Howard approved phased-in hybrid starting March 1st.

[Anonymous]

A lot of.details to.be figured out, but its a start. Wishing every one a safe and healthy return to sxhool.

[Anonymous]

It's a start. Whether it will happen remains to be seen, but I'm ok with that. I am happy that they were able to put together a plan and view that as considerable progress.

My personal view is is that they should start with special needs and the youngest learners and see how things go, prioritizing those teachers in vaccine distribution. The phased in approach would allow them to pull back if necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a start. Whether it will happen remains to be seen, but I'm ok with that. I am happy that they were able to put together a plan and view that as considerable progress.

My personal view is is that they should start with special needs and the youngest learners and see how things go, prioritizing those teachers in vaccine distribution. The phased in approach would allow them to pull back if necessary.

Must be nice to be able to work from home until you’re vaccinated. There are many, many of us who don’t have that luxury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a start. Whether it will happen remains to be seen, but I'm ok with that. I am happy that they were able to put together a plan and view that as considerable progress.

My personal view is is that they should start with special needs and the youngest learners and see how things go, prioritizing those teachers in vaccine distribution. The phased in approach would allow them to pull back if necessary.

Must be nice to be able to work from home until you’re vaccinated. There are many, many of us who don’t have that luxury.

You are mad that they aren't making teachers go back without being vaccinated or that they are?

[Anonymous]

Hogan wins.

[Anonymous]

The approved dates for students who choose to return in-person are:

Week of March 1: Students identified for a program that will provide in-person instruction up to 5 days per week (including, but not limited to students receiving Special Education services, and others requiring additional learning support). Families who were previously invited to participate in school-based learning centers will receive an invitation to participate beginning March 1.

Week of March 15: Students in grades prekindergarten, Kindergarten, 1 and 2 return in a hybrid model.

Week of March 29: Students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, and those who participate in Career and Technical Education at ARL return in a hybrid model.

Week of April 12: Students in grades 7, 8, 10 and 11 return in a hybrid model.

Students whose parents/guardians opt for them to participate in the in-person hybrid option will attend school in-person for a maximum two days per week and participate virtually for the remainder of the week, with the exception of those identified to return on March 1. HCPSS will strive to offer students two days per week of in-person learning. However, if the number of requests exceeds capacity, due to social distancing requirements, it may be possible that HCPSS offers only one in-person day per week.

https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2021/01/board-of-education-approves-schedule-for-2020-2021-hybrid-in-person-model/#:~:text=At%20its%20work%20session%20January,phases%20beginning%20March%201%2C%202021

[Anonymous]

Did Howard vaccinate all its teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hogan wins.

Nah. Making MoCo to start on March 1st, would be a win for Hogan.
Howard county is not MoCo.

[Anonymous]

I’m glad parents are given the final say go in person or stay remote. Not feeling too confident with the push to go in without the full knowledge teachers and staff finished vaccinations. Did an count of how many weeks left between in person and last day of a school. Will just sit it out remote. Am more confident Fall 2021 will be better organized and most likely everyone vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did Howard vaccinate all its teachers?

Nope. I live in Howard County. The teachers are in phase 1B, which means they are now eligible, but it is almost impossible to find places that both have open appointments and have supply. I have one friend who is a teacher married to a teacher. She spent her day off checking various places refreshing every 20-30 minutes or so. In the late afternoon, a friend passed her a new link and she managed to find one cancellation, but had to literally head out the door within a few minutes to make it there for the last-minute cancellation. She got home and checked the link and she found one more last minute cancellation and made her husband drop what he was doing and head over and grab the vaccination. And she had been checking daily since the 18th multiple times per day.

On her post, there were over a dozen other teachers saying that they were still trying to find a place to get a vaccination. I know teachers in 5 counties and the city of Baltimore and despite them being phase 1B, less than 10% of them have actually been able to find a vaccination. Hopefully February will get better, but right now, so many of the shots are going to hospitals who are prioritizing their high risk patients over others. The places that are open for the general public 1A/1B eligible cannot handle the volume of requests they are getting. They are essentially down to administering the tests that they get within a day or two of when they get them and then waiting for the next shipment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Howard vaccinate all its teachers?

