Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AACPS voted last night to go back in a hybrid mode for K-2 on November 16 and 3-5 on November 30, with middle and high school later (maybe as early as the second week of December)

On one hand, I'm thrilled there is forward motion... on the other hand it's a TERRIBLE plan!

There will be two cohorts - Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Everyone is home on Wednesdays. So far, so good.
However, the teachers will be expected to be actively teaching both cohorts at the same time. So the teacher is still sitting in front of her computer, still using the same virtual tools to teach, and now has to manage in class and online behaviors. And the in school kids are just sitting at their desks instead of sitting at their houses.

Sounds like all the risk of in person without any of the benefit.

Other private schools are following this model (Spaulding, for one) and it's working well. I think the new normal will have a transition which is difficult but if the county had done this plan in September like the private schools instead of choosing all virtual, many of these mid semester changes wouldn't be happening.
Any in person time with a live teacher and live friends to banter with over the chromebooks is a good thing. It's the exact same as some of the virutal learning pods and daycares that are set up for school aged children. There is a benefit to this type of instruction.
The sad part is that it is going to implemented mid semester and the kids who are staying fully virutal will need to change teachers. Once again, if it was done in September like the Archdiocese or other private schools, this transition wouldn't have been necessary.

PP, are you sure about the bolded part? Why can't students who are staying virtual just remain virtual under the new model?

PP here. No, Not 100% sure. It seems to be the big question that people are throwing around on social media. Most assuming it's a done deal. In all honesty, if they can do a better virutal schedule and help more fully with tech issues and learning content which is better for at home instruction with the new virutal school set up, I think it will be a bonus to have children doing virutal in a separate 'school'.
Everyone is jumping to the negative without looking at what is good about hybrid:
Smaller class sizes
Less transitional time between classrooms/cafeteria
Mask wearing which reduces cold and covid
Chromebooks now for every child (hopefully, all will be issued one)

It's not ideal but in a pandemic, nothing is. I'm thankful it's forward movement. When they can get the full class together, some of these things may not change back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's be sure to send kids right before Thanksgiving so that we can put family members at risk, or miss out on holidays. GREAT MOVE!

That was my thought too. The 3 - 5 kids will get SIX whole days in person before winter break. Hardly seems worth the risk of travel/holidays/etc, not to mention the extra work for the teachers around the holidays.

Six is better than none. I don't know why this would disrupt anyone's holiday plans. Are people really staying in their houses 100% still? I see soccer games, kids at parks, kids at stores, what is the difference?

I have two kids, one in private high school and one in public. I can definitively say that having them in a classroom with a live teacher is much more beneficial for any length of time. If children who choose all virutal are with a new teacher, I get the disruption, but when there is a large cohort of virtural learners who are not also kids in the classroom, the coursework may be given on a different schedule or pace. The two hour learning break, for one. This may not happen with the kids who are on the hybrid but at home. Who knows?

Many unanswered questions which will need to be addressed, but progress is progress. And as for mask compliance issues, I know that there will always be a risk to someone's mask coming down under their noses or messing with them all day. Unless you keep your child home 100% of the time (in which you should do virutal learning), these things are happening out there daily. I have to correct my child on her mask placement and yes, it's a pain, but she does it when she notices. She's back in school and there have been zero cases in her Upper School.

I think change is scary and transition is tough. Those of us who have one child in private have seen it work out, so it's simply not as scary. For the record, we are keeping our kids home the week of Thanksgiving for an extra two days so we can see grandma without worrying a lot. We have the option to be in the virutal cohorts for days we are not in school for our oldest. It's a way to do so without losing ground academically. I hope that can be the case for public schools as well.

For so many who don't have stay at home parents or who are strugglin wtih virtual learning, those six days can be a god send. To those who don't want to go back, there are options while the options, granted, include more change.

Before I see my elderly parents? Yes, yes I am staying in my house for two weeks.

I'm not sure what point you are making. Should schools remain closed so that you can see your elderly parent?

Anonymous wrote:I think the point about the bad timing of the holidays isn't for the sake of the people traveling, but about the risk those people bring to the classroom.
Is Larlo and family want to go visit great grandma in Tampa for Thanksgiving, they very well may quarintine for two weeks before hand. And if Larlo misses his first in person class because of that, that's fine.
But what happens when Larlo gets back? Does he stay home for two more weeks or does he go to school on November 30, complete with whatever he picked up in Tampa?
There will ABSOLUTELY be kids who travel out of state and then come to school the next day. While this is a risk at any time, it's exponentially greater by starting November 30.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AACPS voted last night to go back in a hybrid mode for K-2 on November 16 and 3-5 on November 30, with middle and high school later (maybe as early as the second week of December)

On one hand, I'm thrilled there is forward motion... on the other hand it's a TERRIBLE plan!

