APS superintendent email

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, I think this plan is simply ridiculous. As other posters have commented, we are at the height of the pandemic right now, so Duran brilliantly thinks now is the ideal time to go back? I want my kids back in school, but not now and not before teachers receive vaccinations. All APS would have to do is wait a bit longer, but nooooo.

then keep your kids with DL..simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This parent is not pissed. I would like for the teachers to be vaccinated, they are front line to me.

this has nothing to do with vaccinations. they are required to report to work before vaccinations come out. Duran has no say on when they are getting the vaccine

So far it sounds as if they are required to teach from the classroom, without students present. Doesn't sound so unreasonable to me.

but why? what is the point of making them come in to do exactly what they've been doing for the last 4 months, just in masks and around other adults? they could wait a few more weeks and be vaccinated and have them in the room with kids

Probably so that they can make sure their classrooms are set up appropriately for their needs (including things like bins of student materials) and get in-person training on the new protocols they'll need for in-person learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This parent is not pissed. I would like for the teachers to be vaccinated, they are front line to me.

this has nothing to do with vaccinations. they are required to report to work before vaccinations come out. Duran has no say on when they are getting the vaccine

Exactly. There is ZERO mentions of teachers getting vaccinated in that email before having to report to work.

Umm.. just like the rest of the country that has been able to figure this out. We are just behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, I think this plan is simply ridiculous. As other posters have commented, we are at the height of the pandemic right now, so Duran brilliantly thinks now is the ideal time to go back? I want my kids back in school, but not now and not before teachers receive vaccinations. All APS would have to do is wait a bit longer, but nooooo.

then keep your kids with DL..simple.

I'm sorry, but I actually care about the safety of my children's teachers regardless if I pick hybrid or DL for my kids.

[Anonymous]

If you actually believe the plan I don’t know what to say. There is a pattern of sending out plans to open and parents anguishing over choosing hybrid or virtual followed by virtual only. Zero chance they open for in person in early Feb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, I think this plan is simply ridiculous. As other posters have commented, we are at the height of the pandemic right now, so Duran brilliantly thinks now is the ideal time to go back? I want my kids back in school, but not now and not before teachers receive vaccinations. All APS would have to do is wait a bit longer, but nooooo.

The goal posts will continually move if you don’t draw the line somewhere. First, it was unsafe in March, then it was unsafe in the fall, now the numbers are high and there’s the variant. Where will it ever stop? Teachers vaccinated? Then it will be about students getting vaccinated. You have to draw the line somewhere and he is attempting to do that. And LET’S NOT FORGET every other public and private system that has reopened while APS has been closed. We have no excuse when you look at everyone else who has already reopened and continues to remain open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, I think this plan is simply ridiculous. As other posters have commented, we are at the height of the pandemic right now, so Duran brilliantly thinks now is the ideal time to go back? I want my kids back in school, but not now and not before teachers receive vaccinations. All APS would have to do is wait a bit longer, but nooooo.

The goal posts will continually move if you don’t draw the line somewhere. First, it was unsafe in March, then it was unsafe in the fall, now the numbers are high and there’s the variant. Where will it ever stop? Teachers vaccinated? Then it will be about students getting vaccinated. You have to draw the line somewhere and he is attempting to do that. And LET’S NOT FORGET every other public and private system that has reopened while APS has been closed. We have no excuse when you look at everyone else who has already reopened and continues to remain open.

Cheers - well said!!

[Anonymous]

There plenty of schools across the country making this work. APS can and should too.

[Anonymous]

Except that conditions are awful. You can ignore that if you want and call it goalpost moving. But in the world conditions have still changed. For the worse. It’s goalpost moving if community spread reaches set metrics and people move the metrics. Not goalpost moving to say that community spread is off the charts. Seriously. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Either does wanting it badly or even needing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Except that conditions are awful. You can ignore that if you want and call it goalpost moving. But in the world conditions have still changed. For the worse. It’s goalpost moving if community spread reaches set metrics and people move the metrics. Not goalpost moving to say that community spread is off the charts. Seriously. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Either does wanting it badly or even needing it.

and again, they aren't fighting against going back post-vaccine. they are fighting that they are going back to empty classrooms (so why be at the school?) when they can wait just a few weeks to be vaccinated and be in the school WITH students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, I think this plan is simply ridiculous. As other posters have commented, we are at the height of the pandemic right now, so Duran brilliantly thinks now is the ideal time to go back? I want my kids back in school, but not now and not before teachers receive vaccinations. All APS would have to do is wait a bit longer, but nooooo.

The goal posts will continually move if you don’t draw the line somewhere. First, it was unsafe in March, then it was unsafe in the fall, now the numbers are high and there’s the variant. Where will it ever stop? Teachers vaccinated? Then it will be about students getting vaccinated. You have to draw the line somewhere and he is attempting to do that. And LET’S NOT FORGET every other public and private system that has reopened while APS has been closed. We have no excuse when you look at everyone else who has already reopened and continues to remain open.

What public school systems in the DMV have reopened? Please tell me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except that conditions are awful. You can ignore that if you want and call it goalpost moving. But in the world conditions have still changed. For the worse. It’s goalpost moving if community spread reaches set metrics and people move the metrics. Not goalpost moving to say that community spread is off the charts. Seriously. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Either does wanting it badly or even needing it.

and again, they aren't fighting against going back post-vaccine. they are fighting that they are going back to empty classrooms (so why be at the school?) when they can wait just a few weeks to be vaccinated and be in the school WITH students

Actually, AEA is fighting to keep school fully virtual for the rest of the school year even if teachers can get vaccinations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except that conditions are awful. You can ignore that if you want and call it goalpost moving. But in the world conditions have still changed. For the worse. It’s goalpost moving if community spread reaches set metrics and people move the metrics. Not goalpost moving to say that community spread is off the charts. Seriously. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Either does wanting it badly or even needing it.

and again, they aren't fighting against going back post-vaccine. they are fighting that they are going back to empty classrooms (so why be at the school?) when they can wait just a few weeks to be vaccinated and be in the school WITH students

Actually, AEA is fighting to keep school fully virtual for the rest of the school year even if teachers can get vaccinations.

that's a different story altogether. I'm talking about the teachers who are angry about the most recent news. I am a teacher who has been advocating to go back since the fall, but I think this is a foolish decision by Duran. a lot of teachers are willing to go back once vaccinated, so he loses their support and trust and it's much harder to argue with the AEA teachers you mention when he could just wait on this a bit and make them go back post-vaccine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except that conditions are awful. You can ignore that if you want and call it goalpost moving. But in the world conditions have still changed. For the worse. It’s goalpost moving if community spread reaches set metrics and people move the metrics. Not goalpost moving to say that community spread is off the charts. Seriously. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Either does wanting it badly or even needing it.

and again, they aren't fighting against going back post-vaccine. they are fighting that they are going back to empty classrooms (so why be at the school?) when they can wait just a few weeks to be vaccinated and be in the school WITH students

Do you really think all staff will be vaccinated in just a few weeks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Duran has achieved the impossible. He's managed to piss off teachers AND a majority of parents with this plan.

Where are you getting that a majority of parents are pissed off?

I’ll be happy if we actually start to phase the youngest in. Start there and hopefully bring more in by March. The only thing I’m mad about is that they should have opened from start w a preplanned holiday break from thanksgiving- mid January. Elementary should be 5 days’ a week because safety of having kids in various care situations on off days outweighs distancing. 3 ft w masks is what rest of world uses for primary school.