DCPS 21/22 - Hybrid, All virtual or In-person? What you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

What’s the risk for the “general population”? I work from home, I have a much lower risk than someone who works in a grocery store or a hospital.

And why do you think it's ok for teachers to demand a lower risk than other essential workers?

I didn’t say that I thought it was okay. I was just asking what you meant by the risk of infection for the general population. Obviously one’s job, exposure level, regional location, etc. will change someone’s exposure risk. Just pointing out a bad argument on your part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s unbelievable that people are spouting such vitriol about schools opening in 2021 as if teachers never want to return to the buildings.

Please continue this outrage when school is back to normal. Make your kids do their schoolwork, stop letting them stay up all night, stop taking two week vacations to ski during the middle of the school year. Ask your principal why your school smells, where is the hand soap, where are the paper towels? Please keep it going!

Your resentful comment is awful. Read this thread and the comments of parents and kids who are suffering through the DL ordeal:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/938532.page

Trust me, parents who take two weeks to go "ski vacations" are the least hurt by all of this. They are in private schools by now or in pods with tutors.

You should care more about how your students are doing instead of bashing parents who want the best for their DC.

I see you only referenced the ski vacations comment. It’s obvious that I care. I’m asking parents to make sure their
kids rest and do their schoolwork when
school is back to normal. Worry about hygiene and cleanliness. I guess that’s asking too much of parents. That new grading policy will serve you well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s unbelievable that people are spouting such vitriol about schools opening in 2021 as if teachers never want to return to the buildings.

Please continue this outrage when school is back to normal. Make your kids do their schoolwork, stop letting them stay up all night, stop taking two week vacations to ski during the middle of the school year. Ask your principal why your school smells, where is the hand soap, where are the paper towels? Please keep it going!

Your resentful comment is awful. Read this thread and the comments of parents and kids who are suffering through the DL ordeal:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/938532.page

Trust me, parents who take two weeks to go "ski vacations" are the least hurt by all of this. They are in private schools by now or in pods with tutors.

You should care more about how your students are doing instead of bashing parents who want the best for their DC.

I see you only referenced the ski vacations comment. It’s obvious that I care. I’m asking parents to make sure their
kids rest and do their schoolwork when
school is back to normal. Worry about hygiene and cleanliness. I guess that’s asking too much of parents. That new grading policy will serve you well.

And you should worry about your students being set up for failure and falling behind. You should worry about my neighbor who lost her job due to Covid and hasn't looked for a new job so she can help her kids with DL, yet also risks not being able to pay for her mortgage. You should worry about not being a resentful teacher who thinks parents don't care or aren't trying hard. You should worry about how to go back to the classroom and serve the kids who need you the most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s unbelievable that people are spouting such vitriol about schools opening in 2021 as if teachers never want to return to the buildings.

Please continue this outrage when school is back to normal. Make your kids do their schoolwork, stop letting them stay up all night, stop taking two week vacations to ski during the middle of the school year. Ask your principal why your school smells, where is the hand soap, where are the paper towels? Please keep it going!

Your resentful comment is awful. Read this thread and the comments of parents and kids who are suffering through the DL ordeal:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/938532.page

Trust me, parents who take two weeks to go "ski vacations" are the least hurt by all of this. They are in private schools by now or in pods with tutors.

You should care more about how your students are doing instead of bashing parents who want the best for their DC.

I see you only referenced the ski vacations comment. It’s obvious that I care. I’m asking parents to make sure their
kids rest and do their schoolwork when
school is back to normal. Worry about hygiene and cleanliness. I guess that’s asking too much of parents. That new grading policy will serve you well.

And you should worry about your students being set up for failure and falling behind. You should worry about my neighbor who lost her job due to Covid and hasn't looked for a new job so she can help her kids with DL, yet also risks not being able to pay for her mortgage. You should worry about not being a resentful teacher who thinks parents don't care or aren't trying hard. You should worry about how to go back to the classroom and serve the kids who need you the most.

Seems your argument should be with those in the position to make decisions, not some random teacher hasn’t said one word about not wanting in person learning. Your neighbor losing her job, while sad, has nothing to do with this topic. That’s a failure of the government, not a DCPS teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

What’s the risk for the “general population”? I work from home, I have a much lower risk than someone who works in a grocery store or a hospital.

And why do you think it's ok for teachers to demand a lower risk than other essential workers?