Nope. I live in Howard County. The teachers are in phase 1B, which means they are now eligible, but it is almost impossible to find places that both have open appointments and have supply. I have one friend who is a teacher married to a teacher. She spent her day off checking various places refreshing every 20-30 minutes or so. In the late afternoon, a friend passed her a new link and she managed to find one cancellation, but had to literally head out the door within a few minutes to make it there for the last-minute cancellation. She got home and checked the link and she found one more last minute cancellation and made her husband drop what he was doing and head over and grab the vaccination. And she had been checking daily since the 18th multiple times per day.

On her post, there were over a dozen other teachers saying that they were still trying to find a place to get a vaccination. I know teachers in 5 counties and the city of Baltimore and despite them being phase 1B, less than 10% of them have actually been able to find a vaccination. Hopefully February will get better, but right now, so many of the shots are going to hospitals who are prioritizing their high risk patients over others. The places that are open for the general public 1A/1B eligible cannot handle the volume of requests they are getting. They are essentially down to administering the tests that they get within a day or two of when they get them and then waiting for the next shipment.

You state this as if teachers are somehow special. Everyone in 1B are struggling to find vaccines. Most are already back to work without being vaccinated or the elderly who are at a much higher risk of death from Covid19 than a teacher who may be in their 30s to late 50s. Somehow, all of those essential workers who are unvaccinated got up every morning for work from March until now and went - to work.

I realize it’s a tough situation but it’s in now way a slight against teachers or something that should be addressed of “fixed”. If they are boosted up in priority as a group, it directly impacts those working now at great risk for catching covid or worse, the elderly who may die at a faster rate.

We all need to wear our masks, wash our hands and wait for our turn in line for a vaccine. Group 1b IS a prioritized group.

And tell Hogan that the supply of vaccine and the rollout stinks. Don’t complain that no one has offered to not make you return to work or somehow vaccinate you first. There are so many other groups which deserve the same concern who are doing their best to patiently wait because we know it’s important to and they right thing to do for those who are at more risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Howard vaccinate all its teachers?

Nope. I live in Howard County. The teachers are in phase 1B, which means they are now eligible, but it is almost impossible to find places that both have open appointments and have supply. I have one friend who is a teacher married to a teacher. She spent her day off checking various places refreshing every 20-30 minutes or so. In the late afternoon, a friend passed her a new link and she managed to find one cancellation, but had to literally head out the door within a few minutes to make it there for the last-minute cancellation. She got home and checked the link and she found one more last minute cancellation and made her husband drop what he was doing and head over and grab the vaccination. And she had been checking daily since the 18th multiple times per day.

On her post, there were over a dozen other teachers saying that they were still trying to find a place to get a vaccination. I know teachers in 5 counties and the city of Baltimore and despite them being phase 1B, less than 10% of them have actually been able to find a vaccination. Hopefully February will get better, but right now, so many of the shots are going to hospitals who are prioritizing their high risk patients over others. The places that are open for the general public 1A/1B eligible cannot handle the volume of requests they are getting. They are essentially down to administering the tests that they get within a day or two of when they get them and then waiting for the next shipment.

You state this as if teachers are somehow special. Everyone in 1B are struggling to find vaccines. Most are already back to work without being vaccinated or the elderly who are at a much higher risk of death from Covid19 than a teacher who may be in their 30s to late 50s. Somehow, all of those essential workers who are unvaccinated got up every morning for work from March until now and went - to work.

I realize it’s a tough situation but it’s in now way a slight against teachers or something that should be addressed of “fixed”. If they are boosted up in priority as a group, it directly impacts those working now at great risk for catching covid or worse, the elderly who may die at a faster rate.

We all need to wear our masks, wash our hands and wait for our turn in line for a vaccine. Group 1b IS a prioritized group.

And tell Hogan that the supply of vaccine and the rollout stinks. Don’t complain that no one has offered to not make you return to work or somehow vaccinate you first. There are so many other groups which deserve the same concern who are doing their best to patiently wait because we know it’s important to and they right thing to do for those who are at more risk.

Would you be willing to vaccinate teachers with high risk or agree they should get an ADA accommodation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Howard vaccinate all its teachers?

Nope. I live in Howard County. The teachers are in phase 1B, which means they are now eligible, but it is almost impossible to find places that both have open appointments and have supply. I have one friend who is a teacher married to a teacher. She spent her day off checking various places refreshing every 20-30 minutes or so. In the late afternoon, a friend passed her a new link and she managed to find one cancellation, but had to literally head out the door within a few minutes to make it there for the last-minute cancellation. She got home and checked the link and she found one more last minute cancellation and made her husband drop what he was doing and head over and grab the vaccination. And she had been checking daily since the 18th multiple times per day.

