All schools should offer an all-virtual option

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya’ll will be eating your words in a few weeks when Delta rips through DC schools and we have a bunch of hospitalized children.

Zero kids in DC have died of COVID, and the virulence hasn't changed. So, 100% recovery.

Fearmongering.

Interesting. Our whole problem last year was being overly optimistic and not planning for a worse scenario then upheaval and chaos when it hit.

I sure hope you're right and it's not a big deal but I'd rather be ready for worse.

What? No that wasn’t the plan last year. DC schools were way more cautious than 99% of the country. We in essence operated in the worst case scenario last year.

Now that we realize what a disaster that was on a variety of metrics, we are seeing we can’t keep doing that.

That's what we ended up doing. But the "plan" going into it was always optimistic. So when we got to what actually happened we were not prepared. Remember all the hype for "hybrid" that turned into full virtual? That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

What's our plan if the optimists here are wrong?

do u rlly think we went virtual bc the pandemic got worse

I’m not going to tell her.

[Anonymous]

"I feel your displeasure because I felt it last year but now I'm getting what I want and you're not."
is so out of tune with "I don't want my child to catch delta covid."

[Anonymous]

The reason we need a virtual option this year is to allow parents to make their own risk assessments. Putting your child in a DCPS this year, given what we know about delta so far and what little effort DCPS is making to mitigate risk, is literally gambling with your child’s physical health, and perhaps the health of household members depending on their health status. I understand that virtual learning also poses other non-physical-health risks to children, and in some or many cases these risks win out. But for a school system to tell parents that the only way to receive a public education this year is by risking their kid’s health is unconscionable. Especially when dcps is large enough to offer a district-wide option.

And before someone says it, yes I have asked my school for specifics and gave been met with silence. Article after article written by public health experts advise us to weigh our individual risk factors carefully, and encourages parents of unvaccinated children to be particularly cautious. Yet we are told that in order to receive a public education in dc we need to subject our children to more covid exposure in one day than a lot of us probably experience in a month or more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason we need a virtual option this year is to allow parents to make their own risk assessments. Putting your child in a DCPS this year, given what we know about delta so far and what little effort DCPS is making to mitigate risk, is literally gambling with your child’s physical health, and perhaps the health of household members depending on their health status. I understand that virtual learning also poses other non-physical-health risks to children, and in some or many cases these risks win out. But for a school system to tell parents that the only way to receive a public education this year is by risking their kid’s health is unconscionable. Especially when dcps is large enough to offer a district-wide option.

And before someone says it, yes I have asked my school for specifics and gave been met with silence. Article after article written by public health experts advise us to weigh our individual risk factors carefully, and encourages parents of unvaccinated children to be particularly cautious. Yet we are told that in order to receive a public education in dc we need to subject our children to more covid exposure in one day than a lot of us probably experience in a month or more.

There IS a virtual option. It's just not the one OP wants.

Also, if we decided things based on each family's risk assessment, I assure you my children would have been in school last year. But low and behold, we are all sbject to the district policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason we need a virtual option this year is to allow parents to make their own risk assessments. Putting your child in a DCPS this year, given what we know about delta so far and what little effort DCPS is making to mitigate risk, is literally gambling with your child’s physical health, and perhaps the health of household members depending on their health status. I understand that virtual learning also poses other non-physical-health risks to children, and in some or many cases these risks win out. But for a school system to tell parents that the only way to receive a public education this year is by risking their kid’s health is unconscionable. Especially when dcps is large enough to offer a district-wide option.

And before someone says it, yes I have asked my school for specifics and gave been met with silence. Article after article written by public health experts advise us to weigh our individual risk factors carefully, and encourages parents of unvaccinated children to be particularly cautious. Yet we are told that in order to receive a public education in dc we need to subject our children to more covid exposure in one day than a lot of us probably experience in a month or more.

Kids aren't more at risk this year then any other year. More kids get sick from umpteeen other viruses that circulate during a normal school year. Everyone over 12 can be vaccinated. This is as good as it gets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I feel your displeasure because I felt it last year but now I'm getting what I want and you're not."
is so out of tune with "I don't want my child to catch delta covid."

Not sure what you are trying to say. You are worried that your kids will catch Covid. Last year, we were worried that our kids mental health would suffer if they continued to be deprived of the structured social interaction at school and left to stare at a screen for much of the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason we need a virtual option this year is to allow parents to make their own risk assessments. Putting your child in a DCPS this year, given what we know about delta so far and what little effort DCPS is making to mitigate risk, is literally gambling with your child’s physical health, and perhaps the health of household members depending on their health status. I understand that virtual learning also poses other non-physical-health risks to children, and in some or many cases these risks win out. But for a school system to tell parents that the only way to receive a public education this year is by risking their kid’s health is unconscionable. Especially when dcps is large enough to offer a district-wide option.

And before someone says it, yes I have asked my school for specifics and gave been met with silence. Article after article written by public health experts advise us to weigh our individual risk factors carefully, and encourages parents of unvaccinated children to be particularly cautious. Yet we are told that in order to receive a public education in dc we need to subject our children to more covid exposure in one day than a lot of us probably experience in a month or more.

