Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in PG county we are being told that hybrid instruction means teachers will teach one group in class while teaching the other through distance learning.

I am a teacher and I also have kids in school. Distance learning is going OK for us.

But if you think distance teaching sucks NOW for your kid, when all the teacher has to think about is kids on one computer screen -- how much better do you think distance teaching will be when that same teacher is in school, in person and wearing a mask, and teaching 15 kids in her class WHILE teaching 15 kids on the computer too? Managing in class behavior and managing on screen behavior?

Fine. Have the districts go back to the State and say that hybrid learning is impossible because concurrent teaching is an unsustainable model. Even better, come up with a different model that does not involve concurrent teaching or recommend that schools remain closed for other year, through the first semester of the 2021-22 school year.

What other option is there?

Work as a state to get community spread below 10 new cases per 100,000 per day.

Make that decision and make it know that all schools remain in DL until that metric is met. Do schools reopen fully, 5 days per week for anyone who wants it when that happens?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I completely agree that the health metrics should govern reopening decisions. But unless the plan is to re-open fully, the details of reopening using a hybrid model need to be worked out.

There are only two ways to do a hybrid schedule.

A) Teacher teaches half the class in person one day and then half the class in person the other day. On days at home kids do asynchronous activities.

B) Teacher teaches half the class in person AND half the class online at the same time.

Private schools can choose some version of (A) but in MD, public schools cannot, unless the state of MD decides to allow asynchronous learning hours to count for attendance purposes. They will not do this, so MD public schools are going to have to choose option (B) which I can right now guarantee to you will absolutely suck. It will especially suck for kids with special needs.

Exactly. Which is why instead of kicking the can down the road, the districts need to either ask the State to withdraw the requirements that make A impossible, adopt the lesser model of B and live with it, or notify the state that they have decided to remain in DL long-term for the majority of the students brining back small groups of students most in need of face to face instruction.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in PG county we are being told that hybrid instruction means teachers will teach one group in class while teaching the other through distance learning.

I am a teacher and I also have kids in school. Distance learning is going OK for us.

But if you think distance teaching sucks NOW for your kid, when all the teacher has to think about is kids on one computer screen -- how much better do you think distance teaching will be when that same teacher is in school, in person and wearing a mask, and teaching 15 kids in her class WHILE teaching 15 kids on the computer too? Managing in class behavior and managing on screen behavior?

Fine. Have the districts go back to the State and say that hybrid learning is impossible because concurrent teaching is an unsustainable model. Even better, come up with a different model that does not involve concurrent teaching or recommend that schools remain closed for other year, through the first semester of the 2021-22 school year.

What other option is there?

Work as a state to get community spread below 10 new cases per 100,000 per day.

Anonymous wrote:
I completely agree that the health metrics should govern reopening decisions. But unless the plan is to re-open fully, the details of reopening using a hybrid model need to be worked out.

There are only two ways to do a hybrid schedule.

A) Teacher teaches half the class in person one day and then half the class in person the other day. On days at home kids do asynchronous activities.

B) Teacher teaches half the class in person AND half the class online at the same time.

Private schools can choose some version of (A) but in MD, public schools cannot, unless the state of MD decides to allow asynchronous learning hours to count for attendance purposes. They will not do this, so MD public schools are going to have to choose option (B) which I can right now guarantee to you will absolutely suck. It will especially suck for kids with special needs.

Anonymous wrote:Well, in PG county we are being told that hybrid instruction means teachers will teach one group in class while teaching the other through distance learning.

I am a teacher and I also have kids in school. Distance learning is going OK for us.

But if you think distance teaching sucks NOW for your kid, when all the teacher has to think about is kids on one computer screen -- how much better do you think distance teaching will be when that same teacher is in school, in person and wearing a mask, and teaching 15 kids in her class WHILE teaching 15 kids on the computer too? Managing in class behavior and managing on screen behavior?

