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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow!  While I agree with some of the concerns about lack of transparency and other issues at Burgundy and understand the child care concerns, it is amazing to me how so few people in this set of posts acknowledge that the CDC says that we are at 50,000 new COVID cases per day, but should be under 10,000 before we can get things under control.  Sure, we are doing OK in Northern Virginia right now, but that is because many people have diligently followed the CDC's advice despite the madness in other areas of the country.  Look at Georgia.  They rushed to send their kids back to school and generated many new COVID cases.  And what about the  documented concerns that many people are left with chronic illnesses and disabilities even if they are not hospitalized?  What about the more vulnerable members of childrens'  households?  What about the welfare of the more vulnerable among our teachers.  Burgundy teachers are not alone in their concerns.  An NPR/Ipsos poll found that 82% of teachers are concerned about coming back to school and 2/3 prefer to teach primarily remotely: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/898584176/most-teachers-concerned-about-in-person-school-2-in-3-want-to-start-the-year-onl.  All I have seen on this forum is a lot of whining about inconvenience.  Start talking about COVID risks vs. pros and cons of distance vs. on-campus learning.  Personally, I don't trust teachers to be able to enforce social distancing among younger kids, especially among those who can't seem to control their impulses and there have been several in my daughter's classes.  Teachers will have a huge burden to control these kids and at personal risk.  And all that crap about open space goes out the window when it is raining, snowing, or just freezing.  And don't tell me a kid can learn better sitting on a tree stump than they can sitting in a classroom or in front of a computer.  There are only so many fru-fru nature lessons that Burgundy can teach.  And by the way, I attended the July Burgundy Town Hall and the school did NOT promise on-campus learning in September.  We were told that the school had a plan to try to do that, but that it was unsure how things were unfolding with COVID and therefore would re-evaluate and report back to parents in early August, which is what it did.[/quote]

Burgundy parent here.

1. Georgia schools started in person without a mask mandate. Any proposed on campus learning would follow recommended masking protocols. 
2. Northern VA data is fairly good good. We are not trending up (unlike the rest of VA) (https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/key-measures/). 
3. A poll that covers all teachers to me is irrelevant. I hope Burgundy polled teachers and wish they had shared the results with the community. Public schools don't have similar space and resources. I would not be in favor of a school with no outdoor space returning in person. Burgundy is not in that situation and specifically advertised they can offer outdoor physically distanced education. They even have a map with outdoor learning locations on campus. Without the outdoor space, it would not make sense to hold classes in person. 
4. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of clear communication on the part of the administration. This is a huge failure of leadership.
5. They should offer an off-ramp for those parents who cannot manage their job+zoom classroom+hypothetical half days. A half day in person with zoom specials in the afternoon does not provide smart infection control or reasonable feasibility for parents. 
6. Highlighting point 4 for good measure. It's the total about-face that has me deeply disappointed. They described in person plans in detail two weeks ago. Apparently without checking with faculty if that was feasible.
7. Offer high-risk teachers a pathway to become lead distance teachers. They can and should do more than 90 minutes of live zoom, which is what it seems is all that is being offered. That's insufficient. I know SSAS students who were in FULL DAY school this spring. Made me question why our day typically involved 60-90 minutes in person. 
8. Cross-train specials teachers who are willing to be in person. They can become homeroom teachers to "pinch hit" for high risk teachers. Specials teachers this spring engaged in no face to face synchronous education with the students. Their skills and talents are not being utilized well at all. This enables high risk faculty to be protected and not have to teach in person before they are able to do so safely.  [/quote]

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