Chap Petersen mask letter from 2/8 to FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chap isn’t interested in lifting mandates because numbers are down or vaccinations are high. He doesn’t want to do what NJ and other states did — lift the statewide mandate and allow districts to respond to conditions in their area. He is preventing mandates, contrary to health experts, for the duration of the law. It’s irresponsible and shortsighted to tie the hands of school systems in the event of a future contagious variant and against the goal of keeping kids in school. It’s for the politics and to respond to the extremely aggressive and disrespectful minority in his district and not to make good law.

What data makes you think a minority of FCPS parents in his district are in favor of optional masks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are allowing opt out and cases aren’t going up.

Other districts in Virginia and the country aren’t either, some all year!!!

You all don’t realize what a messed up bubble the DMV is. Fear breeds fear so we just keep it going.

Our private school went straight down after Youngkin's EO.

We were over a dozen the week before his EO and are now down to zero.

I teach in a public school with 900+ students. We really haven’t had many staff or student cases. I’ve had no paused students.

I teach in a public school with 2400+ students and I'm really tired of having to spend so much extra time catching up students who are out sick with covid for a week at a time. I've had one out on average per week since October. If the numbers increase beyond what they are now, they're on their own. I'm not their personal tutor.

You are supposed to have office hours regardless of pandemic or not.

Majority of teens are vaxed and masks have been mandatory. They stayed out of school for 18 months for YOUR health. They’ve done more than their share during this pandemic. Yet you continue to belittle them.

It’s your school system that keeps them out for 10 days, longer than the rest of the population has to isolate. Why aren’t you advocating for them to be back in class after 5 days? Let me guess, that’s not okay with you either. You want them out of school AND you don’t want to have to bring them back up to speed AND you want them vaxed AND you want them boosted AND you want them masked or else suspended.

Perfectly reasonable

I’m a ES teacher and I hate that the county put that stream in/check in business on us. Also, I don’t know think we should follow 10 days. I just had a kid miss 7 school days and it wasn’t Covid and he wasn’t sick. A very bad combination of policy, miscommunication from the school and family issues. I’m fine with no testing at all anymore. Just tell kids to stay home a few days after being sick.

I agree.

The part in bold is interesting.

ES Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are allowing opt out and cases aren’t going up.

Other districts in Virginia and the country aren’t either, some all year!!!

You all don’t realize what a messed up bubble the DMV is. Fear breeds fear so we just keep it going.

Our private school went straight down after Youngkin's EO.

We were over a dozen the week before his EO and are now down to zero.

I teach in a public school with 900+ students. We really haven’t had many staff or student cases. I’ve had no paused students.

I teach in a public school with 2400+ students and I'm really tired of having to spend so much extra time catching up students who are out sick with covid for a week at a time. I've had one out on average per week since October. If the numbers increase beyond what they are now, they're on their own. I'm not their personal tutor.

You are supposed to have office hours regardless of pandemic or not.

Majority of teens are vaxed and masks have been mandatory. They stayed out of school for 18 months for YOUR health. They’ve done more than their share during this pandemic. Yet you continue to belittle them.

It’s your school system that keeps them out for 10 days, longer than the rest of the population has to isolate. Why aren’t you advocating for them to be back in class after 5 days? Let me guess, that’s not okay with you either. You want them out of school AND you don’t want to have to bring them back up to speed AND you want them vaxed AND you want them boosted AND you want them masked or else suspended.

Perfectly reasonable

Only 30% boosted

Whoosh. Right over your head, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chap isn’t interested in lifting mandates because numbers are down or vaccinations are high. He doesn’t want to do what NJ and other states did — lift the statewide mandate and allow districts to respond to conditions in their area. He is preventing mandates, contrary to health experts, for the duration of the law. It’s irresponsible and shortsighted to tie the hands of school systems in the event of a future contagious variant and against the goal of keeping kids in school. It’s for the politics and to respond to the extremely aggressive and disrespectful minority in his district and not to make good law.

That’s true of you think school mask mandates have a big impact. But even some people who did studies on school masks are now saying the impact is small. The only randomized controlled trial of masks against Covid only showed value for age 50+.

Mask the seniors, free the kids. That’s the impact policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are allowing opt out and cases aren’t going up.

Other districts in Virginia and the country aren’t either, some all year!!!

You all don’t realize what a messed up bubble the DMV is. Fear breeds fear so we just keep it going.

Our private school went straight down after Youngkin's EO.

We were over a dozen the week before his EO and are now down to zero.

I teach in a public school with 900+ students. We really haven’t had many staff or student cases. I’ve had no paused students.

