WTU is demanding a "plan & policy for next week & Jan"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter if Omnicrom is mild or not, it is still COVID. If teachers or students test positive, then unless rules are changed, they cannot come into school and I think it is a 10 day waiting period.

You can have a bunch of kids test positive and kept from school and keep schools open, but if you have a bunch of teachers positive (even if asymptomatic) that are then required to quarantine you cannot keep the school open as there are no subs available. My understanding is teacher positive cases are closing the various schools, more so than too many students.

We are nowhere near the point right now where anyone is going to decide that COVID is endemic and you just carry-on because you are asymptomatic or have an extremely mild case. Since DC does regular testing of students and faculty, and there are many asymptomatic cases, the positive cases are going to jump.

I want schools to stay open as long as they can, but Omnicrom is clearly way more contagious then Delta. The one upside (if you can really call it that) is that it will burn through the population much quicker so we should be on back-end of this by end of January / early February.

Yes, you can keep the school open unless every single teacher tests positive simultaneously (or within a 10-day period). It's conceivable that that might happen, but unlikely.

I'm not saying this isn't going to be rough for a month, but this is a better option than closing schools (since we know how hard it is to open them again).

I can't speak for elementary school but you cannot keep a middle school or high school open if you have a certain percent of teachers out sick. I cannot state the exact number, but I would agree with a poster who said 20%. At that point there is no one to cover classes and you can't combine classes because it increase exposure during an outbreak. It is also a safety issue at some point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our charter has outlined an universal "test to return" policy for January including the dates the PCR test must be taken, how to submit results, and options/information for anyone who doesn't want to test. They (smartly) did not try to limit it base on travel/vax status - it applies to all people (students, teachers, staff). Obviously its not perfect (as it's possible to test on a Friday, and become infected on a Sunday) but it's a really good, common-sense way to start the next year.

We are likely at the same charter. As much as this board warbles on about charters being bad, in this case, the charter really does seem to be able to be more nimble.

Lmao. Charters have higher covid cases and more are closed this week and many are closed longer than the length of winter break.

No? There are multiple DCPS and charter schools that are closed for the next 2/3 days, and DCPS also closed for longer than winter break (3rd and 4th). There's a single charter -- CMI -- that it announced it would close until Jan. 18th.

Also, notably, many of the charters do far more testing than DCPS, so we would expect cases to be higher at charters.

This. Our charter was testing about 90% of staff/students, sent weekly graphs on results, cases, etc…. DCPS I heard barely did 10-15%.

So Lmao poster when you don’t test adequately, your rates will be falsely low and you bought the hook and line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter if Omnicrom is mild or not, it is still COVID. If teachers or students test positive, then unless rules are changed, they cannot come into school and I think it is a 10 day waiting period.

You can have a bunch of kids test positive and kept from school and keep schools open, but if you have a bunch of teachers positive (even if asymptomatic) that are then required to quarantine you cannot keep the school open as there are no subs available. My understanding is teacher positive cases are closing the various schools, more so than too many students.

We are nowhere near the point right now where anyone is going to decide that COVID is endemic and you just carry-on because you are asymptomatic or have an extremely mild case. Since DC does regular testing of students and faculty, and there are many asymptomatic cases, the positive cases are going to jump.

I want schools to stay open as long as they can, but Omnicrom is clearly way more contagious then Delta. The one upside (if you can really call it that) is that it will burn through the population much quicker so we should be on back-end of this by end of January / early February.

Yes, you can keep the school open unless every single teacher tests positive simultaneously (or within a 10-day period). It's conceivable that that might happen, but unlikely.

I'm not saying this isn't going to be rough for a month, but this is a better option than closing schools (since we know how hard it is to open them again).

I can't speak for elementary school but you cannot keep a middle school or high school open if you have a certain percent of teachers out sick. I cannot state the exact number, but I would agree with a poster who said 20%. At that point there is no one to cover classes and you can't combine classes because it increase exposure during an outbreak. It is also a safety issue at some point.

In the case of an elementary school though this is not warranted. They can just close the classrooms where there is no teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter if Omnicrom is mild or not, it is still COVID. If teachers or students test positive, then unless rules are changed, they cannot come into school and I think it is a 10 day waiting period.

You can have a bunch of kids test positive and kept from school and keep schools open, but if you have a bunch of teachers positive (even if asymptomatic) that are then required to quarantine you cannot keep the school open as there are no subs available. My understanding is teacher positive cases are closing the various schools, more so than too many students.

We are nowhere near the point right now where anyone is going to decide that COVID is endemic and you just carry-on because you are asymptomatic or have an extremely mild case. Since DC does regular testing of students and faculty, and there are many asymptomatic cases, the positive cases are going to jump.

