Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those who are rigidly opposed to temporarily switching to virtual, what's your solution to not enough staff? I think that's the biggest hurdle.

Make it easier for parents to sub. Put out a call to the community for help. Like we used to during the war and the last epidemic, when we were really a nation of people who cared.

Really? Maybe some will be able to sub, but I think it would be hard to fill this, especially in MS and HS. I can see this happening for ES, although Idk how many parents would want to go to school during a surge. Also, in WW2, most women were not working, we are in a different situation. I don't know how this solution would be better for MS and HS than doing a temporary virtual.

Actually, women were where we found the excess workers needed, but that might be your point. Staffing concerns are the only reason I would accept for going virtual, and should be used as a last resort. We are at an ES so it’s easier to take only certain classes virtual if a teacher is out - I know especially HS scheduling is tougher so I don’t pretend to have an answer for that.

Virtual in response to an actual problem makes sense, much as I hate it and will not have my kids do it. But virtual in a misguided attempt to prevent a problem is infuriating.

Oof…my sons school is 1 case away from going red. He’s home now with Covid (tested positive Monday). He’s vaxxed and has zero symptoms except a stuffy head for a day. I didn’t report it because he caught over the break, so I don’t see the reason. I don’t care one way or the other about in-person vs virtual, but I wouldn’t mind going virtual so we can temporarily relocate to south Florida and enjoy some warmer weather.

I think I’ll go ahead and report his case the more I think about it. I just got a new Tesla, so a road trip sounds really fun. Ok, I just talked myself into wanting virtual. Lol

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a FB group called PAGES Coalition that has been urging parents and teachers to submit fake positive results to MCPS to force MCPS to "re-evaluate their contribution to this public health crisis and to re-evaluate their choice for Interim Superintendent." Now we don't know what is real and what is fake.

https://twitter.com/OpenMCPS/status/1479057225586982917

I was told here that it was a preposterous concern that this would happen. I can probably go dig up 20 posts from the last two days alone. At least this is the first step toward MCPS abandoning the color-coded system.

It's not preposterous. But they'll balance with all the parents refusing to test their kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a FB group called PAGES Coalition that has been urging parents and teachers to submit fake positive results to MCPS to force MCPS to "re-evaluate their contribution to this public health crisis and to re-evaluate their choice for Interim Superintendent." Now we don't know what is real and what is fake.

https://twitter.com/OpenMCPS/status/1479057225586982917

I was told here that it was a preposterous concern that this would happen. I can probably go dig up 20 posts from the last two days alone. At least this is the first step toward MCPS abandoning the color-coded system.

Any comments from the "you're crazy, nobody would do this" crowd?

DP, and it was probably PAGES members making those comments

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a FB group called PAGES Coalition that has been urging parents and teachers to submit fake positive results to MCPS to force MCPS to "re-evaluate their contribution to this public health crisis and to re-evaluate their choice for Interim Superintendent." Now we don't know what is real and what is fake.

https://twitter.com/OpenMCPS/status/1479057225586982917

I was told here that it was a preposterous concern that this would happen. I can probably go dig up 20 posts from the last two days alone. At least this is the first step toward MCPS abandoning the color-coded system.

Any comments from the "you're crazy, nobody would do this" crowd?

That still no one has done it? You're not even talking about a real sick out, you're talking about some people writing "infected by McKnight's choices" as a weird protest that was promptly deleted even by the pro-closing group. So yeah, you still seem crazy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those who are rigidly opposed to temporarily switching to virtual, what's your solution to not enough staff? I think that's the biggest hurdle.

Make it easier for parents to sub. Put out a call to the community for help. Like we used to during the war and the last epidemic, when we were really a nation of people who cared.

Really? Maybe some will be able to sub, but I think it would be hard to fill this, especially in MS and HS. I can see this happening for ES, although Idk how many parents would want to go to school during a surge. Also, in WW2, most women were not working, we are in a different situation. I don't know how this solution would be better for MS and HS than doing a temporary virtual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a FB group called PAGES Coalition that has been urging parents and teachers to submit fake positive results to MCPS to force MCPS to "re-evaluate their contribution to this public health crisis and to re-evaluate their choice for Interim Superintendent." Now we don't know what is real and what is fake.

https://twitter.com/OpenMCPS/status/1479057225586982917

I was told here that it was a preposterous concern that this would happen. I can probably go dig up 20 posts from the last two days alone. At least this is the first step toward MCPS abandoning the color-coded system.

Any comments from the "you're crazy, nobody would do this" crowd?

