Are you sending your kids to school next month?

[ScubaCat]

I agree...more specifics would be nice. The lunch was a “probably”. She goes to a Catholic school so they usually have church twice a week for the whole school (which obviously is not a good idea at this time), and they said they were still discussing it.I want more specifics and it seems a bit trial and error...which there is not much room for error given the environment now

Sounds like they're doing the bare minimum to keep up the appearance but aren't really taking it seriously, unfortunately. Sorry you're in that position. Hopefully they change their tune.

 

[JM23457]

I don’t think that people understand that for many people, sending kids back to school is not a choice. They simply CAN NOT stay home with their kids. Not if they want a roof over their heads and food on their table. A lot of us here, who take multiple trips to Disney and have disposable income for a nanny and/or the ability to stay home, aren’t seeing what others are going through. To say nothing of the child abuse that is taking place due to children being home instead of in school.

At a certain point we need to realize a few things. One: there may never be a vaccine. Two: we can never eliminate risk, we can only mitigate it.

And beyond that, many students cannot succeed with online learning, for a variety of reasons (language barrier, no or poor Internet access, lack of family support, behavior problems, learning disabilities). School needs to reopen so that all students can learn.

 

[MrsPete]

Thank you for posting this article.

I just read this article! This isn't what we had believed back in the spring.

For a week, I'm sure. The following week, probably not.

Yeah, we expect to be "in and out" of school this year.

As an educator, going back to the classroom every day is scary. It takes compliance from the entire community to keep everyone safe.

Exactly. I'm surprised at how many people don't believe masks are smart, etc. Consider, though, that if YOU are following the safety rules, you have some control /some protection against the disease.
My daughter is an RN (in one of the worst areas of our state), and we know for absolute certain she's been exposed to the virus over and over and over -- but she's still testing negative. Don't underestimate your ability to keep yourself safe.

I understand your dilemma. They should present a more concrete plan of all their procedures and how the days will go hour-by-hour, but it sounds like they're only doing about half of what's necessary. For instance you say they "talked about lunch in the [class]room" -- is that definitive or just an idea they tossed out there? It's getting pretty close to July 31st so hopefully they give you a bit more to help put your mind at ease. Otherwise, I'd feel the same as you and would definitely be nervous about it.

Yes, our school is working hard on putting together plans, but consider that we've only known since last Wednesday (two work days -- not even a full week) that our state is "for sure" going back. Our administrators are making plans for staggering attendance, temperature-checks upon entry, where kids will hang out before school, lunches delivered to classrooms, an isolation chamber for kids who become ill at school, one-way hallways ... so many details.

Now that the state has given us the broad strokes, plans are moving fast, and parents will get information very soon -- but it hasn't been possible to create plans until very, very recently.

Hopefully you don't mean having them try this in the physical classroom. Telling your students to forcefully exhale in class is a really bad idea right now.

Have you seen the video? 1) The point is that you can't really blow out the candle while wearing a mask, and some masks are stronger than others. 2) I will have no more than 10 students in a 30x30 classroom, so we will be quite far apart. 3) All students will be wearing masks at all times.

I don’t think that people understand that for many people, sending kids back to school is not a choice. They simply CAN NOT stay home with their kids. Not if they want a roof over their heads and food on their table. A lot of us here, who take multiple trips to Disney and have disposable income for a nanny and/or the ability to stay home, aren’t seeing what others are going through. To say nothing of the child abuse that is taking place due to children being home instead of in school.

At a certain point we need to realize a few things. One: there may never be a vaccine. Two: we can never eliminate risk, we can only mitigate it.

Agree that not everyone has a choice; my parents wouldn't have had a choice when I was a kid.
I definitely think we'll have a vaccine eventually, but -- if what I'm reading is correct -- no way we'll have it in 2020.

And beyond that, many students cannot succeed with online learning, for a variety of reasons (language barrier, no or poor Internet access, lack of family support, behavior problems, learning disabilities). School needs to reopen so that all students can learn.

