I agree this letter comes across as forced and somewhat disingenuous, like a disguised counter-narrative to those who support reopening schools (with an underlying assumption those families do not support teachers). Praising teachers is not mutually exclusive from acknowledging the real systemic failures from ACPS this year. Special education and k-2nd should have been back by now.

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhhh, wasn't one of those people banned from their kid's school?

PTAC has someone who was BANNED from their kid's school in their leadership. And signing op-eds & advocating for ACPS. Sounds about right.

Wow. This is the most obsequious thing I have seen in a long time. Even assuming agreement with the district's decision not to send general education students back in person, there is no justification for their failure to get any severely disabled students back (except the 6 kids who went very a very short time) in person for almost a year. That is just appalling to me.

Anonymous wrote:Excuse me while I throw up.

Same - and I am not even someone who really questions the reopening deliberations. Virtual Plus has been a disaster and the administrators (Hutchings and his staff and principals) seem to have done next to nothing to try to improve it.

Anonymous wrote:Ha! The kids of one of the people who signed are incredibly mean - they roughed my son up and then made fun of him. Maybe that person should spend less time expressing their gratitude and more time controlling their kids.

Privileged, entitled parents tend to have privileged, entitled kids. I'm sorry that happened to your son.

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhhh, wasn't one of those people banned from their kid's school?

Uhhhh, what now? Are you serious?

That doesn't sound very supportive of ACPS.

Uhhhhh, wasn't one of those people banned from their kid's school?

Does this read to anyone else like someone at ACPS wrote it? A lot of the language is very similar to what comes out of ACPS & Hutchings. I don't think it wouldn't be unheard of for ACPS to have provided Alexandria PTAC with a draft.

This just doesn't sound genuine. It's very flat. Odd.

Anonymous wrote:I'm on PTAC - but not one of the people that signed the letter to Alexandria Times. Membership on PTAC was not asked nor informed about this letter until after it was submitted. Just want it to be clear that while the letter purported to represent the opinions and interests of all Alexandria PTAs, or all members of Alexandria PTAC, it most certainly does not.

I hope you express your thoughts to the signers. But knowing a couple of these women and how they operate, I understand if you don't feel safe doing so. They aren't exactly open to other opinions.

Ha! The kids of one of the people who signed are incredibly mean - they roughed my son up and then made fun of him. Maybe that person should spend less time expressing their gratitude and more time controlling their kids.

LOLOLOLOL ok

Alexandria PTAs need to vote out their leadership

Excuse me while I throw up.

I'm on PTAC - but not one of the people that signed the letter to Alexandria Times. Membership on PTAC was not asked nor informed about this letter until after it was submitted. Just want it to be clear that while the letter purported to represent the opinions and interests of all Alexandria PTAs, or all members of Alexandria PTAC, it most certainly does not.

https://alextimes.com/2021/01/your-views-kudos-to-acps/

Some highlights:

"By following state and national guidelines that utilize metrics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ACPS has based all of its decisions on what is the safest option for our children and staff. Alexandria has led the way in Northern Virginia with moving our community into the next phase with vaccinations."

"Students are learning not only the curriculum, but also how to survive and grow academically in a challenging new environment. ACPS buildings may not be open in the traditional sense, yet our students and staff arrive to learn and work every day.

As ACPS continues to assess metrics and guidelines, we express our gratitude to ACPS teachers, staff and administrators for their tireless commitment to ensuring that our children continue to receive the social, emotional and academic support they deserve throughout the pandemic.

- Bill Pfister, Maureen McNulty, Christina Brennan, Linda Williams, Katy Matthews, Missy Estabrook, Greta Gordon, Margaret McLaughlin, Current and former officers, Alexandria Council PTA"