Anonymous wrote:There is a FB group called PAGES Coalition that has been urging parents and teachers to submit fake positive results to MCPS to force MCPS to "re-evaluate their contribution to this public health crisis and to re-evaluate their choice for Interim Superintendent." Now we don't know what is real and what is fake.

https://twitter.com/OpenMCPS/status/1479057225586982917

I was told here that it was a preposterous concern that this would happen. I can probably go dig up 20 posts from the last two days alone. At least this is the first step toward MCPS abandoning the color-coded system.

Anonymous wrote:To those who are rigidly opposed to temporarily switching to virtual, what's your solution to not enough staff? I think that's the biggest hurdle.

Our HS is supposedly over 7% now. Yet all of DC’s teachers were there yesterday.

Anonymous wrote:To those who are rigidly opposed to temporarily switching to virtual, what's your solution to not enough staff? I think that's the biggest hurdle.

Make it easier for parents to sub. Put out a call to the community for help. Like we used to during the war and the last epidemic, when we were really a nation of people who cared.

There is a FB group called PAGES Coalition that has been urging parents and teachers to submit fake positive results to MCPS to force MCPS to "re-evaluate their contribution to this public health crisis and to re-evaluate their choice for Interim Superintendent." Now we don't know what is real and what is fake.

https://twitter.com/OpenMCPS/status/1479057225586982917

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am still boggled by a parent who thinks the right lesson here is to te their teen that everyone else having to suffer so they can have algebra is the right call.

Sure, sweetie! Baba Jean and your physics teacher died alone choking on their mucous, but the important thing here is they did it so YOU COULD GO TO EMORY!

Cases have gone up but the death rate has remained relatively low during this surge due to these things called vaccines. the risk of severe, fatal Covid is low. There’s no true benefit to closing schools right now. The 2020 playbook doesn’t apply to the 2022 virus.

The benefit is stopping the spread.

Okayyyy—but let’s keep restaurants bars gyms hair salons etc open bc schools are the true super spreaders.

I have literally not heard a single person say that schools should close while all of those other things stay open. I absolutely think all of those things should close now, preferably before schools, but MCPS can't order the bars closed. The only thing they *can* do is close schools (which, given staffing issues, is as much a logistical necessity as anything else).

Correct.

The fact that we keep having this same argument over and over again and the sad remain person brings up the same points every time *may* indicate there's something questionable about them besides a lack of imagination.

MCPS does not control those things, they only control the schools. That is a county discussion which has nothing to do with MCPS. As an adult, you need to use good judgement and stop the spread. If you cannot self regulate and not go to a movie theater, bar, or indoor dining right now you have far bigger issues than covid.

Businesses are already closing on their own. They aren’t stupid. Staff is out sick and they can only handle limited business. All Apple stores closed last week in DC and NYC.

Big deal--apple stores closed. Last time I looked, restaurants in this area are packed, bars are open, people are out and about shopping at malls, etc. Schools need to be the LAST to close after everything else shuts down. Community spread is not related to schools being open. It's happening regardless of whether you shut the school down or not. I think we saw this movie play out before.

How would you know except if you were going to all these places? I haven't been to a mail in two years and we are very limited to carry out choices as we will not go inside a restaurant.

MCPS cannot make the decision to close down businesses, only the county so they are two separate issues. Yes, they should be closed, but they aren't. So, back to what MCPS can do.

I am shocked by the number of you that are hunkered down like we’re in the apocalypse. I don’t personally eat out at crowded restaurants, but I go to stores, I go to Starbucks, I’m out running errands, I’ve been to a mall (oh no!!) and am basically living a normal life. Some of you really need to get out more.

Actually, we’re good. Thanks for your concern though.

To those who are rigidly opposed to temporarily switching to virtual, what's your solution to not enough staff? I think that's the biggest hurdle.

Anonymous wrote:So is this how it’s going to go? Every night we sit on pins and needles to see if there is school the next day? Who thought this would be a good idea?

Red doesn’t automatically trigger virtual, just a review by the health department to determine whether it’s appropriate. So virtual wouldn’t start the next day, for sure.

Anonymous wrote:So tons of people reported getting positive results just yesterday resulting in so many schools becoming red in one day?

Yes. This is what is meant by "going viral."

Certainly more people had more time to get test results back, thanks to snow days, and more people understood how to properly report, and so on. But it's also true that, with a highly-transmissable virus, actual rates of infection can easily increase by 50%, 100%, even 200% in a single day. It's called exponential growth. I hope this helps.