No one's arguing that online learning is a stronger choice. No one.
But online learning isn't without its benefits (for example, some of my lackluster classroom students really shined after we left school in March), and it is unquestionably safer. Everything here requires a risk-to-reward calculation. Everything here is a balancing act.

 

[ScubaCat]

At a certain point we need to realize a few things. One: there may never be a vaccine. Two: we can never eliminate risk, we can only mitigate it.

There are 2 polar opposite teams, both of which are nuts and are the root cause of this insanity. One is team "never go out until there is vaccine or your are selfishly endangering human life on earth!", the other is team "there is no pandemic, masks violate my (made up) constitutional right!" And media doesn't help by playing scary music and showing the US map with color coded states to help me decide how much to worry, either. All of that is ridiculous.

Yes, there is a pandemic. Yes, masks WORK. Yes, we should do our best to stop the spread. YES you should not do anything that will put yourself or those around you in danger if there are other ancillary circumstances (medical conditions or otherwise). And with that said, YES we should learn to live with it and do our best to live our lives as close to normal as possible at the same time doing all of the above.

So YES, because I know that adequate procedures are in place that I am comfortable with, I will be sending my handicapped step son back to his day program when they start up next week. If they weren't doing that, I'd probably not send him. And, I'm taking him to Disney in September because they are going above and beyond to keep things as safe as possible, too, and he deserves a vacation just like anyone else.

 

[ScubaCat]

And beyond that, many students cannot succeed with online learning, for a variety of reasons (language barrier, no or poor Internet access, lack of family support, behavior problems, learning disabilities). School needs to reopen so that all students can learn.

The hybrid 50/50 model may be the best thing for the time being, but that's a LOT better than nothing.

Yes, our school is working hard on putting together plans, but consider that we've only known since last Wednesday (two work days -- not even a full week) that our state is "for sure" going back. Our administrators are making plans for temperature-checks upon entry, where kids will hang out before school, lunches delivered to classrooms, an isolation chamber for kids who become ill at school, one-way hallways ... so many details. Now that the state has given us the broad strokes, plans are moving fast.

That's good. Hopefully they take it seriously and keep it up. A lot of times things go well for a couple of days and then they start slacking off. It'll be important for parents to hold schools accountable and keep them on task for this.

 

[VandVsmama]

The charter school our kids attend here in AZ announced on Friday that instead of beginning in-person instruction on 8/17 like the governor is currently permitting, they're moving the start of in-person instruction to the day after Labor Day. First day of school is 8/5, so the first month will be remote learning. My kids are not thrilled with this, but not much we can do about that at the moment.

 

[pigletto]

Our school board hasn’t announced the exact plan at this point, but it sounds like it will be a hybrid model. There won‘t be mandatory masks or temperature taking. The following paragraph is on the website ...

Will there be COVID testing for staff and students? Will there be daily health screening?
It will be the parent’s and student’s responsibility to do a daily assessment before sending them to school. If your child exhibits symptoms such as coughing, fever, and headache, they are not permitted to attend school. If anyone in your household has a confirmed case of COVID-19, your child must remain home and you must contact your health provider for more information.

Each staff member is required to do a daily assessment of their health before entering the school or worksites.


I’ve been a daycare provider for 16 years and one thing I can assure you all is that some..not all by any means ...but some parents have zero problem sending their sick child to school or daycare . Sometimes it’s because they are selfish , a lot of time its because they have to work and don’t know what else to do , sometimes it’s because they didn’t notice before they dropped the child off. More than once I‘ve been told “Mom said not to tell you I felt sick this morning“ etc . Whatever the reason, sick children WILL come to school . Believe it. It’s inevitable.

I imagine my grade 11 son will go back for the hybrid model in September and will be out again after a late fall outbreak . Especially if we open the border. We live in a border town in Canada and have only a handful of cases in our entire region right now , but it won’t stay that way if the borders with the USA open.