*deep breath*

*sings* HooOOO-oooOOooo-OOOooOOoo-me uh-schoo-OOoo-OOoooOOO-l

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason we need a virtual option this year is to allow parents to make their own risk assessments. Putting your child in a DCPS this year, given what we know about delta so far and what little effort DCPS is making to mitigate risk, is literally gambling with your child’s physical health, and perhaps the health of household members depending on their health status. I understand that virtual learning also poses other non-physical-health risks to children, and in some or many cases these risks win out. But for a school system to tell parents that the only way to receive a public education this year is by risking their kid’s health is unconscionable. Especially when dcps is large enough to offer a district-wide option.

And before someone says it, yes I have asked my school for specifics and gave been met with silence. Article after article written by public health experts advise us to weigh our individual risk factors carefully, and encourages parents of unvaccinated children to be particularly cautious. Yet we are told that in order to receive a public education in dc we need to subject our children to more covid exposure in one day than a lot of us probably experience in a month or more.

There IS a virtual option. It's just not the one OP wants.

Also, if we decided things based on each family's risk assessment, I assure you my children would have been in school last year. But low and behold, we are all sbject to the district policies.

+ a million.

[Anonymous]

It's like she's just workshopping different arguments to see how they fly. Now we are onto "we should all be able to satisfy our own risk assessments and the school system should appeal to each individual's specific preferences."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's like she's just workshopping different arguments to see how they fly. Now we are onto "we should all be able to satisfy our own risk assessments and the school system should appeal to each individual's specific preferences."

I know this won’t fit your narrative of “one hysterical parent” so you can blindly send your kids into schools to get COVID, but this is multiple people posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's like she's just workshopping different arguments to see how they fly. Now we are onto "we should all be able to satisfy our own risk assessments and the school system should appeal to each individual's specific preferences."

I know this won’t fit your narrative of “one hysterical parent” so you can blindly send your kids into schools to get COVID, but this is multiple people posting.

Point taken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya’ll will be eating your words in a few weeks when Delta rips through DC schools and we have a bunch of hospitalized children.

Zero kids in DC have died of COVID, and the virulence hasn't changed. So, 100% recovery.

Fearmongering.

If Delta is as contagious as chicken pox - 35 million kids in the US under the age of 12 will catch it. At current rates, 47,000 will get it very badly, and 24,000 will die. Maybe more.

Some will be from DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP but here is a study on learning loss in the pandemic:

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning

Which shows that in-person learning should be an option widely available. It doesn't say that a form of virtual learning should not be available. And we're talking on a public education forum, so if your answer is to go private then I'm not interested.

But requiring a school to devote resources to virtual learning makes it harder for that school to provide in-person learning. It's not a zero-sum game, having teachers teach virtual students means (a) larger class sizes for those in-person, (b) fewer spots in-person for those who want it, or (c) both.

I'll say it again.

I'm not advocating for teachers doing simultaneous in-person and remote. Whoever came up with that idea needs to not work in education.

I'm not advocating for each school to handle it on their own. I get that it would be to disruptive.

I'm advocating for DCPS to figure out something centralized or maybe clustered to allow it to work. The only thing standing in the way of that is planning and bureaucracy. Oh, and people trying to take advantage of the situation to harm public education. Those ghouls can piss off.

I do hear what you are saying and understand that in a perfect world with all parents being engaged in their child’s education DCPS could make an open enrollment virtual academy. I really do. There are realities within the district and the population of students they serve that do not make this a prudent choice for the well being of kids. I’ve written this several times on several threads. Kids fell through the cracks for a year with no adult laying eyes on them. This cannot happen again. Perhaps a more affluent district could pull off an open enrollment virtual school and ensure student learning and wel being. DCPS cannot do that.

I agree with you. Palo Alto which is an affluent school district is setting up a virtual academy with open enrollment. They are contracting with a private company to offer virtual school. Palo Alto teachers will only teach in-person kids.

I live near Palo Alto and have friends in PAUSD. I don't know anyone using Stride (their third party provider). They aren't PAUSD teachers. (I read this forum because DC was as restrictive as some CA districts, so it's a good data point.) The program is an independent study program put into place for students with at-risk health issues. I don't believe it is intended to be an open enrollment full virtual school. It's described out here as an independent study program. Also, people who join aren't guaranteed spots at their prior in person school.

https://www.pausd.org/school-life/learning/ab130/faq

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya’ll will be eating your words in a few weeks when Delta rips through DC schools and we have a bunch of hospitalized children.

Zero kids in DC have died of COVID, and the virulence hasn't changed. So, 100% recovery.

Fearmongering.

If Delta is as contagious as chicken pox - 35 million kids in the US under the age of 12 will catch it. At current rates, 47,000 will get it very badly, and 24,000 will die. Maybe more.

Some will be from DC.

Well, you aren't reflecting statistics that anyone has seen. So far the <18 death rate from covid is like 0.01% if you get it. You've posited a death rate 7x that (of about .07%).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's like she's just workshopping different arguments to see how they fly. Now we are onto "we should all be able to satisfy our own risk assessments and the school system should appeal to each individual's specific preferences."

I know this won’t fit your narrative of “one hysterical parent” so you can blindly send your kids into schools to get COVID, but this is multiple people posting.

Point taken.

It can be 100 hysterical parents and it doesn't matter. This isn't a democracy - we all have to follow DCPS and their policies.