Building on ACPS Virtual Thread--what will the fall be like? Best guesses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School board 9 to 0 approved 3 feet and asking to incorporate it asap.

I'm glad that a year into utterly failing children (while publicly mocking and trashing their parents), the SB discovered that they have oversight of Hutchings.

[Anonymous]

Washington Post article on the vote.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/alexandria-schools-three-feet-distance/2021/04/08/af6ca03c-98b3-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School board 9 to 0 approved 3 feet and asking to incorporate it asap.

I'm glad that a year into utterly failing children (while publicly mocking and trashing their parents), the SB discovered that they have oversight of Hutchings.

November 2 is fast approaching, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School board 9 to 0 approved 3 feet and asking to incorporate it asap.

I'm glad that a year into utterly failing children (while publicly mocking and trashing their parents), the SB discovered that they have oversight of Hutchings.

November 2 is fast approaching, I guess.

So is the end of the year when they decide to end Hutchings' contract or not. Or perhaps he'll see the writing on the wall, find a new job and leave ACPS with some rude parting words for parents like he did in Shaker Heights. The only way kids will be back in the fall is if he (and all of his close allies in ACPS) are gone.

The only SB members (in my memory) who have spoken out over this year are Reif, Suarez and Gentry. Gentry was extremely timid but the bar is low.

All of the other members need to go, particularly Alderton who doesn't even have her kids in ACPS schools. They've shown what they are made of & it's not worthy of Alexandria's kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington Post article on the vote.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/alexandria-schools-three-feet-distance/2021/04/08/af6ca03c-98b3-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78_story.html

Except WaPo got this wrong: "On Wednesday, the superintendent had sent a message to families announcing that his Northern Virginia school system of 16,000 would not immediately switch from six to three feet of distancing."

What the message from ACPS said was that ACPS would retain 6-feet distancing through the end of this school year, not that the switch wouldn't be immediate. Big difference. ACPS is NOW saying the switch won't be immediate, can't give a date, etc.

[Anonymous]

As long as they’re using it in Fall, I don’t really care about the rest of the year. Whether there’s more kids or not, or more days a week in school it’s still crappy concurrent learning. I’ve written off useful school this year (and that’s not a knock on teachers, they’re doing a great job with the limitations they have). All I care about is 5 day a week school with no concurrent teaching in Fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as they’re using it in Fall, I don’t really care about the rest of the year. Whether there’s more kids or not, or more days a week in school it’s still crappy concurrent learning. I’ve written off useful school this year (and that’s not a knock on teachers, they’re doing a great job with the limitations they have). All I care about is 5 day a week school with no concurrent teaching in Fall.

Same here. But they need to bring more kids in nd more days now to make sure it works in Fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as they’re using it in Fall, I don’t really care about the rest of the year. Whether there’s more kids or not, or more days a week in school it’s still crappy concurrent learning. I’ve written off useful school this year (and that’s not a knock on teachers, they’re doing a great job with the limitations they have). All I care about is 5 day a week school with no concurrent teaching in Fall.

Unless Hutchings is gone by the end of this school year, I wouldn't count on 5 days a week in the fall. His personality is not one that allows him to admit a mistake and move forward. He digs in and insists that he is correct. And, as he said in a June or July school board meeting, he knows that people who disagree with him are racists.

Although maybe now that the SB has realized that they have a role in this, he'll be forced to move forward.

[Anonymous]

I think you are right. If the school board doesn't do something Hutchings will do what he wants. It seems that's his pattern of behavior based on this article.

https://alextimes.com/2020/09/acps-superintendent-hutchings-leadership/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are right. If the school board doesn't do something Hutchings will do what he wants. It seems that's his pattern of behavior based on this article.

https://alextimes.com/2020/09/acps-superintendent-hutchings-leadership/

+1 He needs to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mayor finally said open the schools.

https://www.alxnow.com/2021/04/08/new-alexandria-mayor-wants-schools-to-fully-open-acps-says-it-wont-happen-this-year/?mc_cid=b4db6ea852&mc_eid=5e8852a8b3

Of course. It's an election year. Too little, too late and too obvious.

And parents will vote for him in droves.

Yeah, probably. The election is before schools need to reopen, so this should be a top issue. You may not like Wilson, but I saw someone post this on OpenACPS earlier - the enemy of my enemy is my friend - which is a good reminder. At this point I don't about anything else in this city other than getting the schools open. Sorry - correction - getting the public schools open. Privates are doing just fine.

