With teachers vaccinated, why are we still talking about hybrid, and not a full return to school?

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02/08/2021 14:28

Subject: With teachers vaccinated, why are we still talking about hybrid, and not a full return to school?

quote

Anonymous

Stepping back from the broader discussions in all of the northern Virginia school districts about returning to schools this spring in the hybrid model, with kids only in buildings 2 days a week - why are parents conceding that this is the right next step to take? Shouldn't we be advocating instead for a full return in the next 4-6 weeks instead of hybrid?

The hybrid models were originally conceived last spring and summer when COVID vaccines were still in trials and not yet approved, so it made sense to err on the side of caution with return to school models, and develop these hybrid plans. But now that all teachers and school staff are in the process of being vaccinated, why is this still the focal point of school districts' planning?

The main unmitigated risk (after the vaccinations for teachers and other school staff are completed) will be the risk to the schoolkids. But there is little to no evidence to suggest that 6 feet of distancing (a metric that was adopted before masks started to be widely worn) in a classroom leads to any significant reduction in risk compared with a normal classroom -- assuming that kids are still wearing masks throughout the day, and that other precautionary measures related to ventilation and health screening are taken. There would need to be adjustments to things like lunch and PE, and efforts should be made to prevent classes from mixing, but other school districts around the country have figured this out. And recent studies indicate that in districts where kids have gone back full-time, there is not evidence of higher community spread as a result.

The hybrid model as it's currently envisioned for later this spring seems like it will continue to provide a suboptimal learning experience, especially if teachers have to be teaching simultaneously half of their students in the classroom and half remotely. And it continues to wreak havoc with parents' ability to work, especially those who are essential employees but still stuck in the vaccine queue behind teachers.

In a full return-to-school model, there should still of course be an option for parents to keep their kids in full-time distance learning, if they feel unsafe. But parents who have evaluated the risks ands benefits, and want their kids back in school full-time should have that choice too, now that these secondary risks to teachers and school staff are largely mitigated. At this point I imagine that most parents would be comfortable with a full return to school, instead of this hybrid model.

I worry that parents here are so eager for any baby steps forward, after nearly a full lost year, that we're conceding the debate to the teachers and school administrators instead of pushing for a full-time return in the March timeframe. Curious what others here think...