The prospect of kids not going back to school until 2021

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DL sucks. Most parents, teachers and kids hate it. But at the current rate of spread and vaccine implementation going back to school full time is not going to happen for a year at least. Schools are just not set up for social distancing. Even outdoor summer camps are struggling to follow guidelines.

Our numbers have been consistently going down in MD so what rate of spread are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DL sucks. Most parents, teachers and kids hate it. But at the current rate of spread and vaccine implementation going back to school full time is not going to happen for a year at least. Schools are just not set up for social distancing. Even outdoor summer camps are struggling to follow guidelines.

If we really are going to do this to kids, we have truly lost our minds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DL sucks. Most parents, teachers and kids hate it. But at the current rate of spread and vaccine implementation going back to school full time is not going to happen for a year at least. Schools are just not set up for social distancing. Even outdoor summer camps are struggling to follow guidelines.

If we really are going to do this to kids, we have truly lost our minds.

DP. What I would say is: if we are really going to do this to kids, we will prove that we really don't care about kids or public education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DL sucks. Most parents, teachers and kids hate it. But at the current rate of spread and vaccine implementation going back to school full time is not going to happen for a year at least. Schools are just not set up for social distancing. Even outdoor summer camps are struggling to follow guidelines.

If we really are going to do this to kids, we have truly lost our minds.

I hope that in due time (much less than a year out), the practical forces of society are going to force us to open schools fully. If it's not going to be our recognition that in person education is essential, it is going to be people's need for daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have any of you been to the dentist lately? The amount of procedures in place just to get your teeth cleaned makes me wonder how on earth we will be able to open schools at all....

Because getting your teeth cleaned is just like public school? I mean, they're analogous insofar as they both involve people doing things indoors. But other than that, I can't think of a lot of similarities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile my two oldest kids going back to college but my kid in middle school can’t sit in a classroom.

I think that the bathrooms in college campus buildings will have soap.

Also, take a minute to think about how a college campus serving adults who are paying tuition might be different from a large public school system legally required to provide a free publication for children of all ages, and to transport them to school.

You mean, it's more urgent for a large public school system to be open? If so, I agree.

You are impossible. It is much more challenging to serve all ages with appropriate safety measures in place. The transportation is one of the most difficult challenges. What are your solutions, or do want to return F2F with no mitigation measures in place?

Lots of solutions on this thread already.

And no, transportation is not one of the most difficult challenges. Require masks and put the bus windows down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

No, there is not growing evidence that children don't transmit the virus. There are some articles on the Washington Post that keep stating this, but it doesn't make it true.

https://zoonosen.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/m_cc05/virologie-ccm/dateien_upload/Weitere_Dateien/analysis-of-SARS-CoV-2-viral-load-by-patient-age.pdf
This German study concluded that viral load does not change significantly based on patient's age.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2449_article
So did this study in South Korea, which concluded that children who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shed enough virus to infect others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavirus-children-transmission-school.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile my two oldest kids going back to college but my kid in middle school can’t sit in a classroom.

I think that the bathrooms in college campus buildings will have soap.

Also, take a minute to think about how a college campus serving adults who are paying tuition might be different from a large public school system legally required to provide a free publication for children of all ages, and to transport them to school.

You mean, it's more urgent for a large public school system to be open? If so, I agree.

You are impossible. It is much more challenging to serve all ages with appropriate safety measures in place. The transportation is one of the most difficult challenges. What are your solutions, or do want to return F2F with no mitigation measures in place?

Lots of solutions on this thread already.

And no, transportation is not one of the most difficult challenges. Require masks and put the bus windows down.

So if you were in charge, would ignore the CDC guidelines for social distancing? I know they aren't law, but if they are best practice, you would just ignore them?