There will be two cohorts - Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Everyone is home on Wednesdays. So far, so good.
However, the teachers will be expected to be actively teaching both cohorts at the same time. So the teacher is still sitting in front of her computer, still using the same virtual tools to teach, and now has to manage in class and online behaviors. And the in school kids are just sitting at their desks instead of sitting at their houses.

Sounds like all the risk of in person without any of the benefit.

Other private schools are following this model (Spaulding, for one) and it's working well. I think the new normal will have a transition which is difficult but if the county had done this plan in September like the private schools instead of choosing all virtual, many of these mid semester changes wouldn't be happening.
Any in person time with a live teacher and live friends to banter with over the chromebooks is a good thing. It's the exact same as some of the virutal learning pods and daycares that are set up for school aged children. There is a benefit to this type of instruction.
The sad part is that it is going to implemented mid semester and the kids who are staying fully virutal will need to change teachers. Once again, if it was done in September like the Archdiocese or other private schools, this transition wouldn't have been necessary.

PP, are you sure about the bolded part? Why can't students who are staying virtual just remain virtual under the new model?

PP here. No, Not 100% sure. It seems to be the big question that people are throwing around on social media. Most assuming it's a done deal. In all honesty, if they can do a better virutal schedule and help more fully with tech issues and learning content which is better for at home instruction with the new virutal school set up, I think it will be a bonus to have children doing virutal in a separate 'school'.
Everyone is jumping to the negative without looking at what is good about hybrid:
Smaller class sizes
Less transitional time between classrooms/cafeteria
Mask wearing which reduces cold and covid
Chromebooks now for every child (hopefully, all will be issued one)

It's not ideal but in a pandemic, nothing is. I'm thankful it's forward movement. When they can get the full class together, some of these things may not change back.

I think change is scary and transition is tough. Those of us who have one child in private have seen it work out, so it's simply not as scary. For the record, we are keeping our kids home the week of Thanksgiving for an extra two days so we can see grandma without worrying a lot. We have the option to be in the virutal cohorts for days we are not in school for our oldest. It's a way to do so without losing ground academically. I hope that can be the case for public schools as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's be sure to send kids right before Thanksgiving so that we can put family members at risk, or miss out on holidays. GREAT MOVE!

That was my thought too. The 3 - 5 kids will get SIX whole days in person before winter break. Hardly seems worth the risk of travel/holidays/etc, not to mention the extra work for the teachers around the holidays.

Six is better than none. I don't know why this would disrupt anyone's holiday plans. Are people really staying in their houses 100% still? I see soccer games, kids at parks, kids at stores, what is the difference?

I have two kids, one in private high school and one in public. I can definitively say that having them in a classroom with a live teacher is much more beneficial for any length of time. If children who choose all virutal are with a new teacher, I get the disruption, but when there is a large cohort of virtural learners who are not also kids in the classroom, the coursework may be given on a different schedule or pace. The two hour learning break, for one. This may not happen with the kids who are on the hybrid but at home. Who knows?

Many unanswered questions which will need to be addressed, but progress is progress. And as for mask compliance issues, I know that there will always be a risk to someone's mask coming down under their noses or messing with them all day. Unless you keep your child home 100% of the time (in which you should do virutal learning), these things are happening out there daily. I have to correct my child on her mask placement and yes, it's a pain, but she does it when she notices. She's back in school and there have been zero cases in her Upper School.

I think change is scary and transition is tough. Those of us who have one child in private have seen it work out, so it's simply not as scary. For the record, we are keeping our kids home the week of Thanksgiving for an extra two days so we can see grandma without worrying a lot. We have the option to be in the virutal cohorts for days we are not in school for our oldest. It's a way to do so without losing ground academically. I hope that can be the case for public schools as well.

For so many who don't have stay at home parents or who are strugglin wtih virtual learning, those six days can be a god send. To those who don't want to go back, there are options while the options, granted, include more change.

Before I see my elderly parents? Yes, yes I am staying in my house for two weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's be sure to send kids right before Thanksgiving so that we can put family members at risk, or miss out on holidays. GREAT MOVE!

That was my thought too. The 3 - 5 kids will get SIX whole days in person before winter break. Hardly seems worth the risk of travel/holidays/etc, not to mention the extra work for the teachers around the holidays.

Six is better than none. I don't know why this would disrupt anyone's holiday plans. Are people really staying in their houses 100% still? I see soccer games, kids at parks, kids at stores, what is the difference?

I have two kids, one in private high school and one in public. I can definitively say that having them in a classroom with a live teacher is much more beneficial for any length of time. If children who choose all virutal are with a new teacher, I get the disruption, but when there is a large cohort of virtural learners who are not also kids in the classroom, the coursework may be given on a different schedule or pace. The two hour learning break, for one. This may not happen with the kids who are on the hybrid but at home. Who knows?

