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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.[/quote]

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation. [/quote]

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action.  But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.[/quote]

Just because you think this decision was incorrect does not mean it was actually incorrect. Teachers died in other places that sent them back pre vaccine. A lot of then. Teachers left and they had to call in Natioan Guard to teach. That's not what I wanted. [/quote]

Actually, yes, it was incorrect. If you read the NYT piece, places like Arlington that kept schools closed ultimately had the same fatality rates as everywhere else. What we did have was a lot more learning loss. The national consensus on this is that we were wrong. And we were outliers. Much worse than the rest of the nation. It still boggles my mind that well-educated, evidence-based Arlington still does not get this. But like I said above, I now realize that will never change. But objectively, yes, we made the wrong call.[/quote]

It was a reasonable call based on the data we had at that time, CDC guidelines for schools, limited space to implement those guidelines, etc  Many districts like ours also waited for teacher vaccines. No need to hash this all out again.

Anyway, it wasn’t her opinion on return-to-school that is the issue for this election, it’s her choosing to knowingly partner with bullies who refused to listen to other stakeholders and perspectives. Poor judgment, at best. 
[/quote]

No, it was not reasonable. Again, if you read the piece, it was very clear early in the fall of 2020 that schools that fully opened were not super spreader sites. Also clear that local Catholic schools, etc. were able to be fully open. The data were there almost immediately. And APS stayed closed. Even as it became apparent children were being harmed.

In that environment, some parents got angrier and angrier as they watched their children suffer. Parents who wanted schools open were called teacher murderers, etc. It was a terrible environment. And in that, Miranda was a strong advocate for what was best for kids while also not being part of the loud angry mob. I give her credit for that. You are still mad at her, but please remember that some of those really angry parents had children who were really suffering. I remember people on AEM talking in detail about how some of their kids were really in crisis.

And, she didn't partner with bullies. She just shared an opinion (again, one eventually supported by data) that schools should have been open that other, loud/angry people also shared. [/quote]

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