I didn’t say that I thought it was okay. I was just asking what you meant by the risk of infection for the general population. Obviously one’s job, exposure level, regional location, etc. will change someone’s exposure risk. Just pointing out a bad argument on your part.

It's not a bad argument, it's an argument based on statistics. Obviously, if you compare teachers to one specific group of the population that has either a particularly high or a particularly low risk, you will get varying results. But on the population level, you can look at the risk of teachers compared to the general population. If the Covid infection numbers among teachers who are teaching in person is 400 per 100.000 people and that matches the infection rates among the 20 to 65 age group within the general population, teachers have comparable risk to the average risk of the population overall.

This is what they found in Germany (sorry, I don't have an English-language link): https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/corona-infektionsrisiko-lehrer-erzieher-100.html

In Scotland, they even found that teachers are at less risk than other people of working age: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-in-scotland-teachers-are-less-at-risk-than-other-workers-sg3gg9xjc

In Sweden, they also found teachers' risk to be lower than average: https://www.thelocal.se/20200625/study-these-are-the-professions-which-are-over-represented-in-swedens-coronavirus-statistics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

Teachers are largely minorities and something like 80% have pre-existing conditions. I’m ok with waiting until Fall of 2021. They should bring back ES and kids with IEPs this Spring if possible. I’m pretty shocked at how inflexible so many parents are during a pandemic. The amount of whining over schools when the Trump administration completely f**ked up a response to this crisis. We got what the people voted for... Perhaps Biden will get this sh*t together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

Teachers are largely minorities and something like 80% have pre-existing conditions. I’m ok with waiting until Fall of 2021. They should bring back ES and kids with IEPs this Spring if possible. I’m pretty shocked at how inflexible so many parents are during a pandemic. The amount of whining over schools when the Trump administration completely f**ked up a response to this crisis. We got what the people voted for... Perhaps Biden will get this sh*t together.

So you agree ES should open before the fall... I would think that most of the parents "whining" that schools should open (something that other countries understand is a legitimate need) are parents of young kids, for whom DL is entirely inadequate. And I believe that those parents have already shown plenty of flexibility over the last 9 months. I'm pretty shocked Americans think it's ok to keep schools closed for over a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

Teachers are largely minorities and something like 80% have pre-existing conditions. I’m ok with waiting until Fall of 2021. They should bring back ES and kids with IEPs this Spring if possible. I’m pretty shocked at how inflexible so many parents are during a pandemic. The amount of whining over schools when the Trump administration completely f**ked up a response to this crisis. We got what the people voted for... Perhaps Biden will get this sh*t together.

A sad state of affairs if it's true that 80% of US (or DC?) teachers have preexisting conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

What’s the risk for the “general population”? I work from home, I have a much lower risk than someone who works in a grocery store or a hospital.

And why do you think it's ok for teachers to demand a lower risk than other essential workers?

I didn’t say that I thought it was okay. I was just asking what you meant by the risk of infection for the general population. Obviously one’s job, exposure level, regional location, etc. will change someone’s exposure risk. Just pointing out a bad argument on your part.

It's not a bad argument, it's an argument based on statistics. Obviously, if you compare teachers to one specific group of the population that has either a particularly high or a particularly low risk, you will get varying results. But on the population level, you can look at the risk of teachers compared to the general population. If the Covid infection numbers among teachers who are teaching in person is 400 per 100.000 people and that matches the infection rates among the 20 to 65 age group within the general population, teachers have comparable risk to the average risk of the population overall.

This is what they found in Germany (sorry, I don't have an English-language link): https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/corona-infektionsrisiko-lehrer-erzieher-100.html

In Scotland, they even found that teachers are at less risk than other people of working age: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-in-scotland-teachers-are-less-at-risk-than-other-workers-sg3gg9xjc

In Sweden, they also found teachers' risk to be lower than average: https://www.thelocal.se/20200625/study-these-are-the-professions-which-are-over-represented-in-swedens-coronavirus-statistics

Most of the teachers at our neighborhood school are Black, as well as most of the students. What about their statistical risk vs the general population?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

Teachers are largely minorities and something like 80% have pre-existing conditions. I’m ok with waiting until Fall of 2021. They should bring back ES and kids with IEPs this Spring if possible. I’m pretty shocked at how inflexible so many parents are during a pandemic. The amount of whining over schools when the Trump administration completely f**ked up a response to this crisis. We got what the people voted for... Perhaps Biden will get this sh*t together.

A sad state of affairs if it's true that 80% of US (or DC?) teachers have preexisting conditions.

