Reply to Question on APE (or other APS related groups)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a member of all three groups, AEM, APE and Smart Restart.  I agree with bits of each, but all of none.  I want schools open but with strong evidence-based safety measures.  That aligns with no one.

I don't think teacher or principals should be allowed or expected to come up with their own Covid safety policies.  Long ago APS should have hired a respected consultant with the appropriate background to make fact based recommendations.  Instead, APS puts half baked measures in place, then lets teachers be scared silly by Smart Restart that APS's plans are insufficient, and then tries to close because people have no confidence that APS will keep teachers or students safe.  It's ridiculous.

I also think all of the above was so distracting last year that APS dropped the ball on actually teaching students.  It's like the administration (both central and my kids' principals) don't actually care if kids are on grade level or learning.  Many teachers did their best. Some took cues from APS administrators that they didn't need to really teach last year because we were in a pandemic and we could just catch kids up later.  It's a mixed bag and people's opinion of APS varies wildly on whether your kid won the teacher lotto and/or adapted well to online learning.[/quote]

AEM is a Facebook group. A core group of 50 constant posters, many of whom are pretty ideologically extreme (and from Smart Restart - see below). There's a ton of lurkers though on that site.

APE is a lobbying organization with 1,000 members. They were like President Biden and U.S Secretary Cardona and wanted schools open last school year.  Now they lobby on other education issues too.

Smart Restart is around 10 to 20 people (very affluent and white), and pushes COVID Zero policies that no serious scientist thinks is possible and only hurt underprivileged kids the most.  They're for masks forever and were for shutting down sports in January (only 1 of 133 school districts in VA to do so), with non-masking breaks when cases hit a minute level only to snap back as soon as soon as they go back to any small amount. They often act as a front for the teachers union (one of their leaders is also the leader of the teachers union).  If you want your kindergartner in masks until they graduate high school, this is your organization.[/quote]

OP, grain of salt needed reading PP above.[/quote]

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/799837210723827717/Oh7D9tvF_400x400.jpg[/img][/quote]

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