The problem with using that trope is that Wilson is a very close professional, political and personal ally of Hutchings. He is not Hutchings' enemy by any means. His new position on opening schools, after a year of closed schools, is politically expedient.

Where the heck do you get that idea? As far as I know, they didn't know each other until the former school board hired Hutchings after a national search conducted by consultants and the board. I haven't seen any evidence that they have any relationship beyond the normal professional interaction that any mayor has with any school superintendent.

And Wilson has two kids in ACPS, so he has just as much interest as the rest of us in getting kids back in school unlike SB members with kids in private schools or no kids in the schools at all. I've seen statements from him fairly consistently over the last several months talking about the importance of getting kids back in school. but the fact of the matter is City Council/mayor have no control over schools as a matter of state law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mayor finally said open the schools.

https://www.alxnow.com/2021/04/08/new-alexandria-mayor-wants-schools-to-fully-open-acps-says-it-wont-happen-this-year/?mc_cid=b4db6ea852&mc_eid=5e8852a8b3

Of course. It's an election year. Too little, too late and too obvious.

And parents will vote for him in droves.

Yeah, probably. The election is before schools need to reopen, so this should be a top issue. You may not like Wilson, but I saw someone post this on OpenACPS earlier - the enemy of my enemy is my friend - which is a good reminder. At this point I don't about anything else in this city other than getting the schools open. Sorry - correction - getting the public schools open. Privates are doing just fine.

The problem with using that trope is that Wilson is a very close professional, political and personal ally of Hutchings. He is not Hutchings' enemy by any means. His new position on opening schools, after a year of closed schools, is politically expedient.

Where the heck do you get that idea? As far as I know, they didn't know each other until the former school board hired Hutchings after a national search conducted by consultants and the board. I haven't seen any evidence that they have any relationship beyond the normal professional interaction that any mayor has with any school superintendent.

And Wilson has two kids in ACPS, so he has just as much interest as the rest of us in getting kids back in school unlike SB members with kids in private schools or no kids in the schools at all. I've seen statements from him fairly consistently over the last several months talking about the importance of getting kids back in school. but the fact of the matter is City Council/mayor have no control over schools as a matter of state law.

FOIA released emails show otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Did you all see the Director of the Alexandria Health Department just abruptly retired? What is going on?

https://www.alxnow.com/2021/04/09/just-in-dr-stephen-haering-suddenly-retires-as-director-of-alexandria-health-department/?fbclid=IwAR3krgKodqfDSpk4U2ezZYmQQmtl6jr9us44g-dK0dIKO0qjKf86orXpof8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you all see the Director of the Alexandria Health Department just abruptly retired? What is going on?

https://www.alxnow.com/2021/04/09/just-in-dr-stephen-haering-suddenly-retires-as-director-of-alexandria-health-department/?fbclid=IwAR3krgKodqfDSpk4U2ezZYmQQmtl6jr9us44g-dK0dIKO0qjKf86orXpof8

This has scapegoat written all over it. Someone has to take the blame for Hutchings', Alderton's and the rest of the SB's negligence.

Hope he tells his side of the story. I think he has a lot to tell on a number of issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mayor finally said open the schools.

https://www.alxnow.com/2021/04/08/new-alexandria-mayor-wants-schools-to-fully-open-acps-says-it-wont-happen-this-year/?mc_cid=b4db6ea852&mc_eid=5e8852a8b3

Of course. It's an election year. Too little, too late and too obvious.

And parents will vote for him in droves.

Yeah, probably. The election is before schools need to reopen, so this should be a top issue. You may not like Wilson, but I saw someone post this on OpenACPS earlier - the enemy of my enemy is my friend - which is a good reminder. At this point I don't about anything else in this city other than getting the schools open. Sorry - correction - getting the public schools open. Privates are doing just fine.

The problem with using that trope is that Wilson is a very close professional, political and personal ally of Hutchings. He is not Hutchings' enemy by any means. His new position on opening schools, after a year of closed schools, is politically expedient.

Where the heck do you get that idea? As far as I know, they didn't know each other until the former school board hired Hutchings after a national search conducted by consultants and the board. I haven't seen any evidence that they have any relationship beyond the normal professional interaction that any mayor has with any school superintendent.

And Wilson has two kids in ACPS, so he has just as much interest as the rest of us in getting kids back in school unlike SB members with kids in private schools or no kids in the schools at all. I've seen statements from him fairly consistently over the last several months talking about the importance of getting kids back in school. but the fact of the matter is City Council/mayor have no control over schools as a matter of state law.

FOIA released emails show otherwise.

Exactly.