a grocery store for 30 minutes, and yet still want to send their kids to in-person school for 6 hours? What on earth?

They love to pretend that the virus can read and goes "oh, this is a mall. Let me spread here. This is a school? Oops! I'll just skip right past this indoor building where people are crammed into the same room several hours a day!"

And they also cite tired op-ed pieces that claim that schools haven't "proven" to promote spread, which no s**t they haven't been "proven" to promote spread, because contract tracing is voluntary, people refuse to get tested and the whole system of identifying spread in the community is a complete and utter JOKE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This definitely isn't the way things should work. DCPS should be helping elementary schools reopen through a phased approach, vs. ignoring them and letting the WTU push teachers who want to return to in-person instruction around. On the other hand, if Brent and other public schools dabbling in in-person learning find a safe way forward, good. Their success with embolden other parents, admins and teachers who support in-person learning before a vaccine is in wide use. Gradually, more cracks in the WTU's shield will appear and pressure on refusenik principals to start moving to reopen will grow.

DCPS tried and got rejected. They really were not left with any other option than to let these school-level decisions be made. And maybe it’s for the best to let the communities that are ready for it to try it out. Yes I’m bitter my school is closed but I am thankful to Brent for showing the way.

DP here. I'll never forgive WTU and those who support them for their obstruction of reopening, but DCPS had the power to reopen and assign teachers back to work anyway and should have done so.

+1. We are 7 years into DCPS with multiple kids but this was the final straw. Applying for private and hoping we can get financial aid. Not once this year has it felt like the educational community was putting kids first. Good for Brent. I wish our school leadership had the sense to do this. Instead we’ll take survey after survey and zoom meeting after zoom meeting and still have our kids falling behind and missing their friends and classroom. This year has been a classic case of ‘you get what you pay for’ for our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I applaud any school principal that is following the science and acknowledging, unlike the WTU and the city, that kids and teachers can safely return in some capacity. That's leadership.

Bringing anybody back into buildings on December 7th with the state of the virus in this country and the climbing rates (without even seeing the 14-17 day full effect of Thanksgiving gatherings) is not leadership. It's abject idiocy.

But we know you don't care. Just get your kids out of your house already!!!!!

Ok. Dec. 7. What about in August, September, and October, when cases were even lower? Complete missed opportunity. School should have been open in the summer and fall to prep for holiday spikes and closures. What an abject failure of the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I applaud any school principal that is following the science and acknowledging, unlike the WTU and the city, that kids and teachers can safely return in some capacity. That's leadership.

Bringing anybody back into buildings on December 7th with the state of the virus in this country and the climbing rates (without even seeing the 14-17 day full effect of Thanksgiving gatherings) is not leadership. It's abject idiocy.

But we know you don't care. Just get your kids out of your house already!!!!!

Wrong. No it isn't. The kids and teachers involved are taking Covid tests at school regularly. Brent has established clear, smart safety protocols and contingency plans for what happens if a student or teacher tests positive and is implementing them with great care, just like in elementary schools in Europe. Most of the kids in the in-person classes have IEPs, are poor or are ELLs.

You want abject idiocy? Keeping all DCPS schools all virtual until a vaccine is in wide use although some of the students are hardly learning anything at home for whatever reasons. DL has been a failure for my kid. I'm relieved that he's back before a teacher at school in what seems to be as safe as an environment and could be created under the circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

So no kid in DCPS should return to in-person learning because some school communities can't swing it right now? Think about what you're arguing. You want an exodus of UMC white parents from diverse DCPS elementary schools to private schools and the burbs because the WTU is catering to teachers in high poverty schools and communities? How will the exodus help poor minority kids? It won't. When a school like Brent reopens, there's light at the end of the tunnel for the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Its so funny that UMC think they are the salvation for poor kids of color in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I applaud any school principal that is following the science and acknowledging, unlike the WTU and the city, that kids and teachers can safely return in some capacity. That's leadership.

Bringing anybody back into buildings on December 7th with the state of the virus in this country and the climbing rates (without even seeing the 14-17 day full effect of Thanksgiving gatherings) is not leadership. It's abject idiocy.

But we know you don't care. Just get your kids out of your house already!!!!!

Wrong. No it isn't. The kids and teachers involved are taking Covid tests at school regularly. Brent has established clear, smart safety protocols and contingency plans for what happens if a student or teacher tests positive and is implementing them with great care, just like in elementary schools in Europe. Most of the kids in the in-person classes have IEPs, are poor or are ELLs.

You want abject idiocy? Keeping all DCPS schools all virtual until a vaccine is in wide use although some of the students are hardly learning anything at home for whatever reasons. DL has been a failure for my kid. I'm relieved that he's back before a teacher at school in what seems to be as safe as an environment and could be created under the circumstances.

