WHAT?! APS now closed 1/6??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ACPS virtual too.

ACPS is closed for students. Teachers have a virtual work day

[Anonymous]

I don’t know why they can’t just tell the truth. People have CoVID. That, combined with the other closures, created the “perfect storm”, so to speak, of not being able to staff the schools. APS has opened plenty of times when FCPS did not. Plenty. The airlines can’t staff all of their flights. My mail just came for the first time in days. I’m still waiting on a dishwasher I ordered two months ago. People need to accept this s—t as kind of our way of life for a little bit, and get over it.

[Anonymous]

Look at LCPS! I don't know how to handle this. Usually we're closed for week while the rest of the area heads back to school. These truly are unprecented times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at LCPS! I don't know how to handle this. Usually we're closed for week while the rest of the area heads back to school. These truly are unprecented times.

Are you kidding? Do you understand what a nor’easter does? Loudoun got nothing this time. Hello!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to say that as an APS teacher who lives in Fairfax and has kids in FCPS, I was planning to go into work. All my friends who are in the same situation were going into work, too. It is simply a known fact that FCPS is a big county that takes more snow days. You need to have childcare plan in mind. I am stunned that this was given as a reason for tomorrow’s closure. I would think that it really is a combination of factors: staff, including drivers, out with COVID; some staff calling in because of no childcare; some staff in outer counties still with poor road conditions; and the ever present problem of lack of subs.

I agree.
And, I realize there are a lot of single parents out there who may be APS teachers but live elsewhere. However, why is the focus only on accommodating teachers who live outside of Arlington? Don't many of them have spouses who could take a day off from THEIR job so the teacher can teach? Why is it the teacher who has to stay home with the kids on their local school's snow day?

As others have noted, this is a problem for every profession. Schools and education need to be re-prioritized in our society.

Many teachers, including myself, are married to spouses who make SIGNIFICANTLY more than I do, like almost 3x. If someone is taking a day off, it is me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to say that as an APS teacher who lives in Fairfax and has kids in FCPS, I was planning to go into work. All my friends who are in the same situation were going into work, too. It is simply a known fact that FCPS is a big county that takes more snow days. You need to have childcare plan in mind. I am stunned that this was given as a reason for tomorrow’s closure. I would think that it really is a combination of factors: staff, including drivers, out with COVID; some staff calling in because of no childcare; some staff in outer counties still with poor road conditions; and the ever present problem of lack of subs.

I agree.
And, I realize there are a lot of single parents out there who may be APS teachers but live elsewhere. However, why is the focus only on accommodating teachers who live outside of Arlington? Don't many of them have spouses who could take a day off from THEIR job so the teacher can teach? Why is it the teacher who has to stay home with the kids on their local school's snow day?

As others have noted, this is a problem for every profession. Schools and education need to be re-prioritized in our society.

Many teachers, including myself, are married to spouses who make SIGNIFICANTLY more than I do, like almost 3x. If someone is taking a day off, it is me.

I’m a teacher. My spouse doesn’t make much more than I do. However, if this poster is suggesting that the burden of child care issues generally fall on women, they’ll get no argument from me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom line is that we need to pat teachers and substitutes more. The fact that so many APS employees live outside of Arlington is a real root of this problem.

Yup.

oooh, nice try, but it doesn't toe the Arlington Democratic party line enough. Try this:

Bottom line is that housing is too expensive for APS employees to live in Arlington. Therefore, we need to build as many affordable housing units as possible. But only south of Langston Blvd.

But building more affordable housing in Arlington causes enrollment to go up much more densely than building single family homes on the same space, which puts more kids in school, which makes schools need more teachers, so it's one big Catch 22 of a snake eating its tale forever and ever amen!

[Anonymous]

tail doh!

[Anonymous]

FCPS parent here - SORRY!!! We don't want the day off either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gee golly. I wonder how schools in other parts of the good old U.S.A. and rest of the world that have school plus COVID are managing to open. A REAL MYSTERY.

FFS, APS.

How exactly should they have opened?

What specifically would you have done differently?

How are falls church city and DCPS opening?

FCC provides childcare for teachers' children - that's how they were able to open last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to say that as an APS teacher who lives in Fairfax and has kids in FCPS, I was planning to go into work. All my friends who are in the same situation were going into work, too. It is simply a known fact that FCPS is a big county that takes more snow days. You need to have childcare plan in mind. I am stunned that this was given as a reason for tomorrow’s closure. I would think that it really is a combination of factors: staff, including drivers, out with COVID; some staff calling in because of no childcare; some staff in outer counties still with poor road conditions; and the ever present problem of lack of subs.

I agree.
And, I realize there are a lot of single parents out there who may be APS teachers but live elsewhere. However, why is the focus only on accommodating teachers who live outside of Arlington? Don't many of them have spouses who could take a day off from THEIR job so the teacher can teach? Why is it the teacher who has to stay home with the kids on their local school's snow day?

As others have noted, this is a problem for every profession. Schools and education need to be re-prioritized in our society.

Let’s be real - most teachers are women and their largely male spouses don’t want to step up and do child care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids' private school is open tomorrow and was open yesterday. Guess this is only a problem for public school teachers, not private school ones.

Another APS equityfail

Your kids go to private for equity reasons- course they do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gee golly. I wonder how schools in other parts of the good old U.S.A. and rest of the world that have school plus COVID are managing to open. A REAL MYSTERY.

FFS, APS.

How exactly should they have opened?

What specifically would you have done differently?

How are falls church city and DCPS opening?

FCC provides childcare for teachers' children - that's how they were able to open last year.

It was a place for school aged children to work on virtual school. In FCPS, children of teachers employed by the district could attend school 4 days in person when they were hybrid. FCC always can open because they are small. That’s the only reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why they can’t just tell the truth. People have CoVID. That, combined with the other closures, created the “perfect storm”, so to speak, of not being able to staff the schools. APS has opened plenty of times when FCPS did not. Plenty. The airlines can’t staff all of their flights. My mail just came for the first time in days. I’m still waiting on a dishwasher I ordered two months ago. People need to accept this s—t as kind of our way of life for a little bit, and get over it.

absolutely this. I'm an APS teacher and in pre-covid times we absolutely could have opened. covid + counties around us cancelling + sub shortage + a required DOJ training for some teachers meant that in my 19 person department, 8 called out (and only 2 of those were for childcare). in normal times those 2 would have been covered or we would have been able to cover for them, but there aren't enough people in my department to cover all of that. admin can't help out because every other department in the building is like that. I was all for going in today, I really was, and am REALLY hoping that tomorrow is a non-weather event and we can get back. the majority of teachers in APS drive me bonkers and last year was embarrassing, but this one really wasn't a childcare issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at LCPS! I don't know how to handle this. Usually we're closed for week while the rest of the area heads back to school. These truly are unprecedented times.

Are you kidding? Do you understand what a nor’easter does? Loudoun got nothing this time. Hello!!!!

Yes. I was kidding.