On her post, there were over a dozen other teachers saying that they were still trying to find a place to get a vaccination. I know teachers in 5 counties and the city of Baltimore and despite them being phase 1B, less than 10% of them have actually been able to find a vaccination. Hopefully February will get better, but right now, so many of the shots are going to hospitals who are prioritizing their high risk patients over others. The places that are open for the general public 1A/1B eligible cannot handle the volume of requests they are getting. They are essentially down to administering the tests that they get within a day or two of when they get them and then waiting for the next shipment.

You state this as if teachers are somehow special. Everyone in 1B are struggling to find vaccines. Most are already back to work without being vaccinated or the elderly who are at a much higher risk of death from Covid19 than a teacher who may be in their 30s to late 50s. Somehow, all of those essential workers who are unvaccinated got up every morning for work from March until now and went - to work.

I realize it’s a tough situation but it’s in now way a slight against teachers or something that should be addressed of “fixed”. If they are boosted up in priority as a group, it directly impacts those working now at great risk for catching covid or worse, the elderly who may die at a faster rate.

We all need to wear our masks, wash our hands and wait for our turn in line for a vaccine. Group 1b IS a prioritized group.

And tell Hogan that the supply of vaccine and the rollout stinks. Don’t complain that no one has offered to not make you return to work or somehow vaccinate you first. There are so many other groups which deserve the same concern who are doing their best to patiently wait because we know it’s important to and they right thing to do for those who are at more risk.

I think that employees returning to work in spaces where they have high exposure to a lot of people without adequate social distancing (including teachers) need to be prioritized over the seniors who are over 75 or over 65, and not in nursing homes. I think allowing seniors who are not working and at home to take appointments from those who have to return to public work is poor management.

When you are asking people to return to work in public indoor spaces where they have higher exposure to large groups of people, you need to prioritize them to get their vaccines. I think that if they were going to require return to school that the governor should have deferred the seniors 75 and over who were not in nursing homes from phase 1B to phase 1C so that teachers (and other employees returning to work in public interacting positions) could be prioritized.

I don't think that teachers are more special than other employees, but I think that after prioritizing first responders and medical staff, that the governor needed to place a higher priority on those who work in grocery stores, teachers and other public interacting jobs.

[Anonymous]

I am so sick of having to explain this to people.

Here goes, again.

Many elderly people cannot self isolate. This goes beyond people living in nursing homes. Many old people are at home, but have caregivers coming in and out of their house. Many need to go to doctors appointments or are likely to wind up in hospitals where they could catch covid.

My parents have stayed at home since March except for a handful of doctors appointments. They literally have not left their house or yard. They have not seen any friends. They have only seen family outside and masked. My father got covid in mid January from a caregiver. Had he been vaccinated, perhaps he would not have gotten it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of having to explain this to people.

Here goes, again.

Many elderly people cannot self isolate. This goes beyond people living in nursing homes. Many old people are at home, but have caregivers coming in and out of their house. Many need to go to doctors appointments or are likely to wind up in hospitals where they could catch covid.

My parents have stayed at home since March except for a handful of doctors appointments. They literally have not left their house or yard. They have not seen any friends. They have only seen family outside and masked. My father got covid in mid January from a caregiver. Had he been vaccinated, perhaps he would not have gotten it.

Sorry, but if the state as an employer is going to force employees to return to in-person work, then they need to put a priority on those employees getting the protection they need.

If you are going to prioritize getting school back to in-person, then you need to prioritize teachers and staff who are exposed to far more people than the typical house-bound senior, for vaccinations. Right now, teachers are eligible, but from the large pool of teachers I know (I am not a teacher but friends with several dozen teachers), barely 10% of the teachers have been able to get vaccines.

If you have to prioritize the seniors, then you should be lobbying for delaying the hybrid start until you have sufficient teachers who are vaccinated or willing to return to work without a vaccine. 3rd quarter just started last week and will continue for 8 weeks. March 1 will be 3 weeks into the 9 week quarter. Why not push back to say that hybrid learning will begin in April with the start of the 4th quarter? That gives another 6 weeks for teachers to get vaccinated.