Many unanswered questions which will need to be addressed, but progress is progress. And as for mask compliance issues, I know that there will always be a risk to someone's mask coming down under their noses or messing with them all day. Unless you keep your child home 100% of the time (in which you should do virutal learning), these things are happening out there daily. I have to correct my child on her mask placement and yes, it's a pain, but she does it when she notices. She's back in school and there have been zero cases in her Upper School.

I think change is scary and transition is tough. Those of us who have one child in private have seen it work out, so it's simply not as scary. For the record, we are keeping our kids home the week of Thanksgiving for an extra two days so we can see grandma without worrying a lot. We have the option to be in the virutal cohorts for days we are not in school for our oldest. It's a way to do so without losing ground academically. I hope that can be the case for public schools as well.

For so many who don't have stay at home parents or who are strugglin wtih virtual learning, those six days can be a god send. To those who don't want to go back, there are options while the options, granted, include more change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AACPS voted last night to go back in a hybrid mode for K-2 on November 16 and 3-5 on November 30, with middle and high school later (maybe as early as the second week of December)

On one hand, I'm thrilled there is forward motion... on the other hand it's a TERRIBLE plan!

There will be two cohorts - Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Everyone is home on Wednesdays. So far, so good.
However, the teachers will be expected to be actively teaching both cohorts at the same time. So the teacher is still sitting in front of her computer, still using the same virtual tools to teach, and now has to manage in class and online behaviors. And the in school kids are just sitting at their desks instead of sitting at their houses.

Sounds like all the risk of in person without any of the benefit.

Other private schools are following this model (Spaulding, for one) and it's working well. I think the new normal will have a transition which is difficult but if the county had done this plan in September like the private schools instead of choosing all virtual, many of these mid semester changes wouldn't be happening.
Any in person time with a live teacher and live friends to banter with over the chromebooks is a good thing. It's the exact same as some of the virutal learning pods and daycares that are set up for school aged children. There is a benefit to this type of instruction.
The sad part is that it is going to implemented mid semester and the kids who are staying fully virutal will need to change teachers. Once again, if it was done in September like the Archdiocese or other private schools, this transition wouldn't have been necessary.

PP, are you sure about the bolded part? Why can't students who are staying virtual just remain virtual under the new model?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AACPS voted last night to go back in a hybrid mode for K-2 on November 16 and 3-5 on November 30, with middle and high school later (maybe as early as the second week of December)

On one hand, I'm thrilled there is forward motion... on the other hand it's a TERRIBLE plan!

There will be two cohorts - Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Everyone is home on Wednesdays. So far, so good.
However, the teachers will be expected to be actively teaching both cohorts at the same time. So the teacher is still sitting in front of her computer, still using the same virtual tools to teach, and now has to manage in class and online behaviors. And the in school kids are just sitting at their desks instead of sitting at their houses.

Sounds like all the risk of in person without any of the benefit.

Other private schools are following this model (Spaulding, for one) and it's working well. I think the new normal will have a transition which is difficult but if the county had done this plan in September like the private schools instead of choosing all virtual, many of these mid semester changes wouldn't be happening.
Any in person time with a live teacher and live friends to banter with over the chromebooks is a good thing. It's the exact same as some of the virutal learning pods and daycares that are set up for school aged children. There is a benefit to this type of instruction.
The sad part is that it is going to implemented mid semester and the kids who are staying fully virutal will need to change teachers. Once again, if it was done in September like the Archdiocese or other private schools, this transition wouldn't have been necessary.

PP, are you sure about the bolded part? Why can't students who are staying virtual just remain virtual under the new model?

Not that posted, but yes - that's what both Arlotto and the board members said. Virtual kids will be in a separate class - probably with a new teacher and maybe even with a teacher and kids from a different school.
Given the teacher will always be teaching kids at home anyway, I have no idea why they are doing it that way.

They even said that even hybrid kids may have to change their teacher depending on which teachers come back and how many kids chose each option. They will "balance" the classes to make sure each elem homeroom cohort only has 10-12 kids, so if a lot of kids from one homeroom chose virtual they may shift kids around.

Thanks PP. That's a shame and unfortunately, terribly disruptive for the kids already dealing with this less than ideal learning environment. I guess the benefit of doing it that way is that it will allow teachers who don't want to or have medical issues that would prevent them from teaching in person to have their own virtual classes. The workforce will be divided to make things as safe as possible for those teaching in person, with smaller classes for the in-person teachers.