I teach in a public school with 2400+ students and I'm really tired of having to spend so much extra time catching up students who are out sick with covid for a week at a time. I've had one out on average per week since October. If the numbers increase beyond what they are now, they're on their own. I'm not their personal tutor.

I wonder why you've had so many. Are you doing Stream In/Check In for each one?

Yes. They don't show up for either. And then they come to class not having read through notes or done any work and expect individualized lessons. Although to be frank, that's true this year of a ton of students, regardless of the reason why they missed class.

They missed class. Why are you spending time trying to catch them up?

[Anonymous]

Ugh, it makes me so mad that Chap pushed this amendment that ties the ability of schools to require mandates in the future. Why couldn’t we have a reasonable person instead? From a New York Times article today:

“Dr. Jha does not believe that his own children have been seriously harmed from masking, and does not believe that the pandemic is over.

But he wants to unmask soon, he says, in part to offer some social and academic normalcy, given that he thinks future coronavirus surges in the United States are likely to require masking again — potentially in the South over the summer and in the North this fall and next winter.”

[Anonymous]

They didn't "miss class". They were excluded from attending school by FCPS's own policy. FCPS literally prevented them from attending class. (And no, "stream in" does not count as "class" if you were actually going to make that argument with a straight face.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, it makes me so mad that Chap pushed this amendment that ties the ability of schools to require mandates in the future. Why couldn’t we have a reasonable person instead? From a New York Times article today:

“Dr. Jha does not believe that his own children have been seriously harmed from masking, and does not believe that the pandemic is over.

But he wants to unmask soon, he says, in part to offer some social and academic normalcy, given that he thinks future coronavirus surges in the United States are likely to require masking again — potentially in the South over the summer and in the North this fall and next winter.”

So everyone needs to follow this Dr. Jha's opinion?

Thank goodness Chap is willing to show leadership and act in a bipartisan manner, releasing our kids from those who have been using them as political pawns for 2 years.

[Anonymous]

I really appreciate that he has kids in FCPS (including apparently a dc with SN). That gives him a lot more credibility on public school issues then someone like Youngkin (who sends his kids to an elite private school) or many other politicians who send their kids to private schools, create private pods for them, etc.

And I suspect he knows a lot more FCPS parents than most of the posters here, so my guess is he has a good grasp on what most of the parents who are his constituents want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really appreciate that he has kids in FCPS (including apparently a dc with SN). That gives him a lot more credibility on public school issues then someone like Youngkin (who sends his kids to an elite private school) or many other politicians who send their kids to private schools, create private pods for them, etc.

And I suspect he knows a lot more FCPS parents than most of the posters here, so my guess is he has a good grasp on what most of the parents who are his constituents want.

His letter was written as a parent with his own personal views, not those of constituents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really appreciate that he has kids in FCPS (including apparently a dc with SN). That gives him a lot more credibility on public school issues then someone like Youngkin (who sends his kids to an elite private school) or many other politicians who send their kids to private schools, create private pods for them, etc.

And I suspect he knows a lot more FCPS parents than most of the posters here, so my guess is he has a good grasp on what most of the parents who are his constituents want.

His letter was written as a parent with his own personal views, not those of constituents.

How do you know the views of his constituents?

[Anonymous]

There's no way a successful politician takes such a pubilc and firm stance on something that goes against what most parents in his district want. I guarantee his office has detailed information on how most parents in HIS district support his mask-optional position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really appreciate that he has kids in FCPS (including apparently a dc with SN). That gives him a lot more credibility on public school issues then someone like Youngkin (who sends his kids to an elite private school) or many other politicians who send their kids to private schools, create private pods for them, etc.

And I suspect he knows a lot more FCPS parents than most of the posters here, so my guess is he has a good grasp on what most of the parents who are his constituents want.

His letter was written as a parent with his own personal views, not those of constituents.

He was speaking for most of his constituents with kids in school, rather than childless and out of state D political activists trolling from the politics forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's no way a successful politician takes such a pubilc and firm stance on something that goes against what most parents in his district want. I guarantee his office has detailed information on how most parents in HIS district support his mask-optional position.

I agree.

He is connected to fcps from the elementary through high school level.

He is definitely speaking for a significant portion of his constituents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no way a successful politician takes such a pubilc and firm stance on something that goes against what most parents in his district want. I guarantee his office has detailed information on how most parents in HIS district support his mask-optional position.

I agree.

He is connected to fcps from the elementary through high school level.

He is definitely speaking for a significant portion of his constituents.

He is speaking for a significant portion of his constituents, both democrat and republican. People are afraid to speak out and we need good leadership on this issue. No one else is leading.