Do you have a source for that 80% statistic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

What’s the risk for the “general population”? I work from home, I have a much lower risk than someone who works in a grocery store or a hospital.

And why do you think it's ok for teachers to demand a lower risk than other essential workers?

I didn’t say that I thought it was okay. I was just asking what you meant by the risk of infection for the general population. Obviously one’s job, exposure level, regional location, etc. will change someone’s exposure risk. Just pointing out a bad argument on your part.

It's not a bad argument, it's an argument based on statistics. Obviously, if you compare teachers to one specific group of the population that has either a particularly high or a particularly low risk, you will get varying results. But on the population level, you can look at the risk of teachers compared to the general population. If the Covid infection numbers among teachers who are teaching in person is 400 per 100.000 people and that matches the infection rates among the 20 to 65 age group within the general population, teachers have comparable risk to the average risk of the population overall.

This is what they found in Germany (sorry, I don't have an English-language link): https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/corona-infektionsrisiko-lehrer-erzieher-100.html

In Scotland, they even found that teachers are at less risk than other people of working age: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-in-scotland-teachers-are-less-at-risk-than-other-workers-sg3gg9xjc

In Sweden, they also found teachers' risk to be lower than average: https://www.thelocal.se/20200625/study-these-are-the-professions-which-are-over-represented-in-swedens-coronavirus-statistics

Most of the teachers at our neighborhood school are Black, as well as most of the students. What about their statistical risk vs the general population?

The point is to assess the risk of teaching in person vs the average risk of the general population. If you want to assess the relative risk of specific racial groups among the teaching staff vs the general population, you have to compare the risk of Black teachers to the risk of the general population of Blacks, not the risk of Black teachers to the risk of the general population of all races. The relevant question is if Black teachers are at higher risk than Blacks overall. It is unlikely the answer to that question would differ from what the data reported above show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1000. The WTU has its own agenda, weaponizing Covid fear-mongering to hem, haw and drag feet.

The WTU could just as easily have supported innovating to reopen elementary schools as safely as possible. That's being done all around the country and the world.

I don’t agree. I think DCPS teachers are very high risk for getting very sick. With that said, I think kids will be back in school in the Fall.

Why do you think this? The data show teachers who teach in person are at no higher risk of infection than the general population.

Teachers are largely minorities and something like 80% have pre-existing conditions. I’m ok with waiting until Fall of 2021. They should bring back ES and kids with IEPs this Spring if possible. I’m pretty shocked at how inflexible so many parents are during a pandemic. The amount of whining over schools when the Trump administration completely f**ked up a response to this crisis. We got what the people voted for... Perhaps Biden will get this sh*t together.

So you agree ES should open before the fall... I would think that most of the parents "whining" that schools should open (something that other countries understand is a legitimate need) are parents of young kids, for whom DL is entirely inadequate. And I believe that those parents have already shown plenty of flexibility over the last 9 months. I'm pretty shocked Americans think it's ok to keep schools closed for over a year.

+1

It’s also sad we assume all kids have cushy living situations that make this tenable. There are undoubtedly children falling through the cracks and thief life trajectory will be altered by having no in person school, extra supports, etc. It is terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anything but a normal, full-time school year would be a complete failure. There is no reason why school can’t open full-time in the fall.

+1. Absolutely ridiculous if we are not fully open in the Fall.

+1 I'm moving out of DC if schools aren't reopen fully in the Fall. We have a 2nd and 4th grader. The 2nd grade year has been absolutely soul-crushing in how awful it's been. My kids can't afford to miss another year of school if DC doesn't get their act together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on, all DCPS teachers aren't at high risk of getting sick, let alone most. This thinking is just another "pander to the lowest common denominator" tactic. It's true that some DCPS elementary schools don't have the plant facilities to open safely. Most do. My kids' DCPS has already reopened for around 1/4 of the kids, with teachers teaching. By the 3rd quarter, looks like we'll have at least half back. Nobody involved has been sick.

Open the elementary schools that have good ventilation this winter, and think outside the box to meet the needs of the kids whose plant facilities are inadequate, and are likely to remain so for the rest of the school year.

Hint: dozens of DCPS middle and high school buildings with good HVAC systems, windows that open etc. are sitting empty. Teach elementary school kids in these buildings, pronto. Focus on getting all the ES kids back into school in the 3rd quarter, even if they have to sit at desks designed for teens. Just do it.

1/4 of kids in school? That's like another universe from my daughter Ward 3 school. Do you mind sharing what school that is?