Covid at SFS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to have confidence in the school when we are having to learn from here that our children may have spent hours in an enclosed classroom with someone carrying Covid.

If that’s the case you’re not paying attention. All of this information is on the school dashboard. Sidwell currently has the lowest positivity rate in weeks. Closing now is a travesty for the children- but apparently their well-being is not the Boards greatest concern.

The dashboard is not enough when your child is in the same grade and possibly same classes. Even my doctor’s office sent me a letter saying that there was a positive patient around the same time frame that I was there. I would expect at least an email from the school when there is a child positive in our section. yet we get an email that a staff worker tested positive who was nowhere near the classrooms??

If concerned/perplexed, pick up the phone and call Health Services. They are very professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to have confidence in the school when we are having to learn from here that our children may have spent hours in an enclosed classroom with someone carrying Covid.

If that’s the case you’re not paying attention. All of this information is on the school dashboard. Sidwell currently has the lowest positivity rate in weeks. Closing now is a travesty for the children- but apparently their well-being is not the Boards greatest concern.

The dashboard is not enough when your child is in the same grade and possibly same classes. Even my doctor’s office sent me a letter saying that there was a positive patient around the same time frame that I was there. I would expect at least an email from the school when there is a child positive in our section. yet we get an email that a staff worker tested positive who was nowhere near the classrooms??

If concerned/perplexed, pick up the phone and call Health Services. They are very professional.

The burden should be on the school not each parent to call

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the word going around upper school is that the kid who tested positive last week is in the 11-12th grade group, was on campus but that the administration DID NOT notify anyone who was in classes or contact with this person. If that is true that destroys any credibility the administration or the MAT has in their ability to keep students safe.

The student was never on campus after being exposed. No one was at risk. That said, there should have been a communication to the families in the cohort.

They can't have 100% confidence that student was never on campus when they were possibly contagious. Unbelievably irresponsible of the administration, sending kids and staff to school flying blind like this is like playing Russian roulette. It shouldn't be that way, the school should have much more robust testing and tracing in place, but the leadership is not there. It is why we keep our kids on DL as much as we wanted them to be able to go back on to campus.

And why those parents who want to keep hybrid going after thanksgiving in the middle of the worst phase of the pandemic are so irresponsible.

Calm down. If a student tested positive, DC Health was informed, an investigation ensued, and anyone who was determined to be at risk of exposure was contacted. The goal isn’t to have zero cases ever because that’s impossible, but to prevent community transmission at school. So far it’s working.

Dont tell me to calm down bitch.

[Anonymous]

I really hope the school opens between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. I don't understand the justification for closing from a scientific perspective. The last three weeks have not resulted in a spike, indeed the rate decreased by 25%. Those families that travel (and I don't know any who are) will need to quarantine just like they currently need to.

Please Board and Bryan, respond favorably to this request or clearly give the reasons why it is being denied.

[Anonymous]

As a parent with kids at 3 different area schools- and one who has been involved in this issue on multiple fronts- I can assure all Sidwell parents that the schools methods, policies and protocols are second to none, on any school in the area. They are also among the most conservative as far as metrics for being on campus and yet- they are the one school (ok, maybe along with GDS) that is dragging feet on reopening. Why? Parents have a right to know this. There is no scientifically supported reason for Sidwell to remain in full distance learning after Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The email was offensive. The parents behind it harvested email addresses from the school directory, in violation of school policy, and then spammed everyone. There is a small cabal of Karens who think they know better than epidemiologists, infections disease experts and an administrator from the top COVD hospital in DC.

What part of this policy did it violate?

The online directory of students and parents can be found on QuakerZone and is a great tool to connect people. The direc- tory may not be used for any kind of solicitation or to circu- late announcements about events except those sponsored by the School or through the Parents Association.

It's neither a solicitation or an event announcement. It's a communication among parents.

Fine to disagree with the letter, what it calls for, or its anonymity. But using email addresses of other parents doesn't violate anything.

[Anonymous]

The online directory of students and parents can be found on QuakerZone and is a great tool to connect people. The direc- tory may not be used for any kind of solicitation or to circu- late announcements about events except those sponsored by the School or through the Parents Association.

It's neither a solicitation or an event announcement. It's a communication among parents.

Fine to disagree with the letter, what it calls for, or its anonymity. But using email addresses of other parents doesn't violate anything.

While it may not be a solicitation (I think it actually is) or an event announcement, it most certainly is not an event "sponsored by the School or through the PA." Come on, now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The online directory of students and parents can be found on QuakerZone and is a great tool to connect people. The direc- tory may not be used for any kind of solicitation or to circu- late announcements about events except those sponsored by the School or through the Parents Association.

It's neither a solicitation or an event announcement. It's a communication among parents.

Fine to disagree with the letter, what it calls for, or its anonymity. But using email addresses of other parents doesn't violate anything.

While it may not be a solicitation (I think it actually is) or an event announcement, it most certainly is not an event "sponsored by the School or through the PA." Come on, now.

Do you hold this same view of parents who have used the directory to send out class wide invitations to birthday parties?

[Anonymous]

The bigger issue is that it’s been over a week since 11/11 and still no word from SFS? This is borderline negligent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really hope the school opens between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. I don't understand the justification for closing from a scientific perspective. The last three weeks have not resulted in a spike, indeed the rate decreased by 25%. Those families that travel (and I don't know any who are) will need to quarantine just like they currently need to.

Please Board and Bryan, respond favorably to this request or clearly give the reasons why it is being denied.

Teachers are quitting over this hybrid plan. And they are tanking the quality of the education provided regardless of whether we are hybrid or in person.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, this really mishandled. I’ve definitely lost trust in the school’s judgment.

[Anonymous]

Why are teachers quitting? They have 100% choice to either remain virtual or go to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think several schools are closing the week after Thanksgiving. Some will even do testing in early Dec before allowing students to return.

“Some” will do testing? My kid’s had weekly COVID tests as required (and provided) by the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger issue is that it’s been over a week since 11/11 and still no word from SFS? This is borderline negligent.

You need to reread the SFS protocol. There is nothing there that I can find that says the school will notify anyone about positive tests, nor should they. That is the job of the health department in contact tracing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bigger issue is that it’s been over a week since 11/11 and still no word from SFS? This is borderline negligent.

You need to reread the SFS protocol. There is nothing there that I can find that says the school will notify anyone about positive tests, nor should they. That is the job of the health department in contact tracing.

Ask the parents of kids who had classes with the infected student and had to figure out amongst themselves who might have had contact. this is a massive fail by the school, the protocol is insufficient. safety AND confidence are key if this is going to work