I Work in a Cares Room AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No questions. Just thanks for being brave enough to do this important work for the kids that need it.

Agree. Thank you so much, and thank you for doing this AMA.

[Anonymous]

Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

Huh? This is an AMA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

Huh? This is an AMA.

This Brent poster Keeps posting to showboat. It’s getting old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

Blabble dee blabla. Of course my family lives alone, doesn't socialize, and uses online shopping to its maximum extent. Four thousand deaths a day. You're just giving me one more reason to avoid in-building schooling: the self-selecting by families whose bubbles are fat and loose enough that a CARES classroom wouldn't make a big different.

Exactly. Because they and their friends are behaving irresponsibly and doing unnecessary things in person, they assume everyone is. Not remotely true.

Yeah...Because you’ve forgotten about all the posts on your neighborhood list serve of parents seeking pods for their children. You are delusional is you think the majority of families are living in solitude. Besides, that guy that delivered your groceries also isn’t isolated, idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

This. There's a lot of self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy fueling those who are loudly shaming anyone who wants schools open. There is already a lot of risk happening outside the schools. Keeping them shut is not compared to a perfect isolation scenario, but many many scenarios of risk taking for many purposes.

Those who are screaming about keeping schools shut need to look at their own lives and all the ways the virus could enter in, thanks to their daily choices.

CARES staff people, we thank you, but we wish more people would take your calculated risks instead of their own secret ones.

I spray all my mail and groceries (or wash them). I have no risks, nor should I be forced to take any when my self contained students are not potty trained, cannot wear a mask even for 5 minutes, and my classroom is half the size of a regular classroom. Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

This. There's a lot of self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy fueling those who are loudly shaming anyone who wants schools open. There is already a lot of risk happening outside the schools. Keeping them shut is not compared to a perfect isolation scenario, but many many scenarios of risk taking for many purposes.

Those who are screaming about keeping schools shut need to look at their own lives and all the ways the virus could enter in, thanks to their daily choices.

CARES staff people, we thank you, but we wish more people would take your calculated risks instead of their own secret ones.

I spray all my mail and groceries (or wash them). I have no risks, nor should I be forced to take any when my self contained students are not potty trained, cannot wear a mask even for 5 minutes, and my classroom is half the size of a regular classroom. Nope.

You still spray your mail and wash your groceries? That’s a bit over the top at this point.

And you don’t want to take a single risk but I’m sure you don’t mind all the other people working in person so you can stay at home. I find it hypocritical.

[Anonymous]

To the OP: how are the “high needs” kids’ needs being met? Do any of the kids have an aide? Also, what do the kids do in between zoom classes or on breaks? (Do they all have breaks at the same time?) Thank you for leading this class and answering Qs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would a parent refuse to let their child be tested and why is that allowed?

Paranoia. DCPS doesn’t get enforce anything even if it is a policy. Students don’t even have to be vaccinated to attend school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

Huh? This is an AMA.

This Brent poster Keeps posting to showboat. It’s getting old.

No, what’s getting old is that most DCPS schools haven’t done their best to get teachers back in classrooms like Brent has. I want to know why not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I read was:
- when kids eat, 11 masks are off indoors and it is conducive to transmission, aka "rough."
- At least 1 kid out of the 11 is never tested. Could be more, and teachers are not informed.
- "when one kid gets it, they will all get it."
- 6ft distance cannot be maintained when helping with technical issues.

Hell to the no thank you.

Right...but I bet you have a “bubble” that is larger than you could ever imagine because your “bubble” people are not 100% transparent about the “bubble” they have with another family that also has a “bubble”.

This. You need to assess actual risk, not react based on fear. Some of the parents supporting teachers to keep schools closed have their kids in pods in someone's 100 year old basement, no masks. I know one parent who has her kids in two different indoor pods with six families. They decided what the hell, since the kids are all inside all day together the parents can all hang out and party together with food and drinks. So that's six families worth of parents and children all hanging out together indoors without masks. The parent who told me this also goes on vacations and has elderly grandparents visiting/visit them. This doesn't even account for grocery shopping and other errands for this one family. What are all the other families doing too?

I guarantee that unless you live alone, see no one else, get all groceries and supplies delivered, and never go inside anywhere but your home that you don't allow anyone into, then your bubble is already far bigger than you think.

This. There's a lot of self-righteous posturing and hypocrisy fueling those who are loudly shaming anyone who wants schools open. There is already a lot of risk happening outside the schools. Keeping them shut is not compared to a perfect isolation scenario, but many many scenarios of risk taking for many purposes.

Those who are screaming about keeping schools shut need to look at their own lives and all the ways the virus could enter in, thanks to their daily choices.

CARES staff people, we thank you, but we wish more people would take your calculated risks instead of their own secret ones.

We are one of those very few families that have kept ourselves away from everyone because we are extremely high risk. I’d actually love it if the majority went back to school and DL was kept up for the minority of us that won’t send our kids in. It would work so much better. Right now I see proposals for 11 kids per classroom, meaning the DL classrooms will be like 35 kids per class. Horrible. I’d much rather have it reversed with only 11 kids in DL and the rest of the kids in the real classroom!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

Huh? This is an AMA.

This Brent poster Keeps posting to showboat. It’s getting old.