I want schools to stay open as long as they can, but Omnicrom is clearly way more contagious then Delta. The one upside (if you can really call it that) is that it will burn through the population much quicker so we should be on back-end of this by end of January / early February.

Yes, you can keep the school open unless every single teacher tests positive simultaneously (or within a 10-day period). It's conceivable that that might happen, but unlikely.

I'm not saying this isn't going to be rough for a month, but this is a better option than closing schools (since we know how hard it is to open them again).

I can't speak for elementary school but you cannot keep a middle school or high school open if you have a certain percent of teachers out sick. I cannot state the exact number, but I would agree with a poster who said 20%. At that point there is no one to cover classes and you can't combine classes because it increase exposure during an outbreak. It is also a safety issue at some point.

In the case of an elementary school though this is not warranted. They can just close the classrooms where there is no teacher.

And, in the case of middle and high schools, if a teacher is out for a particular class, then the students can just have a free period in that classroom. It's ridiculous to shut down classes if the teacher is able to teach in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter if Omnicrom is mild or not, it is still COVID. If teachers or students test positive, then unless rules are changed, they cannot come into school and I think it is a 10 day waiting period.

You can have a bunch of kids test positive and kept from school and keep schools open, but if you have a bunch of teachers positive (even if asymptomatic) that are then required to quarantine you cannot keep the school open as there are no subs available. My understanding is teacher positive cases are closing the various schools, more so than too many students.

We are nowhere near the point right now where anyone is going to decide that COVID is endemic and you just carry-on because you are asymptomatic or have an extremely mild case. Since DC does regular testing of students and faculty, and there are many asymptomatic cases, the positive cases are going to jump.

I want schools to stay open as long as they can, but Omnicrom is clearly way more contagious then Delta. The one upside (if you can really call it that) is that it will burn through the population much quicker so we should be on back-end of this by end of January / early February.

Yes, you can keep the school open unless every single teacher tests positive simultaneously (or within a 10-day period). It's conceivable that that might happen, but unlikely.

I'm not saying this isn't going to be rough for a month, but this is a better option than closing schools (since we know how hard it is to open them again).

I can't speak for elementary school but you cannot keep a middle school or high school open if you have a certain percent of teachers out sick. I cannot state the exact number, but I would agree with a poster who said 20%. At that point there is no one to cover classes and you can't combine classes because it increase exposure during an outbreak. It is also a safety issue at some point.

In the case of an elementary school though this is not warranted. They can just close the classrooms where there is no teacher.

And, in the case of middle and high schools, if a teacher is out for a particular class, then the students can just have a free period in that classroom. It's ridiculous to shut down classes if the teacher is able to teach in person.

Unsupervised? Because the crux of the problem is lack of adults

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter if Omnicrom is mild or not, it is still COVID. If teachers or students test positive, then unless rules are changed, they cannot come into school and I think it is a 10 day waiting period.

You can have a bunch of kids test positive and kept from school and keep schools open, but if you have a bunch of teachers positive (even if asymptomatic) that are then required to quarantine you cannot keep the school open as there are no subs available. My understanding is teacher positive cases are closing the various schools, more so than too many students.

We are nowhere near the point right now where anyone is going to decide that COVID is endemic and you just carry-on because you are asymptomatic or have an extremely mild case. Since DC does regular testing of students and faculty, and there are many asymptomatic cases, the positive cases are going to jump.

I want schools to stay open as long as they can, but Omnicrom is clearly way more contagious then Delta. The one upside (if you can really call it that) is that it will burn through the population much quicker so we should be on back-end of this by end of January / early February.

Yes, you can keep the school open unless every single teacher tests positive simultaneously (or within a 10-day period). It's conceivable that that might happen, but unlikely.

I'm not saying this isn't going to be rough for a month, but this is a better option than closing schools (since we know how hard it is to open them again).

I can't speak for elementary school but you cannot keep a middle school or high school open if you have a certain percent of teachers out sick. I cannot state the exact number, but I would agree with a poster who said 20%. At that point there is no one to cover classes and you can't combine classes because it increase exposure during an outbreak. It is also a safety issue at some point.

In the case of an elementary school though this is not warranted. They can just close the classrooms where there is no teacher.

And, in the case of middle and high schools, if a teacher is out for a particular class, then the students can just have a free period in that classroom. It's ridiculous to shut down classes if the teacher is able to teach in person.

This just does not reflect reality for a DCPS school. No way they leave a class unattended and no adult supervision...can you imagine the lawsuits if something happened? There is way too much polyannish thinking on what they "should" do vs. what they are legally/union-bound to do.

