Reply to APS- 95% in person for the fall

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How has APS not committed to 5 days a week for next year? They've required parents to make a binding decision. They've been clear that there will not be distancing possible but they plan to implement other safety measures that are currently in place (and generally there isn't a ton of distancing happening now....the desks are separated but elementary kids are not in desks all day long). They've named an administrator for the separate virtual program.  They've communicated that they plan to help administer vaccines for 12-15 year olds once it's approved later this week and have already held clinics to reach 16+ students.

What more commitment do you want that we will have 5 days in the fall? Do you want them to promise to eradicate COVID?

This will not be an issue in the fall, and Miranda's platform will be moot. What else is she advocating for?[/quote]
I have not posted on this thread before.
This time last year (or actually in June), APS was "committed" to hybrid instruction with kids in the classroom as much as possible.  They backtracked on that in late July, and then did not reverse course, even when it was obvious that there was going to be a winter surge, and it made more sense to start the year in person.  They did not reverse course when the testing showed that they were failing k-2.  They have not reversed course now when its obvious that 4 days a week would be possible, especially for k-2 since those classrooms are empty half the week now!  The only reason we are even in person at all is because of Northam.  The only reason they are planning for five days next week is because of Northam.  They have repeatedly changed what they are doing, often at the detriment of instruction, because they cannot solve hard problems and it is just too hard.  It started out concurrent was "inappropriate for anything below highschool", that turned into concurrent for second grade and up in most schools.  The school board allowed this, they did not vote a single time, and they said that they did not feel comfortable telling a CEO how to run his job.  Their job is oversight!  What exactly did they do this year to oversee -- they voted on school boundaries THAT'S IT, and the school boundaries are so bad that they have to revisit them again six months later!

Mary Kadera for better or worse is just more of the same.  She said in that debate that its important for virtual students to "have a connection to their home school", but didn't say outright how that would be implemented.  I'll tell you how it'll be implemented -- concurrent again in the fall for those virtual kids if they don't have a centralized program.  Concurrent is not effective.  We cannot risk having someone on the board who even remotely thinks that it is.  We need someone on the board who will push for schools to stay open if there is another surge again next year -- which is very possible with variants and needing a booster in six months.  If bars are open (which they will be), schools should be open.  We need someone who understands that getting an education is not possible for young children remotely, and if gyms can open, schools sure as hell better be open.

I'm not in APE at all, but I lurk on AEM and the SR facebook groups.  If you think that five days a week is a "done deal", you haven't been paying attention.  Those people will fight tooth and nail for their kid to remain virtual at their home school (which is only possible with concurrent).  Once you have regular teachers doing concurrent, they'll need time to "plan" and have all the pull outs they would have had throughout the week.  We'll be back at four days max.

Mary Kadera would have been a great candidate a year from now.  She totally would have had my vote.  But until we are 100% out of the pandemic (i.e. we think of covid the way we think of the flu), rts will be the number one issue for me, as it should be.  
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