Fine. Have the districts go back to the State and say that hybrid learning is impossible because concurrent teaching is an unsustainable model. Even better, come up with a different model that does not involve concurrent teaching or recommend that schools remain closed for other year, through the first semester of the 2021-22 school year.

What other option is there?

Well, in PG county we are being told that hybrid instruction means teachers will teach one group in class while teaching the other through distance learning.

I am a teacher and I also have kids in school. Distance learning is going OK for us.

But if you think distance teaching sucks NOW for your kid, when all the teacher has to think about is kids on one computer screen -- how much better do you think distance teaching will be when that same teacher is in school, in person and wearing a mask, and teaching 15 kids in her class WHILE teaching 15 kids on the computer too? Managing in class behavior and managing on screen behavior?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I've gone back and forth in my mind about school reopening and certainly don't want teachers to feel that they are risking their lives if they return to school buildings. However, the messaging and demands from teachers' union representatives has not been in good faith. It is easy to shoot down every proposal, but much more difficult to come to the table with specific demands for a safe return to school. That's what we need. Those in charge keep kicking the can down the road to the point where parents have started thinking that in person school might not be a possibility for next year or even the year after that.

The teachers union hasn't been kicking the can down the road. We have asked for a return to in person school to be tied to specific metrics of disease spread in the community.

In particular, we are asking that schools remain closed unless the amount of new cases of COVID, per day, per 100,000 is under 10.

That is a completely reasonable thing to ask. Instead of telling us "it's been long enough, time to reopen" why not look at the case rate in the community and ask "Why is the care rate so high and what can we do to lower it?"

In Howard County at least, that is not true. There is no plan in place to return students to school using a hybrid model, despite the promise to develop one during first semester. They failed to do that. There is no plan.

I completely agree that the health metrics should govern reopening decisions. But unless the plan is to re-open fully, the details of reopening using a hybrid model need to be worked out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no way that PGCPS will go back by March 1st. They set metrics that need to be met and the county isn't even close to meeting them.
Although it sucks in many ways, we have hit our stride now. Our kids know when to go on line, what is expected of them and the technical glitches seem to have been dealt with. If we go to hybrid, the kids will need to learn all new routines, classroom behaviors, etc. I'm not sure it is worth the disruption at this point. My kids are in 1st. 4th and 7th.
IMO- they should bring back kids with special education needs full time and leave the rest in virtual learning.

You aren’t forced. Keep your kids at home. Problem solved.

I'm not worried about my kids, I'm worried about the teachers, staff, bus drivers etc. I care about my neighbors. Do you live in PGCPS? Some elementary and middle schools are at +150% capacity. How on earth will they be able to do social distancing there?

This should be a district by district decision. What works in more rural areas of the state might not work in the rest of the state.

PGCPS has set these metrics. When they are met, then they should go back. (current values in ())
Percent of Positive Cases falls between 5% - 8% (9.6%)
Number of New Cases per Day 46 -91 (2970)
Average daily case rate (per 100,000 population) falls between 5 - 10 (33.83).

Sorry, I misread the current numbers. According to PGCPS, as of 1/21 the numbers are
Positivity: 10.1%
New Cases per Day: 442
Daily Case Rate: 48.6

Anonymous wrote:

I've gone back and forth in my mind about school reopening and certainly don't want teachers to feel that they are risking their lives if they return to school buildings. However, the messaging and demands from teachers' union representatives has not been in good faith. It is easy to shoot down every proposal, but much more difficult to come to the table with specific demands for a safe return to school. That's what we need. Those in charge keep kicking the can down the road to the point where parents have started thinking that in person school might not be a possibility for next year or even the year after that.

The teachers union hasn't been kicking the can down the road. We have asked for a return to in person school to be tied to specific metrics of disease spread in the community.

In particular, we are asking that schools remain closed unless the amount of new cases of COVID, per day, per 100,000 is under 10.

