Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are fools if you think teachers haven’t advocated for better infrastructure at their respective schools before covid.

I am in the middle of doing this right now. And I advocated for this before covid but having to deal with this crap and covid just makes me personally push harder.

And since when does the mayor advocate for children? By keeping schools closed for 1.5 years and not mandating vaccinations across the board?

Glad you’ll accept crumbs.

Also not saying the WTU was the best either, I was surprised how many of my colleagues didn’t return to IPL. But last school year you have no clue how many schools were in worse shape.

The fact is that the mayor did fail, she failed to open schools and assure teachers her word would be kept. She failed to communicate and build trust and continues to not upkeep schools. No point in a renovation if things don’t work afterwards.

I’d rather also have leaders who are ONLY focused on schools, while the mayor is focused on the city as a whole.

wow is that really the wtu line? the mayor kept schools closed and the wtu was an innocent bystander?

fascinating. do u think ppl will believe that? how long do you think the average human memory is? 3 minutes? yr thinking of goldfish, not people

This. As if we don't recall that the reason schools were closed in Fall 2020 is because of WTU. Then the Mayor tried to bring back 11 kids per grade at each school who were homeless, ELL, had IEP's, or other at-risk factors. WTU's response? An illegal strike/sick out. Some clueless parents supported this because they thought DCPS wasn't reopening enough, and they weren't connecting the dots that WTU was striking because they didn't want to reopen at all, not because WTU thought DCPS should reopen more. Then WTU advocated against reopening in February 2021, but the Mayor reopened anyway. Then WTU continued to advocate against reopening by claiming they favored reopening BUT all these unreasonable demands had to be met first, which would have resulted in further delays to reopening. Then WTU tried the same tactic of making unreasonable demands as a condition for more fully reopening Fall of 2021. Now they were forced back to work and they're pushing to move control to the politicians who are in their pocket, and making false claims that they're doing it for the children.

If control was currently under SBOE, then schools would still be closed. SBOE members advocated against reopening even in 2021!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

To say that asking for HVAC and water is in spite of kids is really something. Must be nice to have the privilege to not worry about it

It's not that you're asking for HVAC and water (and you're not); it's that you're using it as an excuse to keep schools closed, move control to union-that-shall-remain-nameless supporting SBOE, lobby to elect Robert White who is in the pocket of the union-that-shall-remain-nameless. These are all things that aren't in children's best interests yet you're hiding behind the false veneer of looking out for their best interests when in fact you're only looking out for your own.

+1

pretty telling that they're advocating for a change in leadership structure instead of directly for the things they say they want

So then I guess we are just going to ignore the negotiations over these things in the MOA (not that DCPS is doing what they agreed to), or the testimony by teachers to the council, or the advocacy and petitions around specific issues. But ok, you only noticed when it was the big thing.

Uh well I noticed the HVAC court case which said all schools except for two had decent HVAC. What do you have to say about that?

I'd say that the WTU is really bad at collecting and presenting evidence. My school wasn't one of those two and my lived experience is that it's not working.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

To say that asking for HVAC and water is in spite of kids is really something. Must be nice to have the privilege to not worry about it

It's not that you're asking for HVAC and water (and you're not); it's that you're using it as an excuse to keep schools closed, move control to union-that-shall-remain-nameless supporting SBOE, lobby to elect Robert White who is in the pocket of the union-that-shall-remain-nameless. These are all things that aren't in children's best interests yet you're hiding behind the false veneer of looking out for their best interests when in fact you're only looking out for your own.

+1

pretty telling that they're advocating for a change in leadership structure instead of directly for the things they say they want

So then I guess we are just going to ignore the negotiations over these things in the MOA (not that DCPS is doing what they agreed to), or the testimony by teachers to the council, or the advocacy and petitions around specific issues. But ok, you only noticed when it was the big thing.

Uh well I noticed the HVAC court case which said all schools except for two had decent HVAC. What do you have to say about that?

Anonymous wrote:You all are fools if you think teachers haven’t advocated for better infrastructure at their respective schools before covid.

I am in the middle of doing this right now. And I advocated for this before covid but having to deal with this crap and covid just makes me personally push harder.

And since when does the mayor advocate for children? By keeping schools closed for 1.5 years and not mandating vaccinations across the board?

Glad you’ll accept crumbs.

Also not saying the WTU was the best either, I was surprised how many of my colleagues didn’t return to IPL. But last school year you have no clue how many schools were in worse shape.

The fact is that the mayor did fail, she failed to open schools and assure teachers her word would be kept. She failed to communicate and build trust and continues to not upkeep schools. No point in a renovation if things don’t work afterwards.

