And she just announced that the first week back after break will be a "No Homework Week"! My kids are ecstatic.

https://twitter.com/drmonicaceo/status/1340009979403792385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3Apgcps%7Ctwcon%5Etimelinechrome&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foffices.pgcps.org%2Fnewsroom%2F

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clear communication and confident leadership can make a huge difference. I'm a DCPS parent but it is telling how rarely you hear from PG parents complaining about the school situation. These boards are filled with complaints from MoCo, DC, and the VA districts, but I can't even remember a single specific complaint about PGC's handling. Kudos to all of you.

As a DCPS parent one of my main complaints is not that schools have been closed but that DCPS and the Mayor have exploited the challenges parents are facing with remote learning (and they are real and important, lets not sugar coat it) as a cudgel to force the teachers union to agree to things that they were never going to agree to. If DCPS had the interests of kids and families at heart from the beginning, then they, like PG County, would have been honest with parents about limitations and crafted a plan that allowed parents to plan in advance. I'm not saying people would have been happy about the closure, but I think you would have seen less increasing impatience and anger as proposed opening dates kept getting pushed further and further back, and plans constantly shifted and failed to deliver on promises.

I think a lot of it stems from the fact that Dr. Goldson is a former teacher in PGCPS as well as a current PGCPS parent.

Sometimes the cynical part of me wonders if the work on the hybrid plans in other counties isn't just a hollow gesture to try to keep families from unenrolling. Ironically, not promising anything in terms of a hybrid plan might be more palatable.

Anonymous wrote:Clear communication and confident leadership can make a huge difference. I'm a DCPS parent but it is telling how rarely you hear from PG parents complaining about the school situation. These boards are filled with complaints from MoCo, DC, and the VA districts, but I can't even remember a single specific complaint about PGC's handling. Kudos to all of you.

As a DCPS parent one of my main complaints is not that schools have been closed but that DCPS and the Mayor have exploited the challenges parents are facing with remote learning (and they are real and important, lets not sugar coat it) as a cudgel to force the teachers union to agree to things that they were never going to agree to. If DCPS had the interests of kids and families at heart from the beginning, then they, like PG County, would have been honest with parents about limitations and crafted a plan that allowed parents to plan in advance. I'm not saying people would have been happy about the closure, but I think you would have seen less increasing impatience and anger as proposed opening dates kept getting pushed further and further back, and plans constantly shifted and failed to deliver on promises.

I think a lot of it stems from the fact that Dr. Goldson is a former teacher in PGCPS as well as a current PGCPS parent.

Anonymous wrote:Clear communication and confident leadership can make a huge difference. I'm a DCPS parent but it is telling how rarely you hear from PG parents complaining about the school situation. These boards are filled with complaints from MoCo, DC, and the VA districts, but I can't even remember a single specific complaint about PGC's handling. Kudos to all of you.

As a DCPS parent one of my main complaints is not that schools have been closed but that DCPS and the Mayor have exploited the challenges parents are facing with remote learning (and they are real and important, lets not sugar coat it) as a cudgel to force the teachers union to agree to things that they were never going to agree to. If DCPS had the interests of kids and families at heart from the beginning, then they, like PG County, would have been honest with parents about limitations and crafted a plan that allowed parents to plan in advance. I'm not saying people would have been happy about the closure, but I think you would have seen less increasing impatience and anger as proposed opening dates kept getting pushed further and further back, and plans constantly shifted and failed to deliver on promises.

+1 That's it exactly. There's stereotype that all of the parents pushing for reopening are privileged and white. There are certainly plenty, but that's not the whole story.

Surveys are showing that POC and the communities are more likely to be afraid of COVID, live in multigenerational households, and have been hit hard by COVID. These families do not want to risk their health to return to school buildings. Many are already exposed through their work and don't want to take on more risk. All of this makes perfect sense in terms of support for PGPS, although communication also comes into play.

Everyone keeps forgetting about lower wage earners who have to work outside of the home and don't have older family members in the home or nearby to help with the kids. When you have to work outside of the home and don't earn much, your capacity to withstand long term DL is not as great. This apparently matters for teachers, who are understandably reluctant to return to buildings in part because they are uncomfortable putting their own children into daycare. But safety for educators comes at the expense of those families who need to use daycare to in order to continue working, who are forced to take on risk similar to schools by using outside childcare plus paying daycare costs. It is easier to try to to figure out a long term solution to what seems to be a long term problem than to keep patching together temporary solutions only to wind up disappointed and financially struggling.