[Anonymous]

Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

The chancellor and vice chancellor of a school system in which a majority of students cannot read, write or do mathematics on grade level should be in the office. Leading, working and setting an example from the top for principals and teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

All those central office staff working from home could also be in person subbing to keep schools open. But we don't see that happening, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

The chancellor and vice chancellor of a school system in which a majority of students cannot read, write or do mathematics on grade level should be in the office. Leading, working and setting an example from the top for principals and teachers.

I mean, that doesn't make sense but ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

The chancellor and vice chancellor of a school system in which a majority of students cannot read, write or do mathematics on grade level should be in the office. Leading, working and setting an example from the top for principals and teachers.

I mean, that doesn't make sense but ok.

DP: How about this? The people in leadership telling us schools are safe and robustly implementing mitigation efforts should be working daily in schools to show that they also would feel safe in schools. If nothing else, we’d appreciate the extra bodies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

The chancellor and vice chancellor of a school system in which a majority of students cannot read, write or do mathematics on grade level should be in the office. Leading, working and setting an example from the top for principals and teachers.

I mean, that doesn't make sense but ok.

DP: How about this? The people in leadership telling us schools are safe and robustly implementing mitigation efforts should be working daily in schools to show that they also would feel safe in schools. If nothing else, we’d appreciate the extra bodies!

...they have jobs, that people expect them to do? Like, I'd imagine, coordinate covid responses and notifications? Pretty sure they aren't just hanging out doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not at all a fan of WTU. But, given the fact that all DCPS leaders and all of OSSE--including the chancellor and vice chancellor--are all AT HOME, I do not at all blame the teachers' union for wanting to board the gravy train.

Some people's jobs can be done remotely without loss of productivity. Some people's jobs cannot.

The chancellor and vice chancellor of a school system in which a majority of students cannot read, write or do mathematics on grade level should be in the office. Leading, working and setting an example from the top for principals and teachers.

I mean, that doesn't make sense but ok.

DP: How about this? The people in leadership telling us schools are safe and robustly implementing mitigation efforts should be working daily in schools to show that they also would feel safe in schools. If nothing else, we’d appreciate the extra bodies!

...they have jobs, that people expect them to do? Like, I'd imagine, coordinate covid responses and notifications? Pretty sure they aren't just hanging out doing nothing.

Yep and Covid coordination is one they are supposed to be doing. In fact, we got an email in October that each school would get an on site covid coordinator. Wanna guess if that’s happened yet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter if Omnicrom is mild or not, it is still COVID. If teachers or students test positive, then unless rules are changed, they cannot come into school and I think it is a 10 day waiting period.

You can have a bunch of kids test positive and kept from school and keep schools open, but if you have a bunch of teachers positive (even if asymptomatic) that are then required to quarantine you cannot keep the school open as there are no subs available. My understanding is teacher positive cases are closing the various schools, more so than too many students.

We are nowhere near the point right now where anyone is going to decide that COVID is endemic and you just carry-on because you are asymptomatic or have an extremely mild case. Since DC does regular testing of students and faculty, and there are many asymptomatic cases, the positive cases are going to jump.

I want schools to stay open as long as they can, but Omnicrom is clearly way more contagious then Delta. The one upside (if you can really call it that) is that it will burn through the population much quicker so we should be on back-end of this by end of January / early February.

Yes, you can keep the school open unless every single teacher tests positive simultaneously (or within a 10-day period). It's conceivable that that might happen, but unlikely.

I'm not saying this isn't going to be rough for a month, but this is a better option than closing schools (since we know how hard it is to open them again).

I can't speak for elementary school but you cannot keep a middle school or high school open if you have a certain percent of teachers out sick. I cannot state the exact number, but I would agree with a poster who said 20%. At that point there is no one to cover classes and you can't combine classes because it increase exposure during an outbreak. It is also a safety issue at some point.

In the case of an elementary school though this is not warranted. They can just close the classrooms where there is no teacher.

And, in the case of middle and high schools, if a teacher is out for a particular class, then the students can just have a free period in that classroom. It's ridiculous to shut down classes if the teacher is able to teach in person.

This just does not reflect reality for a DCPS school. No way they leave a class unattended and no adult supervision...can you imagine the lawsuits if something happened? There is way too much polyannish thinking on what they "should" do vs. what they are legally/union-bound to do.

+1000

Leave a bunch of middle or high schools alone for a free period??? Without an adult? That is just not okay in any public school. If a certain percent of teachers are out, the school cannot safely function. Safe means students are supervised during school hours by adults.