[Anonymous]

No, there is not growing evidence that children don't transmit the virus. There are some articles on the Washington Post that keep stating this, but it doesn't make it true.

https://zoonosen.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/...-viral-load-by-patient-age.pdf
This German study concluded that viral load does not change significantly based on patient's age.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2449_article
So did this study in South Korea, which concluded that children who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shed enough virus to infect others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavi...ldren-transmission-school.html

DP: but carrying the same viral load doesn't necessarily mean they transmit the virus at the same rates. The recent post article was based on a publication in Nature Medicine. Is that somehow not true? I know the studies are somewhat contradictory, but that makes for an interesting scientific problem, not irrefutable proof that it's unsafe for kids to go back to school.

This overview is useful, if you want
a comprehensive view of the science to date: https://explaincovid.org/post/kids-and-covid-19/iNR6ns6TY6OqDPfWrcqg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

No, there is not growing evidence that children don't transmit the virus. There are some articles on the Washington Post that keep stating this, but it doesn't make it true.

https://zoonosen.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/m_cc05/virologie-ccm/dateien_upload/Weitere_Dateien/analysis-of-SARS-CoV-2-viral-load-by-patient-age.pdf
This German study concluded that viral load does not change significantly based on patient's age.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2449_article
So did this study in South Korea, which concluded that children who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shed enough virus to infect others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavirus-children-transmission-school.html

NP. And yet they have not been able to trace a single infection of an adult to a kid. Nor have countries that kept schools open (e.g. Sweden) have had higher rates of infection among children, or have had significant outbreaks traced to schools.

These studies looked at viral loads only. They did NOT study or prove transmission. Stop quoting them as evidence that opening schools is a major risk, when all experience suggests otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

No, there is not growing evidence that children don't transmit the virus. There are some articles on the Washington Post that keep stating this, but it doesn't make it true.

https://zoonosen.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/m_cc05/virologie-ccm/dateien_upload/Weitere_Dateien/analysis-of-SARS-CoV-2-viral-load-by-patient-age.pdf
This German study concluded that viral load does not change significantly based on patient's age.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2449_article
So did this study in South Korea, which concluded that children who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shed enough virus to infect others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavirus-children-transmission-school.html

NP. And yet they have not been able to trace a single infection of an adult to a kid. Nor have countries that kept schools open (e.g. Sweden) have had higher rates of infection among children, or have had significant outbreaks traced to schools.

These studies looked at viral loads only. They did NOT study or prove transmission. Stop quoting them as evidence that opening schools is a major risk, when all experience suggests otherwise.

If you are shedding virus, you are contagious. That's how it works. You think that "experience" is a better indicator of how contagious a person is? Okay then. Don't pretend that you have any interest in science.
You think, for example, that in that one school in Israel with 130 positive cases that they were able to trace all of those infections back to the adults? That the children didn't spread it amongst one another? Wishful thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

No, there is not growing evidence that children don't transmit the virus. There are some articles on the Washington Post that keep stating this, but it doesn't make it true.

https://zoonosen.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/m_cc05/virologie-ccm/dateien_upload/Weitere_Dateien/analysis-of-SARS-CoV-2-viral-load-by-patient-age.pdf
This German study concluded that viral load does not change significantly based on patient's age.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2449_article
So did this study in South Korea, which concluded that children who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shed enough virus to infect others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavirus-children-transmission-school.html

NP. And yet they have not been able to trace a single infection of an adult to a kid. Nor have countries that kept schools open (e.g. Sweden) have had higher rates of infection among children, or have had significant outbreaks traced to schools.

These studies looked at viral loads only. They did NOT study or prove transmission. Stop quoting them as evidence that opening schools is a major risk, when all experience suggests otherwise.

OMG - I don't know if it is major risk or not, but nations like Sweden did not send all kids back. You think you are an expert but you fail to grasp nuances of the arrangements you are citing as evidence that there is no transmission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

No, there is not growing evidence that children don't transmit the virus. There are some articles on the Washington Post that keep stating this, but it doesn't make it true.

https://zoonosen.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/m_cc05/virologie-ccm/dateien_upload/Weitere_Dateien/analysis-of-SARS-CoV-2-viral-load-by-patient-age.pdf
This German study concluded that viral load does not change significantly based on patient's age.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2449_article
So did this study in South Korea, which concluded that children who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shed enough virus to infect others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavirus-children-transmission-school.html

NP. And yet they have not been able to trace a single infection of an adult to a kid. Nor have countries that kept schools open (e.g. Sweden) have had higher rates of infection among children, or have had significant outbreaks traced to schools.

