Lafayette OPEN in a real way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Parent here from one of the schools opening 4 days/wk.

First, I do not begrudge anyone an in person learning opportunity. For all those who have new or existing learning opportunities that they want--congratulations and I wish you the best of health and education. That said, spare me the rants that my differing opinion (which is not going to impact your kids' opportunity) is ruining your life.

Here's my issues: We filled out a term 4 survey (currently all virtual) and we, with some hesitation, elected to request in person seats for our kids for the 4th term. We did this with the understanding that the kids would be cohorted in small groups and with 6ft distancing between desks. Now we are offered something totally different that, in my assessment, throws caution to the wind as cases are rising again, testing practices have been ridiculously reduced in the schools, variants are spreading and 75% of the kids in my kids' classes are gleefully announcing their spring break travel plans during morning meetings.

So, I am happy for those for whom this is an answer to prayers and desires. This is not what our family signed up for and I'm not sure that with our family and life circumstances we can take on this risk.


If you insist and protest that your kid's teacher should not change it does. You did not indicate you are but virtual families who are resisting and/or trying to disrupt the path Lafayette is on are affecting everyone else.

Here's the thing: you have a beef with a group of people at Lafayette. You clearly did not take time to read what I had written. I calmly laid out my concerns/dilemma and also quite clearly stated that I am not standing in the way of anyone else. My family will make the choice that we need to make for our family within the context of our life circumstances--quietly and without drama. If we remain virtual and have alterations to our children's schedules and teaching staff, this will not be the first time this year. This is something we will have to accept at this point if we ultimately decide not to accept an in person spot. For the record, I am at a one of the other schools opening with a similar plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does this apply for ALL students who want to come back? Or just a lucky few? my understanding is some schools (Stoddert) can only accomodate some students- not all who want in person can get it.

Thanks for any insight

Stoddert parent here. Yes, there are less teachers in the classroom than at other schools and hybrid was only introduced in second and fourth grades. Instead it was decided to offer one classroom per grade level of 11 students only instead of including more children with a hybrid system. In term four there will be a second classroom of hybrid added to each grade level. Not the worst reopening in DCPS -- and to their credit they resisted the ridiculous option of adding cares classrooms (their is only one - the minimum) -- but when compared to Key for example Stoddert has been much less open. I believe that Key parents are much more involved, and this is part of the reason. I also think that as another poster said principals at schools that are open have helpe to motivate their teachers to understand the importance of in-person learning.

Do you expect to see an improvement to this in the fall. thanks!

I believe that for five full days per week in the fall the advocacy needs to continue. DCPS needs also to commit to simulcast. If there are DL only classrooms it may throw off the spacing. DCPS needs to not offer the ADA exemptions for the fall. It should be informing teachers and staff as of now that these will not be offered.

Heck no. I don’t support simulcast. As a self contained teacher doing exactly that it sucks! The child online just isn’t as engaged and it sucks having to try just because the parents don’t feel it’s safe...regardless if we haven’t had a single case...
It’s also so much extra work to create activities that will transfer to online AND in person.

And I bet you accommodations will be offered in the fall. I hope not though, DL shouldn’t be an option in the fall.

Privates and surrounding school districts are all using simulcast. It will hopefully decline to just a few DL students. This is the way to open a school district five days per week. For those of you who do not understand simulcast is a webcam in the classroom so the webcam films instruction. If we promote full classrooms of distance learning, parents will not have the option of switching to in person during the schoolyear. This will also impact the In-person classrooms. I realize that this option is less attractive to teachers who do not want to deal with the at home students, but this is the best path forward for students and all school districts in the dc area except dcps and all privates I have heard of are using this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

That's not safe.

Your opinion. Stay virtual. Don't ruin this for the rest of us.

This has been the most exhausting part of the reopening debate. So many parents don’t understand that schools don’t have more teachers magically appearing. Virtual learning is going to be worse as teachers are being asked to fill two roles at once. All of these loud parents pushing for IPL don’t realize that they are also resource hoarding teachers from the families that either A) don’t feel safe returning B) have to work and don’t have an aftercare provider to rely on so they can’t send their kids back.
It is DISGUSTING to hear the “don’t ruin it for the rest of us” crowd. This is exactly what that study was talking about. Who do you think the “them” is in this scenario?

