Just popping in to say there are some truly unhinged posters on AEM today. There are a few people (representing both sides of the open vs DL debate) that have posted approximately 3,000 times today. Do none of these people work? Or have kids to take care of? Or any other responsibilities? And even if the answer to all of that is no and they have all the time in the world to post on FB, why would any sane person bother to keep up these same arguments for this long? These people are prolific posters who have been beating the same drum for months and months.

A tip and a question if any of you happen to be reading here (and really, this applies to so many DCUM posters too): you’re not going to convince the other side. I assume you know that by now. So what are you trying to accomplish?

And again, this applies to both sides of this endless debate.

Anonymous wrote:If they get COVID on the job they are paid. Why can’t you all understand that?

Not paying you for COVID caught on your own time.

Why should public school teachers get that benefit and not everybody else who is out actually doing their jobs?

No, actually, as evidenced by the WaPo article linked above, the CARES act only covers 14 days. After that you are on your own. If you don't have sick leave then you go unpaid. And it stinks that you have to use your own sick leave. I think it is criminal that firefighters, EMS, police and other front line workers are being treated this way. And now people want to throw a much larger group into the same mix? No. I will not do it.

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Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

Right now basically anyone who calls in with any of said symptoms does not report in person. So, they would not be allowed in a school....staffing classrooms will definitely be a problem as long as the list of symptoms is so long...

APS has not publicized or informed parents of this testing contract. And they should’ve done this before they made parents choose. They should open up the window to choose again if that is the new plan. It really changes the safety landscape.

If they get COVID on the job they are paid. Why can’t you all understand that?

Not paying you for COVID caught on your own time.

Why should public school teachers get that benefit and not everybody else who is out actually doing their jobs?

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Anonymous wrote:I agree with making every effort to open 5 days a week by the fall. I do NOT agree with the APE position to open all levels of school NOW. And they literally mean NOW. I agree with opening NOW, or at least soon, for K-2 who want to go back and kids with disabilities and struggling EL students. I think the idea of opening NOW for middle and high school with changing classes and increased vulnerability to the virus is simply unsupported in both the science and frankly, not nearly as urgent in terms of the data on learning loss.

You will come up with some reason in the fall they can’t open. That’s why should open now, people like you.

Why would a parent who wants school open suddenly not want school open in fall? It makes complete sense for them to stay closed til Q4 die numbers for come down and those who can to get vaccinated. I am certain all teachers, myself included, see 5 days with masks being very possible in fall and hopefully that’s where we are but we don’t need to rush unvaccinated people in in the PEAK in January for that to happen in august.

Another APS ES parent here. All of this. Would like to see hybrid in Q4. And a plan for being open in the fall 5 days a week. With masks as needed. But opening now at the height of the pandemic is just dumb. Especially with being so close to teachers getting the vaccine. I chose hybrid but if they open now I won't be sending my kid in.

And is there any science behind your idea that it is dumb to open school right now? All the respected research, data, science advises the opposite. https://globalepidemics.org/2020/12/18/schools-and-the-path-to-zero-strategies-for-pandemic-resilience-in-the-face-of-high-community-spread/

Did you read this document? At this level of spread, Itadvises surveillance testing for teachers and older students. APS has announced no plans for doing that. So, I stand by my point. Open For K-2 and disabilities and EL who need it. If you’re testing all teachers. But 11 and up require ongoing regular surveillance testing of the kids attending school. AND surveillance testing for teachers. All teachers.

APS has contracted with a company to do surveillance testing. I agree open K-2, SPED and EL. Everyone else Q4.

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Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

And CARES only addresses 14 days of quarantine or leave for a teacher; after that any time comes out of a teacher's own sick leave. Nope, not happening. If I get sick or need to quarantine and can't work because of the virus then the school system needs to man up and pay me for the time. I am not covering sick leave out of my own pocket, which means I am not returning to the building until this issue is worked out.

That’s not true at all. Our children are largely being taught by morons.

What's not true? The 14 days is most certainly true. After 14 days teachers must use sick leave. It doesn't matter if it is a continuation of a first episode or if it is a second or third episode. The 14 day cap is cumulative. This is one of the reasons why teachers are upset. WaPo even had an article in the paper about it because firefighters and EMS personnel are getting caught in the same stranglehold. They have firefighters who have unquestionably gotten Covid because of their jobs and unemployment* doesn't cover the lost work days.

Pay attention PP. There are legitimate reasons why people feel like they're getting screwed.