I’d rather also have leaders who are ONLY focused on schools, while the mayor is focused on the city as a whole.

wow is that really the wtu line? the mayor kept schools closed and the wtu was an innocent bystander?

fascinating. do u think ppl will believe that? how long do you think the average human memory is? 3 minutes? yr thinking of goldfish, not people

Anonymous wrote:You all are fools if you think teachers haven’t advocated for better infrastructure at their respective schools before covid.

I am in the middle of doing this right now. And I advocated for this before covid but having to deal with this crap and covid just makes me personally push harder.

And since when does the mayor advocate for children? By keeping schools closed for 1.5 years and not mandating vaccinations across the board?

Glad you’ll accept crumbs.

Also not saying the WTU was the best either, I was surprised how many of my colleagues didn’t return to IPL. But last school year you have no clue how many schools were in worse shape.

The fact is that the mayor did fail, she failed to open schools and assure teachers her word would be kept. She failed to communicate and build trust and continues to not upkeep schools. No point in a renovation if things don’t work afterwards.

I’d rather also have leaders who are ONLY focused on schools, while the mayor is focused on the city as a whole.

Nobody is going to believe your blatant falsehoods.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

It’s not, my school uses those gallon waters. And not all the toilets flush. Our hvac isn’t fully function but those rooms have extra noisy filters. It is you who do not realize the things schools don’t tell parents.

No air or heater, broken lights, broken toilets, holes in the roof are just some infrastructure problems schools deal with.

So yeah, that's not great, but some broken toilets and noisy HVAC is worlds apart from "no water or HVAC"

Look, I think it should be fixed, but the extreme hyperbole isn't doing you any favors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

I’m not sure if you are the same poster as the one above you but I reported this, and wanted to explain why. It’s beyond disgusting to me that parents continue to bash the WTU and teachers (we are the WTU) for advocating for CHILDREN. Just bc your particular child is in a good setting does not mean that ll are, and we shouldn’t accept this. The fact that people still feel entitled to abuse and harass teachers on this site is incredibly frustrating and only mitigated when studies come out against the people on this site who immediately shift into “I don’t know why people think were racist all I ever did was…”

So much of this rhetoric is appalling, and I can’t wait for the next report on the BLM sign posting, but truly deplorable DCUM crew

1) I'm not the same poster as the one I quoted and added a +1 to.
2) WTU is advocating for teachers, not children.
3) WTU is pretending to advocate for children but really you're advocating to move control to your supporters.
4) No one is arguing that you shouldn't advocate for working HVAC and water.
5) WTU already negotiated specific details for working HVAC and water as a condition for reopening.
6) Parents pointing out that we find WTU tactics to be disingenuous and deplorable isn't abusing teachers.

Can you please find me examples since school started of teachers advocating for the closing of schools? I KNOW you won't find anything from the WTU leadership. Maybe there is someone out there, but that is not what I have been hearing.

What's deplorable is you all saying you care about kids, but advocating for ONLY one thing (reopening schools). I would care FAR MORE about what you all say if you advocated for fixing school buildings. There are so many things that students need, and you all know this. The WTU may have negotiated details on these things already, BUT IT ISN'T HAPPENING. If you want me to think you care about kids at all, then advocate for what kids need. Call the council, push for the mayor and DGS to move faster on fixing buildings, DO SOMETHING. I'm not saying you need to argue for closing the schools - that would be stupid and I wouldn't support it anyway. But until YOU start to care about the kids, then all of the screaming you do just looks like teacher bashing because teachers are saying things you find inconvenient.

here’s a thought - why not ask why YOUR UNION isn’t putting all it’s money and political capital into fixing your physical plant? Why did they spend all their capital advocating for librarians and virtual “learning”?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

To say that asking for HVAC and water is in spite of kids is really something. Must be nice to have the privilege to not worry about it

It's not that you're asking for HVAC and water (and you're not); it's that you're using it as an excuse to keep schools closed, move control to union-that-shall-remain-nameless supporting SBOE, lobby to elect Robert White who is in the pocket of the union-that-shall-remain-nameless. These are all things that aren't in children's best interests yet you're hiding behind the false veneer of looking out for their best interests when in fact you're only looking out for your own.