I'm one of the posters above whose kids attend a private in AA County using a hybrid model. I was completely against sending my kids in person at first, but now, I'm so grateful that they have had the opportunity for some in-person learning. Fall was the time to do it, and we are grateful for each day they get to go in person. Chances are the school will resume all virtual for some, if not all, weeks of school during the winter.

I feel like AACPS would have been better served to start the year hybrid (for those who elected this model) and then pivot to virtual for everyone if the case numbers rose in Nov/Dec. That way, folks would have already been settled into their "cohorts" and could easily switch back to hybrid and in-person in the spring if conditions allows. So it feels like AACPS may have missed the window for this, as starting hybrid at the end of Nov may not work well.

Having said that, my kids have been going to their AACPS school every day for online learning and it's been great. There are 12 kids in their group and three folks from the County help them if there are issues. They eat lunch at the school and then play on the playground for over an hour each day during lunch. We've been going since Sept 8 and there have been zero issues or outbreaks. So I feel very comfortable transitioning to the hybrid model at this point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear what you are saying, and agree that the model is not ideal, but there are benefits to having some in-person interaction with teachers. This is the easiest way of doing it, and allows classes to stay together and with their current teachers. There really isn't any other choice.

This is the model that private schools have been using, although private schools have cameras rather than having the teachers use the laptops. Cameras allow teachers to be more active in the classroom. My kids use this model at their private school, and although it has some drawbacks, including the fact that the teachers are on camera wearing masks, my kids feel that the in person interaction is worth it. There's a connection that comes from learning in person that just isn't possible in DL. In addition, this model avoids penalizing any student for staying home, making it more likely that families will keep any child experiencing any COVID-like symptoms home.

Your private school probably has half the number of kids in the class, combined in person and at home, compared to public schools.

It's a lot easier to engage 15 students - some at home and some in class, than it is to engage 25+ kids, some in class, some at home.

I'm not against re-opening, but from an academic perspective, IMO, it's only marginally better. I think the social aspects of being in class is good, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's be sure to send kids right before Thanksgiving so that we can put family members at risk, or miss out on holidays. GREAT MOVE!

That was my thought too. The 3 - 5 kids will get SIX whole days in person before winter break. Hardly seems worth the risk of travel/holidays/etc, not to mention the extra work for the teachers around the holidays.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AACPS voted last night to go back in a hybrid mode for K-2 on November 16 and 3-5 on November 30, with middle and high school later (maybe as early as the second week of December)

On one hand, I'm thrilled there is forward motion... on the other hand it's a TERRIBLE plan!

There will be two cohorts - Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Everyone is home on Wednesdays. So far, so good.
However, the teachers will be expected to be actively teaching both cohorts at the same time. So the teacher is still sitting in front of her computer, still using the same virtual tools to teach, and now has to manage in class and online behaviors. And the in school kids are just sitting at their desks instead of sitting at their houses.

Sounds like all the risk of in person without any of the benefit.

Other private schools are following this model (Spaulding, for one) and it's working well. I think the new normal will have a transition which is difficult but if the county had done this plan in September like the private schools instead of choosing all virtual, many of these mid semester changes wouldn't be happening.
Any in person time with a live teacher and live friends to banter with over the chromebooks is a good thing. It's the exact same as some of the virutal learning pods and daycares that are set up for school aged children. There is a benefit to this type of instruction.
The sad part is that it is going to implemented mid semester and the kids who are staying fully virutal will need to change teachers. Once again, if it was done in September like the Archdiocese or other private schools, this transition wouldn't have been necessary.

PP, are you sure about the bolded part? Why can't students who are staying virtual just remain virtual under the new model?

Not that posted, but yes - that's what both Arlotto and the board members said. Virtual kids will be in a separate class - probably with a new teacher and maybe even with a teacher and kids from a different school.
Given the teacher will always be teaching kids at home anyway, I have no idea why they are doing it that way.

They even said that even hybrid kids may have to change their teacher depending on which teachers come back and how many kids chose each option. They will "balance" the classes to make sure each elem homeroom cohort only has 10-12 kids, so if a lot of kids from one homeroom chose virtual they may shift kids around.

Thanks PP. That's a shame and unfortunately, terribly disruptive for the kids already dealing with this less than ideal learning environment. I guess the benefit of doing it that way is that it will allow teachers who don't want to or have medical issues that would prevent them from teaching in person to have their own virtual classes. The workforce will be divided to make things as safe as possible for those teaching in person, with smaller classes for the in-person teachers.

I'm one of the posters above whose kids attend a private in AA County using a hybrid model. I was completely against sending my kids in person at first, but now, I'm so grateful that they have had the opportunity for some in-person learning. Fall was the time to do it, and we are grateful for each day they get to go in person. Chances are the school will resume all virtual for some, if not all, weeks of school during the winter.