I teach in a private school in DC and want to point out that many of our students are on scholarship, some close to full scholarship. It’s not all kids who come from privilege. Also, I want us to be a good member of the community, and I recognize that that may mean we can’t open, but it’s absolutely backwards that gyms and bars and restaurants are allowed to open. If we’re sharing the risk, it’s all for nothing if community spread continues unabated for other reasons. I could accept closing the privates much more readily if I thought we truly were working as a community to reduce transmission. But the fact is that we are not. And I may be cynical, but I think Bowser and the private heads are in cahoots. They each want the other to soften the blow of closing. Which, let’s keep it real, may be the right decision, but then we should be shutting down those bars etc. too.

Anonymous wrote:Hey, DC public school parents, why are you even on this thread?

Yes, Bowser said she hoped privates would follow her decision. If you listened to her, mich of the decision was based on the teachers union not wanting to go back and she blamed it mostly on “staffing”. So basically she could not convince the teachers to go in.


Why she mentioned the privates? Simple. It makes her and the DCPS look bad if they can’t get their kids and especially their teachers don’t want to go in, but DC privates can. Makes DCPS look stupid. If privates close, DC parents can’t complain.

Where did you her her say that she hopes privates will follow her decision? If you watch the press conference, she says something like "I want to also be clear that the DCPS decision does not preclude charter schools and independent schools that they could have an in-person or some type of hybrid arrangement from making that decision for their school.” She did talk about there being four different scenarios that DCPS shared a week or two ago and said she hopes that charter schools will follow one of those scenarios if they choose hybrid.

I thought today's announcement was for DCPS only and does not apply to the charter schools. Maybe that's what she was referring to mostly since those are funded with tax dollars.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is incredibly sad that the Mayor does not value education - the great equalizer. Education is hope. Hope for each and every child regardless or race, color or creed.
The directive is no school - but bars and gyms and protestors - please continue to go about your activities.

Yes, having in person school for only the rich people who can afford to be involved in and supplement their kids' learning regardless is such an equalizer.

You really need to direct your anger to the federal level. The lack of readily available rapid testing and PPE is a huge, huge barrier to opening schools. And we have leaders who have purposely tried to prevent access to tests and PPE. Local governments cannot do this by themselves. Our country is being destroyed from the top.

Yep, exactly. Either ALL kids go back to school, or NO kids go back to school. This is a public health issue, not a public/private school issue. It’s either safe for all, or unsafe for all, just like restaurants/bars/stores/etc.

Not true. It's not a one or all issue. It's a space, logistics, ability to follow guidelines issue. I say this as a parent with a child in preschool since march and a child in summer camp for 6 wks. Two companies doing an amazing job of following cdc guidelines.

Nope, sorry. Private school kids do not stay in private schools. They leave and infect the community at large. If public schools stay home, they stay home too. It’s that simple. I’m glad our Mayor gets it.

Except the mayor isn’t imposing a lockdown. So whether in person or distance learning, all the kids are out and about. So if private school parents feel like the school’s option is safe, then the kids should go. Doing distance learning doesn’t stop spread. Most public families are looking at tutoring or pods etc and then there are day cares and after school activities . Karate is open with no hitting but for sure the kids aren’t physically distant. You want everyone locked down again and that is NOT what bowser is doing. She is virtue signaling to the public school parents that the rich kids shouldn’t have things better. Thing is, lots of those parents are her donors and her supporters. She won’t close the schools and leave open so many other things. That will backfire.

This. She won't close businesses because those are her donors and the city desperately needs the revenue. However, she can't leave businesses open and then force private schools to close (private schools are also businesses). Let's be honest here. She didn't even want to close the DC public schools - if she could have guaranteed the teachers would show up, she would have opened them this month. I am a public school parent and both my parents were public school teachers so I support public schools. However, the reason people send their kids to private schools is because they want more than what public schools offer; included in that "more" is the flexibility that private schools now have to open and function. I'm not angry - a little envious, yes, I am not going to lie about that but that is what they pay for. If I were to live frugally, I could send me child to private school but I don't want to make those sacrifices so this is what I get. Life isn't fair. Stop expecting it to be.

I hope privates ARE closed, including ours. It might people angry enough to finally stop this madness.

Anonymous wrote:It is incredibly sad that the Mayor does not value education - the great equalizer. Education is hope. Hope for each and every child regardless or race, color or creed.
The directive is no school - but bars and gyms and protestors - please continue to go about your activities.

+100

Anonymous wrote:As a private school parent, we are in even worse shape since we have to pay for this

Newsflash - schools won’t go back in November. The mayor will continue to push DL. Nothing is going to change between September and November.

Of course. Our best hope now is April. For all you fearful doomsayers, stop to reflect: all of these kids will be at home for 7 months or more. This is **horrible** for children, parents and the economy. At least we could open in September and establish in person a community for the year. I pray this happens in private.