Nice! So glad to read this!

I like Dr. Goldson. PGCPS gets so much negative attention. Not all of PGCPS is horrible.

Anonymous wrote:This is just based on my experience of course. First, when it became obvious that the pandemic would be a crisis well into the fall, the school system clearly communicated that online school would continue until January and be evaluated at that time. There was no discussion of hybrid schools etc. when it was obvious that would not happen in our area.

Second, I am happy with the rigor of the curriculum as well as the various discussions school counselors have had with the kids about feelings and coping with difficulties. Third, I am happy with the social opportunities the kids have had facilitated by the school. I’m happy with how much clear communication we have received. My kids go to two different schools and both have made the best of a bad situation. Kudos to our kids and our administration!

Could you elaborate on those?

Clear communication and confident leadership can make a huge difference. I'm a DCPS parent but it is telling how rarely you hear from PG parents complaining about the school situation. These boards are filled with complaints from MoCo, DC, and the VA districts, but I can't even remember a single specific complaint about PGC's handling. Kudos to all of you.

As a DCPS parent one of my main complaints is not that schools have been closed but that DCPS and the Mayor have exploited the challenges parents are facing with remote learning (and they are real and important, lets not sugar coat it) as a cudgel to force the teachers union to agree to things that they were never going to agree to. If DCPS had the interests of kids and families at heart from the beginning, then they, like PG County, would have been honest with parents about limitations and crafted a plan that allowed parents to plan in advance. I'm not saying people would have been happy about the closure, but I think you would have seen less increasing impatience and anger as proposed opening dates kept getting pushed further and further back, and plans constantly shifted and failed to deliver on promises.

I agree. As far as I can tell, most parents have been on board with staying closed, which I’m sure helps (as opposed to the MoCo parents, for example, many of whom are constantly agitating to open up already).

Totally agree, couldn’t be happier with the way they’ve handled it.

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree!

Dr. Goldson and her team are doing a fantastic job.

I live in another county but I watched Dr. Goldson's announcement about delaying the survey. She commands so much confidence as a leader.

One question - is there any difference between her role as CEO as opposed to other counties with superintendents? Does she have authority to make the decision or does the county school board make decisions?

I totally agree!

Dr. Goldson and her team are doing a fantastic job.

AGREE 1000%

Anonymous wrote:This is just based on my experience of course. First, when it became obvious that the pandemic would be a crisis well into the fall, the school system clearly communicated that online school would continue until January and be evaluated at that time. There was no discussion of hybrid schools etc. when it was obvious that would not happen in our area.

Second, I am happy with the rigor of the curriculum as well as the various discussions school counselors have had with the kids about feelings and coping with difficulties. Third, I am happy with the social opportunities the kids have had facilitated by the school. I’m happy with how much clear communication we have received. My kids go to two different schools and both have made the best of a bad situation. Kudos to our kids and our administration!

OP, that's great and kudos to PG County Public Schools!

There are many reasons why keeping public schools closed is justified, but there negative consequences of continued closure that go well beyond parental "convenience." The key in bringing stakeholders together is clear and consistent messaging, managing expectations, recognizing how hard this is on everyone, and encouraging everyone to come together, rather than trying to dictate what is best. It sounds as though PG County is succeeding as a result of clear communication and strong leadership. Other districts should learn from them, because that's where I think other districts have failed. It's not necessarily the decision to keep schools closed that is tearing communities apart, but the way in which the struggles of students and families have been dismissed as invalid.

This is just based on my experience of course. First, when it became obvious that the pandemic would be a crisis well into the fall, the school system clearly communicated that online school would continue until January and be evaluated at that time. There was no discussion of hybrid schools etc. when it was obvious that would not happen in our area.

Second, I am happy with the rigor of the curriculum as well as the various discussions school counselors have had with the kids about feelings and coping with difficulties. Third, I am happy with the social opportunities the kids have had facilitated by the school. I’m happy with how much clear communication we have received. My kids go to two different schools and both have made the best of a bad situation. Kudos to our kids and our administration!