*workman's comp

here is the link: washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/fairfax-firefighters-coronavirus/2020/12/19/e281da78-407f-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html

I read that story. It was pretty upsetting. I didn't link it to teachers but I definitely see how the decision re firefighters would also be the decision re teachers...and that makes me really, really mad. Both for the firefighters and teachers. I presume it is the same for police. What a horrible way to treat the people we all need to do things the things they do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

And CARES only addresses 14 days of quarantine or leave for a teacher; after that any time comes out of a teacher's own sick leave. Nope, not happening. If I get sick or need to quarantine and can't work because of the virus then the school system needs to man up and pay me for the time. I am not covering sick leave out of my own pocket, which means I am not returning to the building until this issue is worked out.

That’s not true at all. Our children are largely being taught by morons.

What's not true? The 14 days is most certainly true. After 14 days teachers must use sick leave. It doesn't matter if it is a continuation of a first episode or if it is a second or third episode. The 14 day cap is cumulative. This is one of the reasons why teachers are upset. WaPo even had an article in the paper about it because firefighters and EMS personnel are getting caught in the same stranglehold. They have firefighters who have unquestionably gotten Covid because of their jobs and unemployment* doesn't cover the lost work days.

Pay attention PP. There are legitimate reasons why people feel like they're getting screwed.

*workman's comp

here is the link: washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/fairfax-firefighters-coronavirus/2020/12/19/e281da78-407f-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

And CARES only addresses 14 days of quarantine or leave for a teacher; after that any time comes out of a teacher's own sick leave. Nope, not happening. If I get sick or need to quarantine and can't work because of the virus then the school system needs to man up and pay me for the time. I am not covering sick leave out of my own pocket, which means I am not returning to the building until this issue is worked out.

That’s not true at all. Our children are largely being taught by morons.

What's not true? The 14 days is most certainly true. After 14 days teachers must use sick leave. It doesn't matter if it is a continuation of a first episode or if it is a second or third episode. The 14 day cap is cumulative. This is one of the reasons why teachers are upset. WaPo even had an article in the paper about it because firefighters and EMS personnel are getting caught in the same stranglehold. They have firefighters who have unquestionably gotten Covid because of their jobs and unemployment doesn't cover the lost work days.

Pay attention PP. There are legitimate reasons why people feel like they're getting screwed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

And CARES only addresses 14 days of quarantine or leave for a teacher; after that any time comes out of a teacher's own sick leave. Nope, not happening. If I get sick or need to quarantine and can't work because of the virus then the school system needs to man up and pay me for the time. I am not covering sick leave out of my own pocket, which means I am not returning to the building until this issue is worked out.

That’s not true at all. Our children are largely being taught by morons.

Time to plan for submitting applications to Catholic and private schools for 2021-22! This thread may still be active in a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

And CARES only addresses 14 days of quarantine or leave for a teacher; after that any time comes out of a teacher's own sick leave. Nope, not happening. If I get sick or need to quarantine and can't work because of the virus then the school system needs to man up and pay me for the time. I am not covering sick leave out of my own pocket, which means I am not returning to the building until this issue is worked out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

we've been reading this for months, meanwhile there are lots of school systems, both public and private, that are figuring it out.. time for APS to move forward and just figure it out.

At levels this high with number of cases and percent positive? In the height of flu season?


Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Of course there’s money. I’m a principal in neighboring county. I have quite a bit of CARES Act money in our school account that I plan to use for summer school.

BS. So your school will be open for summer school for all students to take classes? Of course not.

Possible to provide summer programs aimed at helping elementary students needing extra instruction in reading or math. But no way summer school as extension of school year.

So much bad information on these forums being spewed by “educators”.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all hoping for summer school.... wishful thinking. They can’t staff summer school fully in a regular year. You think teachers are going to work additional weeks after this years shitshow for $35/hour?! Keep dreaming. Existing contracts go through June 18. Beyond the fact there is no money for summer school for all. They just got rid of those last year because of the costs. And now we have a budget shortfall.

Umm. How much $$ did APS receive from the cares act? If it's clearly not being used to open schools now, it makes sense it may be used to get kids on track over the summer.

At least $10 Million. There is money to provide PPE and other mitigation aides, as well as $$$ for summer school for those who want it.

We, meaning parents and teachers, need to collectively focus on this. The money is there to reduce risk and install safety measures.
This is where these conversations should lead - putting the $$ to use in an effort to make schools safe to return. Let's stop arguing and focus together on what's important, getting schools safe to reopen..

You can get as much PPE and plexiglass and hand sanitizer as you want. The issue that the CARES Act money cannot address is the impact of teachers being unavailable for in-person teaching because they have to quarantine or because they wake up with any one of the many symptoms that wouldn’t prevent them from going to school in the past, but now they do. There are not enough substitutes to cover it. So while the inside of the schools may be relatively safe, the community spread outside still impacts school operations.

we've been reading this for months, meanwhile there are lots of school systems, both public and private, that are figuring it out.. time for APS to move forward and just figure it out.