That is a completely reasonable thing to ask. Instead of telling us "it's been long enough, time to reopen" why not look at the case rate in the community and ask "Why is the care rate so high and what can we do to lower it?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no way that PGCPS will go back by March 1st. They set metrics that need to be met and the county isn't even close to meeting them.
Although it sucks in many ways, we have hit our stride now. Our kids know when to go on line, what is expected of them and the technical glitches seem to have been dealt with. If we go to hybrid, the kids will need to learn all new routines, classroom behaviors, etc. I'm not sure it is worth the disruption at this point. My kids are in 1st. 4th and 7th.
IMO- they should bring back kids with special education needs full time and leave the rest in virtual learning.

You aren’t forced. Keep your kids at home. Problem solved.

I'm not worried about my kids, I'm worried about the teachers, staff, bus drivers etc. I care about my neighbors. Do you live in PGCPS? Some elementary and middle schools are at +150% capacity. How on earth will they be able to do social distancing there?

This should be a district by district decision. What works in more rural areas of the state might not work in the rest of the state.

PGCPS has set these metrics. When they are met, then they should go back. (current values in ())
Percent of Positive Cases falls between 5% - 8% (9.6%)
Number of New Cases per Day 46 -91 (2970)
Average daily case rate (per 100,000 population) falls between 5 - 10 (33.83).

I can only speculate about what is happening. I view this as a kick in the pants to the districts to plan for returning kids to in-person school, starting with smaller groups of students and leading up to K-8, which is the Biden Administration priority. If some return doesn't happen in the Spring, returning in the fall will be even more difficult.

I've gone back and forth in my mind about school reopening and certainly don't want teachers to feel that they are risking their lives if they return to school buildings. However, the messaging and demands from teachers' union representatives has not been in good faith. It is easy to shoot down every proposal, but much more difficult to come to the table with specific demands for a safe return to school. That's what we need. Those in charge keep kicking the can down the road to the point where parents have started thinking that in person school might not be a possibility for next year or even the year after that.

I disagree with the Gov. about vaccinations. When we are this close to getting teachers vaccinated, why should they be forced to return to school buildings before they have the benefit of this protection? The problem, though, is that after teachers have been prioritized and vaccinated, we hear that they can't return because their kids, or family members aren't vaccinated, meaning that there can be no in person school until every member of the community has been vaccinated. A decision needs to be made with input from public health authorities about whether schools remain shut down until everyone who wants a vaccination has one, including children, or whether there is some point before that when the harm caused by keeping schools closed outweighs the risk of reopening. If the answer is the former, then perhaps more innovative solutions are needed for the education delivery model.

A big problem can't be solved at once. I agree with the PPs who said that we need to start small, with special needs or other small groups, and work from there.

Dr. Salmon said at the press conference that DL will still be an option for parents who want it. You can keep your kid home if you like.

Allegany County is meeting Monday to make a decision.

Washington County is opening mid-February.

Garrett County hasn't announced yet, I think because they had a lot of snow on Friday and didn't get their act together. We should hear something this week.

Anonymous wrote:There is no way that PGCPS will go back by March 1st. They set metrics that need to be met and the county isn't even close to meeting them.
Although it sucks in many ways, we have hit our stride now. Our kids know when to go on line, what is expected of them and the technical glitches seem to have been dealt with. If we go to hybrid, the kids will need to learn all new routines, classroom behaviors, etc. I'm not sure it is worth the disruption at this point. My kids are in 1st. 4th and 7th.
IMO- they should bring back kids with special education needs full time and leave the rest in virtual learning.

You aren’t forced. Keep your kids at home. Problem solved.

Finally Hogan. MCPS would never go back.

There is no way that PGCPS will go back by March 1st. They set metrics that need to be met and the county isn't even close to meeting them.
Although it sucks in many ways, we have hit our stride now. Our kids know when to go on line, what is expected of them and the technical glitches seem to have been dealt with. If we go to hybrid, the kids will need to learn all new routines, classroom behaviors, etc. I'm not sure it is worth the disruption at this point. My kids are in 1st. 4th and 7th.
IMO- they should bring back kids with special education needs full time and leave the rest in virtual learning.