Three cheers for this article

[Anonymous]

I want to make everyone on here, and in our government read this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/14/us-schooling-during-covid-19-doesnt-deserve-passing-grade-heres-way-forward/

"Looking at the national pattern of school choices, it is clear that evidence-based policy is not driving these decisions. In states with high and increasing rates of community spread, many schools are open for full in-person learning — putting economic and political considerations before safety and health. In states with lower community spread, many schools are still remote, allowing a single factor — fear of covid-19 — to drive decision-making, despite low absolute risks of school-based transmission and ignoring the real-world risks of hybrid or remote learning."

I'm not 100% pro or against school opening - I'm pro-science and good policy! It's almost as though none of our policymakers learned the basics of public policy. "These are not decisions school leaders or teachers unions should be weighing directly; instead, city leaders, legislators and governors should be considering the broader impacts of school closures on their local economies and working families."

It seems in DC Bowser has sort of tried to do this, but she still comes across not as a reasonable policy leader but very much screw you to the workers in DCPS. I wish we could have actual public health experts - and not the one she's employed, but who are realistic and impartial - to make clear decisions.

[Anonymous]

100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks together.

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks together.

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

There is a trust element that has been lost over the years.
Parents sent kids in sick. A child would be picked up from school one afternoon with a high fever and back at school the next day. The rule was 24 hours fever free - which clearly was not the case.

Parents time and again lied about the health of their child as it was inconvenient for them. Now the stakes are a lot higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks together.

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

There's no middle ground anymore. It's really frustrating.

[Anonymous]

The bottom line is that people are selfish. It is human nature. Everybody looks out for themselves. And they will continue doing that even by sending their kids to school sick. Why do dog walkers leave poop everywhere? Why do people still not get Flu shots? Why do people where masks sagging under their noses. Because they are selfish.

[Anonymous]

It was one of the best articles on this I've read too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was one of the best articles on this I've read too.

And we were called out in it, make no mistake. We are one of the places that can open and just . . . won't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was one of the best articles on this I've read too.

Agree. But its too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was one of the best articles on this I've read too.

Agree. But its too late.

I think you are right but that is incredibly frustrating because it is just mid October. 8 months left of school. We could be back in a month. But we won't be back all school year because . . . fear and the taking of political sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks together.

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

There is a trust element that has been lost over the years.
Parents sent kids in sick. A child would be picked up from school one afternoon with a high fever and back at school the next day. The rule was 24 hours fever free - which clearly was not the case.

Parents time and again lied about the health of their child as it was inconvenient for them. Now the stakes are a lot higher.

That is a policy question that could be addressed via better policy. The reason parents send sick kids to school is because the parents do not have sick leave at work. So you do a two-pronged policy. Require temp and symptom checks at the door to the school (by a school nurse, not a teacher) and then DC has a policy in place that forces employers to allow sick leave to employees who much care for a sick kid. A lot of the problem will already be addressed because so many office-dwelling parents are now working from home, and could handle having a kid home sick without having to take a full day off. And DC could provide assistance to employers/employees who must be in person, by accommodating families that need someone at home with a kid who can't go to school.

To say "Oh, parents send kids to school sick all the time because parents are evil" is to ignore the actual underlying problems, which are solvable. It's laziness on the part of policy-makers to stop at the first road bump. If you work in municipal government or public school administration, this should be precisely the kind of problem-solving you embrace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks together.

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

There is a trust element that has been lost over the years.
Parents sent kids in sick. A child would be picked up from school one afternoon with a high fever and back at school the next day. The rule was 24 hours fever free - which clearly was not the case.

Parents time and again lied about the health of their child as it was inconvenient for them. Now the stakes are a lot higher.

That is a policy question that could be addressed via better policy. The reason parents send sick kids to school is because the parents do not have sick leave at work. So you do a two-pronged policy. Require temp and symptom checks at the door to the school (by a school nurse, not a teacher) and then DC has a policy in place that forces employers to allow sick leave to employees who much care for a sick kid. A lot of the problem will already be addressed because so many office-dwelling parents are now working from home, and could handle having a kid home sick without having to take a full day off. And DC could provide assistance to employers/employees who must be in person, by accommodating families that need someone at home with a kid who can't go to school.