+1

pretty telling that they're advocating for a change in leadership structure instead of directly for the things they say they want

So then I guess we are just going to ignore the negotiations over these things in the MOA (not that DCPS is doing what they agreed to), or the testimony by teachers to the council, or the advocacy and petitions around specific issues. But ok, you only noticed when it was the big thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

I’m not sure if you are the same poster as the one above you but I reported this, and wanted to explain why. It’s beyond disgusting to me that parents continue to bash the WTU and teachers (we are the WTU) for advocating for CHILDREN. Just bc your particular child is in a good setting does not mean that ll are, and we shouldn’t accept this. The fact that people still feel entitled to abuse and harass teachers on this site is incredibly frustrating and only mitigated when studies come out against the people on this site who immediately shift into “I don’t know why people think were racist all I ever did was…”

So much of this rhetoric is appalling, and I can’t wait for the next report on the BLM sign posting, but truly deplorable DCUM crew

1) I'm not the same poster as the one I quoted and added a +1 to.
2) WTU is advocating for teachers, not children.
3) WTU is pretending to advocate for children but really you're advocating to move control to your supporters.
4) No one is arguing that you shouldn't advocate for working HVAC and water.
5) WTU already negotiated specific details for working HVAC and water as a condition for reopening.
6) Parents pointing out that we find WTU tactics to be disingenuous and deplorable isn't abusing teachers.

Can you please find me examples since school started of teachers advocating for the closing of schools? I KNOW you won't find anything from the WTU leadership. Maybe there is someone out there, but that is not what I have been hearing.

What's deplorable is you all saying you care about kids, but advocating for ONLY one thing (reopening schools). I would care FAR MORE about what you all say if you advocated for fixing school buildings. There are so many things that students need, and you all know this. The WTU may have negotiated details on these things already, BUT IT ISN'T HAPPENING. If you want me to think you care about kids at all, then advocate for what kids need. Call the council, push for the mayor and DGS to move faster on fixing buildings, DO SOMETHING. I'm not saying you need to argue for closing the schools - that would be stupid and I wouldn't support it anyway. But until YOU start to care about the kids, then all of the screaming you do just looks like teacher bashing because teachers are saying things you find inconvenient.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

and now we have the argument that everything has to be perfect before anyone can return to schools. how did people cope before COVID?

PP. I didn't say that we shouldn't be back in schools. We should. I'll say it again because you all don't seem to believe me: WE SHOULD BE BACK IN SCHOOLS.

That said, this thread is about whether the mayor should retain full and solitary control of DCPS and OSSE. The mayor is currently in control of the entire system, and all of the appointees who run all of the systems that oversee and control DCPS. Unless we are going to say that the ONLY thing that matters is reopening schools, regardless of the condition or effectiveness, then the mayor has not been a resounding success. She has failed to ensure that schools provide actual conditions for learning, and to me, that matters too.

And, to your point about how did we cope before COVID - the answer is not very well. People have been complaining about these issues for YEARS. Learning in extreme heat has been EXTREMELY challenging for YEARS. Its only recently that the news media and the council have started to pay attention, and that you all have begun to hear about it. It mattered then, not that you cared, and it matters now, not that you care now. As long as your precious little angels are taken care of - apparently we can screw the poor kids.

I think that opening schools regardless of whether a classroom has a temporary HVAC unit (which is the worst I've actually seen evidence for so far) is the highest priority by far.

Also, think before you make stupid statements like that. Those of us who argued for immediate reopening turned out to be in the right, as far as it goes for minoritized children. All of the research backs us up.

I'm the PP you are responding to.

I am so SICK of people like you. You are obviously NOT in a school, and obviously your children go to a school where everything works well or the PTA is able to pay for fixes. Not every school has that, and its ASTONISHING of you to pretend that you do.

I said I think schools need to be open, and I stand by that. Schools need to be open and not close again. But that doesn't mean that things are good. They aren't. Things are HORRIBLE.

Since you don't believe me anyway, I won't say I care about the kids. I care about me. I am horribly uncomfortable in an 80 degree room wearing a mask all day. I feel terrible for my colleagues who have gone days without any potable water available in a school (my school, as I mentioned in a previous comment, has water bottle fillers attached to the water fountains, so potable water is not an issue for us). As a different poster stated already, the WTU did negotiate for these things to be dealt with. Despite that IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE IT HASN'T HAPPENED. DCPS agreed to a whole bunch of things AND THEY AREN'T DOING IT! I am furious at the mayor for all of this, and just reopening schools does not make me feel better. Get rid of mayoral control, don't get rid of mayoral control, I honestly don't care. I will support whoever can get these things dealt with - be it a new mayor, a new chancellor, shifting the system to control of the SBOE. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me which one happens. I will support whichever one can get things done because right now NO ONE IS FIXING THE ISSUES.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