No, what’s getting old is that most DCPS schools haven’t done their best to get teachers back in classrooms like Brent has. I want to know why not.

DP here, but the answer is the Principals. It's easier for them to suck up to teachers rather than have issues with WTU. At our school, the Principal made it very clear that she supported WTU efforts to keep schools closed and she thought that DCPS was wrong to try to reopen. She went so far as saying she was in the middle of teacher evaluations and she had trouble coming up with any areas for improvement for them due to their amazing performance. Our school has some of the most entrenched WTU teachers with conduct and performance issues that go unaddressed, and has horrible test scores to prove it. Our Principal spoke as if all parents agreed with WTU and thanked us for being so supportive of the teachers. She never even solicited our input. Then the parent survey came out and showed that most parents wanted in person learning for their children. She no longer acts like parents don't want schools to reopen. However, she already set the tone with teachers that they're entitled to stay home, so of course they're not volunteering. Some grades don't even have an IPL class for 2/1/21, only CARE classrooms. She did a crappy job of setting expectations for how a school should support educating children. She runs our school like a jobs program for teachers, not an educational institution for children. Our PTA President actually sent pro-WTU propaganda urging parents to join forces with WTU to keep schools closed, so no one is holding the Principal accountable.

That said, this is ultimately the Mayor's fault for not reopening schools despite WTU pressure to keep schools closed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

Huh? This is an AMA.

This Brent poster Keeps posting to showboat. It’s getting old.

No, what’s getting old is that most DCPS schools haven’t done their best to get teachers back in classrooms like Brent has. I want to know why not.

DP here, but the answer is the Principals. It's easier for them to suck up to teachers rather than have issues with WTU. At our school, the Principal made it very clear that she supported WTU efforts to keep schools closed and she thought that DCPS was wrong to try to reopen. She went so far as saying she was in the middle of teacher evaluations and she had trouble coming up with any areas for improvement for them due to their amazing performance. Our school has some of the most entrenched WTU teachers with conduct and performance issues that go unaddressed, and has horrible test scores to prove it. Our Principal spoke as if all parents agreed with WTU and thanked us for being so supportive of the teachers. She never even solicited our input. Then the parent survey came out and showed that most parents wanted in person learning for their children. She no longer acts like parents don't want schools to reopen. However, she already set the tone with teachers that they're entitled to stay home, so of course they're not volunteering. Some grades don't even have an IPL class for 2/1/21, only CARE classrooms. She did a crappy job of setting expectations for how a school should support educating children. She runs our school like a jobs program for teachers, not an educational institution for children. Our PTA President actually sent pro-WTU propaganda urging parents to join forces with WTU to keep schools closed, so no one is holding the Principal accountable.

That said, this is ultimately the Mayor's fault for not reopening schools despite WTU pressure to keep schools closed.

What school is this PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the OP: how are the “high needs” kids’ needs being met? Do any of the kids have an aide? Also, what do the kids do in between zoom classes or on breaks? (Do they all have breaks at the same time?) Thank you for leading this class and answering Qs.

Hi there. I have a few students with IEPS. They are still receiving their services, virtually. There are only 2 adults who are allowed in this room- myself and the one person who is charge of my my breaks. In February we are bringing back a special education teacher- but that person can only work across two rooms. So the services might be virtual or in person at that point.
These students are on line almost all day. Short breaks of 10-20 minutes. And the school made sure to coordinate all student schedules so everyone breaks at the exact same time. The virtual teachers had to shift their teaching times to make this happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excellent, probably because CARES classrooms are taught by a regular classroom teachers at our school. The arrangement is only around 50% DL. We're at Brent where there's at least one CARES classrooms taught by a teacher for almost every grade, with more planned to open in Feb.

Huh? This is an AMA.

This Brent poster Keeps posting to showboat. It’s getting old.

No, what’s getting old is that most DCPS schools haven’t done their best to get teachers back in classrooms like Brent has. I want to know why not.

DP here, but the answer is the Principals. It's easier for them to suck up to teachers rather than have issues with WTU. At our school, the Principal made it very clear that she supported WTU efforts to keep schools closed and she thought that DCPS was wrong to try to reopen. She went so far as saying she was in the middle of teacher evaluations and she had trouble coming up with any areas for improvement for them due to their amazing performance. Our school has some of the most entrenched WTU teachers with conduct and performance issues that go unaddressed, and has horrible test scores to prove it. Our Principal spoke as if all parents agreed with WTU and thanked us for being so supportive of the teachers. She never even solicited our input. Then the parent survey came out and showed that most parents wanted in person learning for their children. She no longer acts like parents don't want schools to reopen. However, she already set the tone with teachers that they're entitled to stay home, so of course they're not volunteering. Some grades don't even have an IPL class for 2/1/21, only CARE classrooms. She did a crappy job of setting expectations for how a school should support educating children. She runs our school like a jobs program for teachers, not an educational institution for children. Our PTA President actually sent pro-WTU propaganda urging parents to join forces with WTU to keep schools closed, so no one is holding the Principal accountable.

That said, this is ultimately the Mayor's fault for not reopening schools despite WTU pressure to keep schools closed.

What school is this PP?

I'd also like to know what school this is! I've been through 3 principals at my school and have yet to have one who sucks up to the teachers. The ones I've had never seemed to care much at all about what teachers think.