As a private school parent, we are in even worse shape since we have to pay for this

Newsflash - schools won’t go back in November. The mayor will continue to push DL. Nothing is going to change between September and November.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is incredibly sad that the Mayor does not value education - the great equalizer. Education is hope. Hope for each and every child regardless or race, color or creed.
The directive is no school - but bars and gyms and protestors - please continue to go about your activities.

Yes, having in person school for only the rich people who can afford to be involved in and supplement their kids' learning regardless is such an equalizer.

You really need to direct your anger to the federal level. The lack of readily available rapid testing and PPE is a huge, huge barrier to opening schools. And we have leaders who have purposely tried to prevent access to tests and PPE. Local governments cannot do this by themselves. Our country is being destroyed from the top.

Yep, exactly. Either ALL kids go back to school, or NO kids go back to school. This is a public health issue, not a public/private school issue. It’s either safe for all, or unsafe for all, just like restaurants/bars/stores/etc.

Not true. It's not a one or all issue. It's a space, logistics, ability to follow guidelines issue. I say this as a parent with a child in preschool since march and a child in summer camp for 6 wks. Two companies doing an amazing job of following cdc guidelines.

Nope, sorry. Private school kids do not stay in private schools. They leave and infect the community at large. If public schools stay home, they stay home too. It’s that simple. I’m glad our Mayor gets it.

Except the mayor isn’t imposing a lockdown. So whether in person or distance learning, all the kids are out and about. So if private school parents feel like the school’s option is safe, then the kids should go. Doing distance learning doesn’t stop spread. Most public families are looking at tutoring or pods etc and then there are day cares and after school activities . Karate is open with no hitting but for sure the kids aren’t physically distant. You want everyone locked down again and that is NOT what bowser is doing. She is virtue signaling to the public school parents that the rich kids shouldn’t have things better. Thing is, lots of those parents are her donors and her supporters. She won’t close the schools and leave open so many other things. That will backfire.

Anonymous wrote:Browser also said:

“You know, I’m just going to speak candidly, if we don’t have teachers who want to come in person, we would have to find another set of adults who want to come in person.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dc-public-schools-to-go-virtual-through-at-least-november

If she meant that, then why is she pushing DL for all private schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Bowser's press conference today in which she announced that dcps would be virtual, she said that she hoped that private schools would make the same choice. For schools that had previously announced in person or hybrid, do you think this will make them change their mind?

Maybe the DC Mayor should advocate for stopping the spread of infection to save lives: ban indoor dining in DC as this is a NO MASK activity that spreads covid

Work together with VA & MD Gov to shut down the bars and packed indoor dining with NO MASK at the Beach Towns where Covid is raging

And show that she puts Education above $$$$ and campaign contributions

Yes, hundreds will die, and that could have been prevented. But, not by closing schools that have been closed since March

Close the Damn Bars and Indoor Dining ( You know, the group gathering of hundreds without a mask in sight )

Whatever you think about schools, this. Close the bars and indoor dining.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools will not open. The liability is too great. Sorry elitist parents!

Go back to you Public school page as your input here does not matter at all.

Seriously. What a jealous loser.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is incredibly sad that the Mayor does not value education - the great equalizer. Education is hope. Hope for each and every child regardless or race, color or creed.
The directive is no school - but bars and gyms and protestors - please continue to go about your activities.

Yes, having in person school for only the rich people who can afford to be involved in and supplement their kids' learning regardless is such an equalizer.

You really need to direct your anger to the federal level. The lack of readily available rapid testing and PPE is a huge, huge barrier to opening schools. And we have leaders who have purposely tried to prevent access to tests and PPE. Local governments cannot do this by themselves. Our country is being destroyed from the top.

Yep, exactly. Either ALL kids go back to school, or NO kids go back to school. This is a public health issue, not a public/private school issue. It’s either safe for all, or unsafe for all, just like restaurants/bars/stores/etc.

Keep shooting for the stars. Have a drink on me!

Doesn’t matter what you think. Private schools will NOT open. You can stay in your fantasy world a little longer if it makes you feel better, but your kids are DL too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is incredibly sad that the Mayor does not value education - the great equalizer. Education is hope. Hope for each and every child regardless or race, color or creed.
The directive is no school - but bars and gyms and protestors - please continue to go about your activities.

Yes, having in person school for only the rich people who can afford to be involved in and supplement their kids' learning regardless is such an equalizer.

You really need to direct your anger to the federal level. The lack of readily available rapid testing and PPE is a huge, huge barrier to opening schools. And we have leaders who have purposely tried to prevent access to tests and PPE. Local governments cannot do this by themselves. Our country is being destroyed from the top.

Yep, exactly. Either ALL kids go back to school, or NO kids go back to school. This is a public health issue, not a public/private school issue. It’s either safe for all, or unsafe for all, just like restaurants/bars/stores/etc.

Keep shooting for the stars. Have a drink on me!

Browser also said:

“You know, I’m just going to speak candidly, if we don’t have teachers who want to come in person, we would have to find another set of adults who want to come in person.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dc-public-schools-to-go-virtual-through-at-least-november