To say "Oh, parents send kids to school sick all the time because parents are evil" is to ignore the actual underlying problems, which are solvable. It's laziness on the part of policy-makers to stop at the first road bump. If you work in municipal government or public school administration, this should be precisely the kind of problem-solving you embrace.

Good points. It would be also helpful to make it easier for kids who miss school due to illness to make up work. Our school's policy was always "ask your friends what you missed" unless it was an absence of more than 4 days. Let's just say that 7th grade boys aren't the greatest at giving accurate information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks together.

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

There is a trust element that has been lost over the years.
Parents sent kids in sick. A child would be picked up from school one afternoon with a high fever and back at school the next day. The rule was 24 hours fever free - which clearly was not the case.

Parents time and again lied about the health of their child as it was inconvenient for them. Now the stakes are a lot higher.

That is a policy question that could be addressed via better policy. The reason parents send sick kids to school is because the parents do not have sick leave at work. So you do a two-pronged policy. Require temp and symptom checks at the door to the school (by a school nurse, not a teacher) and then DC has a policy in place that forces employers to allow sick leave to employees who much care for a sick kid. A lot of the problem will already be addressed because so many office-dwelling parents are now working from home, and could handle having a kid home sick without having to take a full day off. And DC could provide assistance to employers/employees who must be in person, by accommodating families that need someone at home with a kid who can't go to school.

To say "Oh, parents send kids to school sick all the time because parents are evil" is to ignore the actual underlying problems, which are solvable. It's laziness on the part of policy-makers to stop at the first road bump. If you work in municipal government or public school administration, this should be precisely the kind of problem-solving you embrace.

Exactly.

And, if you really wanted to you can make stricter policy on sending a sick child to school, with repercussions for doing so knowingly if they have Covid. There could be symptom check at the door and then send them home, no exceptions. There can be access to rapid tests for all schools. There could be many things in place to solve these policy issues, if we really cared to (if our city cared to). I also agree about a mandatory sick leave policy, during Covid emergency.

[Anonymous]

I agree with all this too. And like others, I am not uniformly for or against opening schools, but I want our leaders to be making evidence based decisions.

--DCPS teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100% agree.

I am tired of being screamed at by both sides for wanting a pragmatic approach to this longterm problem. The people who are arguing that we cannot open schools until a vaccine are doing a terrible disservice to all the many, many families who do not have the resources to weather a school shut down of that length. And meanwhile, the people who claim Covid is overblown and advocate for full opening with little to no precautions only undermine efforts to open schools in a responsible way.

I'm exhausted. We live across the street from our kid's school and it just sits there empty every day, a wasted resources, as the kids who should be attending it are cared for and provided educations by parents (some of whom have had to quit or scale back jobs, putting family finances at risk), in group care that pose the exact same risks of exposure as school but at greater financial cost to parents, or in-home care that also carries exposure risks. It is baffling to me. It reminds me of back in May when we were told to social distance but all the city parks were closed so we were all crowded onto sidewalks togethe

I do not understand why we can't have a rational conversation about how to best balance the competing risks, not just Covid but also the risks of children falling behind, the risks to parents and lower-paid childcare workers of becoming the defacto early education system, and the risks to families of bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis. I really do not understand.

This. There is a middle ground. DC is chock-full of policymakers, people who are supposed to be able to sift through information, evaluate its credibility, and formulate plans that balance competing interests. Let's see some of that put to work here. Can we just open the doors wide and go back to normal school? No. Can we stay closed until there's a widely distributed vaccine? Also no. Can we find a way to get kids back in classrooms with protective procedures and equipment, while those teachers and kids who are truly at higher risk, or have household members at higher risk, can continue to do DL? Yes! Will this all work perfectly for everyone? No, of course not, but it could work out reasonably well for most people. It just requires people who are capable of logistical thinking, aware of the issues in the community, and willing to listen to all the main stakeholders and put some thought into it. Yes, our national leadership has failed us. But we don't have to fix this for the whole country, just for one city.

[Anonymous]

The coronavirus numbers in DC are very low.

The only reason schools are still closed here is because of the influence of the teachers union.

Teachers won't compromise, and Bowser won't pick a fight with teachers, so schools are going to be closed probably until everyone is vaccinated.