When should DC drop its school mask mandate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

I get an error message when I try to join saying that the group can't add more members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

I get an error message when I try to join saying that the group can't add more members.

I'm not the admin, but I'll let her know.

[Anonymous]

A new article about mask in DCPS including comments by Bowser, Mendelson and more. Note there is an upcoming meeting on Thursday.

https://dcist.com/story/22/03/01/bowser-mask-mandate/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An excerpt from a DCPS covid team email this afternoon:

“ We are seeing a city-wide and region-wide increase in COVID-19 cases, and as with previous case increases within our community, those trends are reflected in the number of reported positive cases at schools. We want to assure you that we are monitoring all our school cases closely and remain in constant communication with public health authorities.”

Are cases really increasing or is this just the narrative being woven to justify not lifting the school mask mandate?

DC has been in the red zone (high transmission) as now defined by the CDC for only 1 out of every 5 days in the pandemic so far; so we shouldn’t be bouncing back up into high (masks required) very much outside of seasonal wave periods.

If there’s an uptick right now, it’s because DCPS just had 50,000 students test themselves. More tests, more positives identified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

I get an error message when I try to join saying that the group can't add more members.

Admin increased the group size and you should be able to get in with an updated link posted on the groups.io site. Let us know if it works!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

I get an error message when I try to join saying that the group can't add more members.

Admin increased the group size and you should be able to get in with an updated link posted on the groups.io site. Let us know if it works!

I'm still getting "This group is on the basic plan and already has 100 members." If there's someone I should find on Facebook or email to join the WhatsApp group I can do that. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

A connected method to get involved in advocacy, if the WhatsApp or Urgency of Normal group membership limits are causing issues:

http://www.maskchoicefordckids.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

I get an error message when I try to join saying that the group can't add more members.

Admin increased the group size and you should be able to get in with an updated link posted on the groups.io site. Let us know if it works!

I'm still getting "This group is on the basic plan and already has 100 members." If there's someone I should find on Facebook or email to join the WhatsApp group I can do that. Thank you.

Are you on the OpenDCschools Facebook group? If you post there, somebody will help you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree that masks should come off now, please join our WhatsApp group, which you will find through this IO group:

https://groups.io/g/DMVUrgencyOfNormal

You're maxxed out on members. I'd like to, though.

What do you mean by that?

I get an error message when I try to join saying that the group can't add more members.

Admin increased the group size and you should be able to get in with an updated link posted on the groups.io site. Let us know if it works!

I'm still getting "This group is on the basic plan and already has 100 members." If there's someone I should find on Facebook or email to join the WhatsApp group I can do that. Thank you.

Are you on the OpenDCschools Facebook group? If you post there, somebody will help you.

Or better, post on the DMV urgency of normal io group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An excerpt from a DCPS covid team email this afternoon:

“ We are seeing a city-wide and region-wide increase in COVID-19 cases, and as with previous case increases within our community, those trends are reflected in the number of reported positive cases at schools. We want to assure you that we are monitoring all our school cases closely and remain in constant communication with public health authorities.”

Are cases really increasing or is this just the narrative being woven to justify not lifting the school mask mandate?

DC has been in the red zone (high transmission) as now defined by the CDC for only 1 out of every 5 days in the pandemic so far; so we shouldn’t be bouncing back up into high (masks required) very much outside of seasonal wave periods.

If there’s an uptick right now, it’s because DCPS just had 50,000 students test themselves. More tests, more positives identified.

Of those 50k tests, only 174 were positive. Some of those were false positives. It will be a silly exercise and a poor use of resources if community levels are low in April and they make everyone test again.

[Anonymous]

DCPS should put as much energy they have shown on masking forever into, you know, making education better for all of the kids enrolled!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS should put as much energy they have shown on masking forever into, you know, making education better for all of the kids enrolled!!

+1000

The number of staff hired to do ‘look, look, ask’ and man isolation rooms in each school or whatever should be replaced with literacy specialists and after school enrichment programs to help bring kids up to grade level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS should put as much energy they have shown on masking forever into, you know, making education better for all of the kids enrolled!!

+1000

The number of staff hired to do ‘look, look, ask’ and man isolation rooms in each school or whatever should be replaced with literacy specialists and after school enrichment programs to help bring kids up to grade level.

Good luck finding those literacy specialists. Teachers are quitting in droves having dealt w the last two years. One of the major reasons are all the parents who are now education experts and complain and micro manage.

Unrelated to masks. I haven’t heard any teachers complain for or against parents arguing for masks. They are happy to not wear them outside. They hate not seeing their kids faces but I don’t know how they feel about the risk (real or perceived).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS should put as much energy they have shown on masking forever into, you know, making education better for all of the kids enrolled!!

+1000

The number of staff hired to do ‘look, look, ask’ and man isolation rooms in each school or whatever should be replaced with literacy specialists and after school enrichment programs to help bring kids up to grade level.

Good luck finding those literacy specialists. Teachers are quitting in droves having dealt w the last two years. One of the major reasons are all the parents who are now education experts and complain and micro manage.

Unrelated to masks. I haven’t heard any teachers complain for or against parents arguing for masks. They are happy to not wear them outside. They hate not seeing their kids faces but I don’t know how they feel about the risk (real or perceived).

There is no real risk if they are vaccinated, so we'll have to see how they feel about the perceived risk.