DP here. I agree with you. All schools should have reopened. Good for Brent. I hope your son has a better school experience. My kids are falling further behind and hate school. I wish our school would open, but we have a very weak principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

So no kid in DCPS should return to in-person learning because some school communities can't swing it right now? Think about what you're arguing. You want an exodus of UMC white parents from diverse DCPS elementary schools to private schools and the burbs because the WTU is catering to teachers in high poverty schools and communities? How will the exodus help poor minority kids? It won't. When a school like Brent reopens, there's light at the end of the tunnel for the rest of us.

I’m not arguing anything if the sort. Of course I think schools should open. I’m simply pointing out that demographics are hugely relevant here and there’s a reason Brent is doing better than other schools. To pretend otherwise doesn’t help us actually discern what can be learned from Brent’s success. If we want other schools to do what Brent us doing, DCPS and the Mayor’s office need to support those schools in the ways that Brent’s wealthy parents currently support Brent. We can’t expect families that are significantly less privileged than those at Brent to magically accomplish the same thing without resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

I mean, there are a bunch of other schools with extremely similar demographics that haven’t done this. So I think you have some weird agenda. My guess is that Brent parents are just more confident with expertise, they have a great principal, and they probably do care about their small FARMS population. Anyway they are acting as role models for all other elementary schools, so even if they are operating with some privilege, it’s a good use of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

So no kid in DCPS should return to in-person learning because some school communities can't swing it right now? Think about what you're arguing. You want an exodus of UMC white parents from diverse DCPS elementary schools to private schools and the burbs because the WTU is catering to teachers in high poverty schools and communities? How will the exodus help poor minority kids? It won't. When a school like Brent reopens, there's light at the end of the tunnel for the rest of us.

I’m not arguing anything if the sort. Of course I think schools should open. I’m simply pointing out that demographics are hugely relevant here and there’s a reason Brent is doing better than other schools. To pretend otherwise doesn’t help us actually discern what can be learned from Brent’s success. If we want other schools to do what Brent us doing, DCPS and the Mayor’s office need to support those schools in the ways that Brent’s wealthy parents currently support Brent. We can’t expect families that are significantly less privileged than those at Brent to magically accomplish the same thing without resources.

it’s almost as if DCPS should have come up with a system-wide plan! Oh, wait ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What cynical arguments. Why not just learn from how Brent is pulling this off and try to replicate? There’s no shortage of Title 1 schools with better buildings than Brent’s, even just on CH, e.g. Payne, Monet JO Wilson.

Ok, but then:

(1) What is Brent doing that other schools should be doing? No one can explain it beyond the demographic issues and having an unusually good principal. How do you replicate that?

(2) What do all the schools that don't have better buildings than Brent do?

I'm with the poster above who said that putting this all on individual schools is going to create a massive political problem for DCPS. Richer schools with nicer facilities will figure it out, and poorer schools in ancient buildings will not, and the existing inequities are just going to get worse and worse.

Bring back bussing.

wtf do demographics have to do with it? seriously.

It is easier to reopen a school for students whose parents don't work out of the house, who don't have to take public transportation to work/school, who don't have as many behavioral issues related to poverty. It's easier to convince teachers to come to work with these students. It's easier to have a well-funded PTA if most of your parents are UMC, and it's easier for a well-funded PTA to pay for facility improvements, PPE, and other safety measures, which will, again, make it easier to convince teachers to come back. It's easier to communicate with parents if they are mostly from the same socio-economic class, live in the same neighborhood, and largely have similar lifestyles and values. It's easier to get those parents to agree to a plan of action.

Should I go on? Demographics are huge. Brent is a majority white, majority UMC, school in a city that is majority POC with endemic poverty issues. This is ALL about demographics.

I mean, there are a bunch of other schools with extremely similar demographics that haven’t done this. So I think you have some weird agenda. My guess is that Brent parents are just more confident with expertise, they have a great principal, and they probably do care about their small FARMS population. Anyway they are acting as role models for all other elementary schools, so even if they are operating with some privilege, it’s a good use of it.

My “weird agenda” is that my kid does not go to a school with these demographics. I know some people think DCUM only has rich white people on here, but that’s actually a small minority of DC parents (especially public school parents) and the rest of us also care about this issue.

I think the actual weird agenda is the one that sees what Brent is doing and says, “How can we replicate this at the handful of other majority-white, UMC schools in the city?” and then gets mad when people keep bringing up that actually this is the population least hurt by school closures and maybe that shouldn’t be our focus.