What are you talking about? For the last 9 weeks of the year, kids who remain virtual will be paired with a class abs teacher who is also virtual. That IMPROVES things for them. This isn’t about resource hoarding, it’s about giving everyone- the kids and the teachers- the best experience they can have based on the family’s choice. It’s the opposite of what you are writing. Virtual and IPL teachers are now NOT expected to fill two roles at once. They go back to focusing on one group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does this apply for ALL students who want to come back? Or just a lucky few? my understanding is some schools (Stoddert) can only accomodate some students- not all who want in person can get it.

Thanks for any insight

Stoddert parent here. Yes, there are less teachers in the classroom than at other schools and hybrid was only introduced in second and fourth grades. Instead it was decided to offer one classroom per grade level of 11 students only instead of including more children with a hybrid system. In term four there will be a second classroom of hybrid added to each grade level. Not the worst reopening in DCPS -- and to their credit they resisted the ridiculous option of adding cares classrooms (their is only one - the minimum) -- but when compared to Key for example Stoddert has been much less open. I believe that Key parents are much more involved, and this is part of the reason. I also think that as another poster said principals at schools that are open have helpe to motivate their teachers to understand the importance of in-person learning.

Do you expect to see an improvement to this in the fall. thanks!

I believe that for five full days per week in the fall the advocacy needs to continue. DCPS needs also to commit to simulcast. If there are DL only classrooms it may throw off the spacing. DCPS needs to not offer the ADA exemptions for the fall. It should be informing teachers and staff as of now that these will not be offered.

Heck no. I don’t support simulcast. As a self contained teacher doing exactly that it sucks! The child online just isn’t as engaged and it sucks having to try just because the parents don’t feel it’s safe...regardless if we haven’t had a single case...
It’s also so much extra work to create activities that will transfer to online AND in person.

And I bet you accommodations will be offered in the fall. I hope not though, DL shouldn’t be an option in the fall.

This. Schools should reopen as they were pre-pandemic. DCPS should expand virtual schools for those who want it. Right now, each school has to operate both which isn't working well for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

That's not safe.

Your opinion. Stay virtual. Don't ruin this for the rest of us.

This has been the most exhausting part of the reopening debate. So many parents don’t understand that schools don’t have more teachers magically appearing. Virtual learning is going to be worse as teachers are being asked to fill two roles at once. All of these loud parents pushing for IPL don’t realize that they are also resource hoarding teachers from the families that either A) don’t feel safe returning B) have to work and don’t have an aftercare provider to rely on so they can’t send their kids back.
It is DISGUSTING to hear the “don’t ruin it for the rest of us” crowd. This is exactly what that study was talking about. Who do you think the “them” is in this scenario?


What are you talking about? For the last 9 weeks of the year, kids who remain virtual will be paired with a class abs teacher who is also virtual. That IMPROVES things for them. This isn’t about resource hoarding, it’s about giving everyone- the kids and the teachers- the best experience they can have based on the family’s choice. It’s the opposite of what you are writing. Virtual and IPL teachers are now NOT expected to fill two roles at once. They go back to focusing on one group.

+1000

Lafayette hired a new teacher for K term 4 IPL. So now there are 9 or 10 K teachers - 5 or 6 in person and 4 virtual. Of the 15-30 K kids who will remain virtual, they will have 4 teachers. How is this resource hoarding? This means virtual class sizes of 4-8 kids! This is just one grade obviously but disproves resource hoarding.

And the argument on aftercare is that there should be no school if there is no aftercare? This is bizarre. We are 2 parents working full time and it’s much more challenging to work when our child is home half day than when in school for a full school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

That's not safe.

Your opinion. Stay virtual. Don't ruin this for the rest of us.

This has been the most exhausting part of the reopening debate. So many parents don’t understand that schools don’t have more teachers magically appearing. Virtual learning is going to be worse as teachers are being asked to fill two roles at once. All of these loud parents pushing for IPL don’t realize that they are also resource hoarding teachers from the families that either A) don’t feel safe returning B) have to work and don’t have an aftercare provider to rely on so they can’t send their kids back.
It is DISGUSTING to hear the “don’t ruin it for the rest of us” crowd. This is exactly what that study was talking about. Who do you think the “them” is in this scenario?