These studies looked at viral loads only. They did NOT study or prove transmission. Stop quoting them as evidence that opening schools is a major risk, when all experience suggests otherwise.

OMG - I don't know if it is major risk or not, but nations like Sweden did not send all kids back. You think you are an expert but you fail to grasp nuances of the arrangements you are citing as evidence that there is no transmission.

Sweden never closed primary schools. I didn't say there was not going to be any transmission, I said there is evidence suggesting operating schools would not cause major outbreaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to return to school. Period. Get back to work, teachers, or get a new job.

Teachers don’t decide whether they go back to F2F - administrators and the school Board do. Teachers have every right to advocate for a return with as many safety measures as possible in place. Wouldn’t you? I absolutely would advocate for PPE, social distancing, staggered schedules, etc. if I were a teacher returning to class.

Those in charge have to weigh all competing interests, including the needs of teacher, students, parents, logistics, budget, etc. to make a decision on the best course. Transportation is huge problem in all of this. I don’t know where most of you work, but many businesses are taking measures to protect public facing employees, like installing plexiglass partitions, markers, for social distancing, etc. I am not a teacher, but the complete disregard for any concerns teachers may have is concerning. Maybe one way to go would be to put teachers behind a partition to protect them from students (for those who think there is little risk to kids).

I have posted multiple times in this thread asking for realistic suggestions for returning full time face to face. Remember that school board and administrators aren’t public health experts either. They don’t know what to do. No one does. They have to make decisions based on what health experts tell them weighing in all competing interests to come up with a feasible solution. Not only that, but if they plan for what everyone is demanding, full time F2F, then they need to have very specific health screening policies in effect and probably a way to enforce them, plus they need to be ready to close either individual schools or the entire district if the virus is spreading. Planning for all of these contingencies with so many unknowns is extremely challenging. There is no way to do what is best for everyone, and that is nothing new. I don’t think it is right, just, or appropriate that our school district just redistricted and forced rising sophomores to change schools either. In a perfect world that wouldn’t happen. But this isn’t a perfect world.

Here is an interesting point made last night during the Howard County school board meeting last night. The district plans to offer an online “Virtual Academy” for all families who want to opt out of face to face learning. However, if you choose that option, you have to stay online for the entire school year. There is no opting back in if COVID is better contained. I wonder how many families would change their minds about opting out if they have to commit for the full year?

If Maryland districts must have a plan to the State by July 10, they have to quickly obtain input from all stakeholders and make difficult decisions. I have had plenty of concerns about teachers over the years, but seriously people. These are professionals who can’t even get cleaning supplies and tissues in their classroom under normal circumstances and you want them to walk back into schools without significant protections in place?

Personnel in school buildings can wear masks depending on the level of positivity rate at that time. As far as kids are concerned, all the statistics undeniably show that flu is way more dangerous for kids. Furthermore there is a growing evidence that kids are not meaningful transmitters of Covid-19. Having said this, of course the students can wear masks if they wish, and I'm sure some will do it. But the point is protecting adults in school buildings is not as daunting as you think, there are not more adults in school buildings than there are in typical office buildings.

You are comparing apples and oranges.
My younger brother’s work place has the same number of adults that my school does, however:
My brother can get to his building at 6:30 am, walk from his car into the empty main office, go to his office, and shut the door. If he brings lunch and limits bathroom trips, he does not need to interact with anyone else for eight hours and then he can go home.
In addition to my adult colleagues, I also interact with 165 tweens and teens minimum, often far more than that because I have to move classrooms and walk through the halls. I also end up covering a class without a sub a couple times a week, putting me in contact with another 35-70 students a week.