I’m not sure if you are the same poster as the one above you but I reported this, and wanted to explain why. It’s beyond disgusting to me that parents continue to bash the WTU and teachers (we are the WTU) for advocating for CHILDREN. Just bc your particular child is in a good setting does not mean that ll are, and we shouldn’t accept this. The fact that people still feel entitled to abuse and harass teachers on this site is incredibly frustrating and only mitigated when studies come out against the people on this site who immediately shift into “I don’t know why people think were racist all I ever did was…”

So much of this rhetoric is appalling, and I can’t wait for the next report on the BLM sign posting, but truly deplorable DCUM crew

WTU never advocated for children. They literally advocated to keep kids out of school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

I’m not sure if you are the same poster as the one above you but I reported this, and wanted to explain why. It’s beyond disgusting to me that parents continue to bash the WTU and teachers (we are the WTU) for advocating for CHILDREN. Just bc your particular child is in a good setting does not mean that ll are, and we shouldn’t accept this. The fact that people still feel entitled to abuse and harass teachers on this site is incredibly frustrating and only mitigated when studies come out against the people on this site who immediately shift into “I don’t know why people think were racist all I ever did was…”

So much of this rhetoric is appalling, and I can’t wait for the next report on the BLM sign posting, but truly deplorable DCUM crew

oh yay, trying to shut down discussion yet again because you can’t take the consequences of your decisions. that makes me really super confident in handing over the school system to a WTU-dominated board.

I’ll say it again; the majority of posts on this thread and forum are incredibly based in conservatism and not rocking the boat because life is good for them.
Then, the second they get called out, it’s run for the hills and op - eds

You all are fools if you think teachers haven’t advocated for better infrastructure at their respective schools before covid.

I am in the middle of doing this right now. And I advocated for this before covid but having to deal with this crap and covid just makes me personally push harder.

And since when does the mayor advocate for children? By keeping schools closed for 1.5 years and not mandating vaccinations across the board?

Glad you’ll accept crumbs.

Also not saying the WTU was the best either, I was surprised how many of my colleagues didn’t return to IPL. But last school year you have no clue how many schools were in worse shape.

The fact is that the mayor did fail, she failed to open schools and assure teachers her word would be kept. She failed to communicate and build trust and continues to not upkeep schools. No point in a renovation if things don’t work afterwards.

I’d rather also have leaders who are ONLY focused on schools, while the mayor is focused on the city as a whole.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some teachers and a small group of parents who are VERY VERY angry at DCPS. Then there are others who see things that could be improved. The V.V. Angry people place all blame on the mayor, but don't really have any comprehension of how changing mayoral control would solve any of the problems. They are just mad. It's like the people that were so mad that there was a Black president that they voted for Trump. It's not like he solved any problem at all, but that vote satisfied their need to "stick it to authority" or something.

? The mayor framed mayoral control as important bc “schools weren’t getting textbooks on time.”

This year alone:
Many schools don’t have functioning hvac
Many schools don’t have water
Many schools have staffing shortages
Teachers can’t get access to their contractual supply funds bc OCTO can’t figure out how to distribute without getting hacked

These are four major problems that could probably be satisfied if it wasn’t one big circle of people being appointed into patronage jobs by a mayor, and instead a system of checks and balances.

Much prefer patronage jobs as opposed to a union-controlled OSSE and/or DCPS. In case you missed it the union shut down the schools. That’s kinda a bigger deal than anything else.

Shutting down schools was a big deal, for sure. But are you seriously going to argue that having students in a school building all day without functioning HVAC, water, or staff is less of an issue? If that is the case, then apparently your priority is having students in the building, and learning is secondary. Do you really think learning is happening when students are overheating and dehydrated? No, this is not hyperbolic - I just spent the day in a Title 1 school. Water is not an issue for us, as we have water-bottle refill stations attached to the water fountains, which is great. With the HVAC not functioning and no windows because its a newer building, most classrooms hit 80 degrees, which makes concentrating (especially in a mask) extremely difficult. But that's ok, because your kids are probably in a perfectly fine school, as the other kids don't matter as long as your precious children are in well functioning school buildings.

I think you are lying/exaggerating. There were not schools with no HVAC or water.

+1. This is also a recycled union-that-shall-remain-nameless talking point. They used it to say we can't reopen, but now that they're not fighting reopening they're using it to say we can't have mayoral control. As if DCPS facilities weren't FAR worse prior to mayoral control of schools. They just keep coming up with any meritless argument to get more for themselves at the expense of children.

It’s not, my school uses those gallon waters. And not all the toilets flush. Our hvac isn’t fully function but those rooms have extra noisy filters. It is you who do not realize the things schools don’t tell parents.

No air or heater, broken lights, broken toilets, holes in the roof are just some infrastructure problems schools deal with.