In this case, the chief whiner or "them" is a wealthy white woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why those who don't want to go back care what others do. If you don't want to come back, stay virtual. Why are you even commenting?

Because with the way that our public education system is designed, the resource allocation to one area means less allocation to another. As was made abundantly clear in the council hearing today, the mayor is not designating funds to ensure that schools can cater to all of their needs, so they are forced to make choices. Separating the student population of the District of Columbia into two segments - In Person (majority white) and Distance Learning (majority non-white) - does not mean that the education provided to the two groups will be equal if the funding is not divided equitably.

Fact check: IPL students are majority of color reflecting the demographics of DCPS, but demand is higher among the minority of whites in DCPS. I just think it is worth correcting, because I think it has been overemphasize that pocs don't want IPL and whites do. The issue has just become more politicized than it should be.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

The CDC doesn't think it's safe, unless the classrooms are big enough for the kids to sit 6' apart. They are not. You can decide whether you trust Dr. Fauci or Dr. Broquard to make public health decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

That's not safe.

Your opinion. Stay virtual. Don't ruin this for the rest of us.

This has been the most exhausting part of the reopening debate. So many parents don’t understand that schools don’t have more teachers magically appearing. Virtual learning is going to be worse as teachers are being asked to fill two roles at once. All of these loud parents pushing for IPL don’t realize that they are also resource hoarding teachers from the families that either A) don’t feel safe returning B) have to work and don’t have an aftercare provider to rely on so they can’t send their kids back.
It is DISGUSTING to hear the “don’t ruin it for the rest of us” crowd. This is exactly what that study was talking about. Who do you think the “them” is in this scenario?


What are you talking about? For the last 9 weeks of the year, kids who remain virtual will be paired with a class abs teacher who is also virtual. That IMPROVES things for them. This isn’t about resource hoarding, it’s about giving everyone- the kids and the teachers- the best experience they can have based on the family’s choice. It’s the opposite of what you are writing. Virtual and IPL teachers are now NOT expected to fill two roles at once. They go back to focusing on one group.

+1000

Lafayette hired a new teacher for K term 4 IPL. So now there are 9 or 10 K teachers - 5 or 6 in person and 4 virtual. Of the 15-30 K kids who will remain virtual, they will have 4 teachers. How is this resource hoarding? This means virtual class sizes of 4-8 kids! This is just one grade obviously but disproves resource hoarding.

And the argument on aftercare is that there should be no school if there is no aftercare? This is bizarre. We are 2 parents working full time and it’s much more challenging to work when our child is home half day than when in school for a full school day.

Lafayette hired...you realize that most schools don’t have the option and almost district wide teachers are going to have to be a doing IPL and VL. It’s rare schools have the personnel to dedicate teachers to both. But again, this is the problem with this forums perspective. Lafayette being able to do something means that everywhere can is sily

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

That's not safe.

Your opinion. Stay virtual. Don't ruin this for the rest of us.

This has been the most exhausting part of the reopening debate. So many parents don’t understand that schools don’t have more teachers magically appearing. Virtual learning is going to be worse as teachers are being asked to fill two roles at once. All of these loud parents pushing for IPL don’t realize that they are also resource hoarding teachers from the families that either A) don’t feel safe returning B) have to work and don’t have an aftercare provider to rely on so they can’t send their kids back.
It is DISGUSTING to hear the “don’t ruin it for the rest of us” crowd. This is exactly what that study was talking about. Who do you think the “them” is in this scenario?


What are you talking about? For the last 9 weeks of the year, kids who remain virtual will be paired with a class abs teacher who is also virtual. That IMPROVES things for them. This isn’t about resource hoarding, it’s about giving everyone- the kids and the teachers- the best experience they can have based on the family’s choice. It’s the opposite of what you are writing. Virtual and IPL teachers are now NOT expected to fill two roles at once. They go back to focusing on one group.

+1000

Lafayette hired a new teacher for K term 4 IPL. So now there are 9 or 10 K teachers - 5 or 6 in person and 4 virtual. Of the 15-30 K kids who will remain virtual, they will have 4 teachers. How is this resource hoarding? This means virtual class sizes of 4-8 kids! This is just one grade obviously but disproves resource hoarding.

Lafayette hired...you realize that most schools don’t have the option and almost district wide teachers are going to have to be a doing IPL and VL. It’s rare schools have the personnel to dedicate teachers to both. But again, this is the problem with this forums perspective. Lafayette being able to do something means that everywhere can is sily

“And the argument on aftercare is that there should be no school if there is no aftercare? This is bizarre. We are 2 parents working full time and it’s much more challenging to work when our child is home half day than when in school for a full school day.”
I’m speaking of those families who don’t have the option to WFH, typically the jobs that employ more disadvantaged families. They are unable to leave their job at 3 pm to pick up kids.
Empathy and perspective, not to be found on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major excitement! We can’t wait. One thing is puzzling. Classes of 22 will eat lunch together in classrooms. Is that safe?

Of course not.

E-mail the Principal. She probably has good reasons in making these decisions. Let her explain to you why she feels this is safe.
She is not reckless and wouldn’t do something stupid.

There has been no attempt at explaining why anyone thinks this is safe. The only explanation has been that DCPS allows Principals to make these decisions and that she does not work for the CDC. Clearly a lot of people think it's fine to disregard CDC guidelines and accept all of the risks that go along with that (for all of us, not just the kids going to school). That's where things are. It's not safe and no one is pretending it is.

A better starting point would be to acknowledge that it's not safe but we are doing it anyway because it's also not great to have kids out of school.

[Anonymous]

So these are regular sized classes? What COVID precautions are taking place? Are the classrooms large enough to maintain 3 ft distancing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does this apply for ALL students who want to come back? Or just a lucky few? my understanding is some schools (Stoddert) can only accomodate some students- not all who want in person can get it.

Thanks for any insight

Stoddert parent here. Yes, there are less teachers in the classroom than at other schools and hybrid was only introduced in second and fourth grades. Instead it was decided to offer one classroom per grade level of 11 students only instead of including more children with a hybrid system. In term four there will be a second classroom of hybrid added to each grade level. Not the worst reopening in DCPS -- and to their credit they resisted the ridiculous option of adding cares classrooms (their is only one - the minimum) -- but when compared to Key for example Stoddert has been much less open. I believe that Key parents are much more involved, and this is part of the reason. I also think that as another poster said principals at schools that are open have helpe to motivate their teachers to understand the importance of in-person learning.

Do you expect to see an improvement to this in the fall. thanks!

I believe that for five full days per week in the fall the advocacy needs to continue. DCPS needs also to commit to simulcast. If there are DL only classrooms it may throw off the spacing. DCPS needs to not offer the ADA exemptions for the fall. It should be informing teachers and staff as of now that these will not be offered.

I disagree with simulcast. Families who wish to remain virtual in the Fall should "attend" virtual schools like Friendship. It's too hard for a school to try to both IPL and virtual well, so give the virtual kids a real chance by giving them placements at a school that provides all resources just for virtual and let everyone else have real school. Otherwise everyone gets half measures.

I completely concur that DCPS shouldn't offer ADA exemptions. There's no reason to offer them now, except the Mayor is afraid of losing the votes from WTU supporters. Very few people have a true medical reason to not get the vaccine. I'd be shocked if more than a couple DCPS teachers actually qualified as having a *valid* medical reason they can't get the vaccine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:god the parents at lafayette make me so happy we aren't there and that i have the community we do at our school

It really is the worst. It's very good to know that other schools have supportive communities and that Lafayette is uniquely awful.

[Anonymous]

I empathize with you about simulcast, but DCPS has already committed to providing DL in the fall, and it has already declined to create a distance wide academy in it's budget, so the only way to offer DL in schools is committing classroom teachers to DL only. This serves the teachers union because the ADA accommodations can continue and simulcast is more work. However it does not serve children well. With this system a child cannot switch to an in-person classroom during the year. DL parents need flexibility to switch to IPL. Ever other school district in the DC area (eg MCPS FCPS and Arlington is using simulcast.nalso every private I have heard of.