 

[JM23457]

No one's arguing that online learning is a stronger choice. No one.
But online learning isn't without its benefits (for example, some of my lackluster classroom students really shined after we left school in March), and it is unquestionably safer. Everything here requires a risk-to-reward calculation. Everything here is a balancing act.

It isn't balancing anything to let a significant percentage of students not be educated. At least 10% of students (and that is a very conservative estimate based on my 20 years of teaching experience in different public schools in different types of communities) will only learn in the classroom, for varying reasons. They deserve their education just like more fortunate students. In-person school needs to be at least be an option so that educational opportunities remain for all.

 

[choirfarm]

It isn't balancing anything to let a significant percentage of students not be educated. At least 10% of students (and that is a very conservative estimate based on my 20 years of teaching experience in different public schools in different types of communities) will only learn in the classroom, for varying reasons. They deserve their education just like more fortunate students. In-person school needs to be at least be an option so that educational opportunities remain for all.

Yes, they do, but they will not get it. Either because it will be online and they don't have access. Or, they have in person school. It will stay open for a month maybe, then too many students or teachers will have COVID to let it stay open, so they will close for a few weeks to a month, then re-open. 3-4 weeks and again they have to close for awhile. They will have no consistency. This school year will be a crapfest whichever way you go. Schools can be as careful as possible, but it will spread. But online learning sucks for a lot of people. But even in person they will not have the "socialization" that you normally get. Instead, 2nd graders will be terrified of letting their mask slip, getting too close to another student, and catching the horrible disease. We are going to have a whole generation of kids with PTSD because of this. It is going to be awful.

 

[monsterkitty]

Our school board hasn’t announced the exact plan at this point, but it sounds like it will be a hybrid model. There won‘t be mandatory masks or temperature taking. The following paragraph is on the website ...

Will there be COVID testing for staff and students? Will there be daily health screening?
It will be the parent’s and student’s responsibility to do a daily assessment before sending them to school. If your child exhibits symptoms such as coughing, fever, and headache, they are not permitted to attend school. If anyone in your household has a confirmed case of COVID-19, your child must remain home and you must contact your health provider for more information.

Each staff member is required to do a daily assessment of their health before entering the school or worksites.


I’ve been a daycare provider for 16 years and one thing I can assure you all is that some..not all by any means ...but some parents have zero problem sending their sick child to school or daycare . Sometimes it’s because they are selfish , a lot of time its because they have to work and don’t know what else to do , sometimes it’s because they didn’t notice before they dropped the child off. More than once I‘ve been told “Mom said not to tell you I felt sick this morning“ etc . Whatever the reason, sick children WILL come to school . Believe it. It’s inevitable.

I imagine my grade 11 son will go back for the hybrid model in September and will be out again after a late fall outbreak . Especially if we open the border. We live in a border town in Canada and have only a handful of cases in our entire region right now , but it won’t stay that way if the borders with the USA open.

I taught and my DH still teaches, in a low-income district. Our kids do not have access to health care. Their parents send them to school sick quite frequently. If they do have the CHPs, the health care for our kids in my state, their parents still do not take them to the doctor when needed. Also, if the child and parent get sick, like with strep throat, the parent only gets one prescription and they share it, causing the strep to take forever to go away.

My point is, if we send a kid home with symptoms of COVID, I'm not sure we can trust the parents to get the child tested. The district will require proof of a negative test, but the tests are taking 7-10 days to get results back. It's a never ending circle.

@MrsPete - You're lucky your retirement covers health insurance. Ours covers none so I'm going on DH's insurance for the next three years until he retires. Then we have no idea what we will do as the "discounted" insurance through our retirement is $1,200/month each. But at least it's health care.

 

[Frwinkley]

I am a 3rd grade teacher in SW PA. My school district has a 54 page plan in place. I'm fairly comfortable going back, even though I am in my late 50s. Both my husband and I are in good health, have no young kids at home and no older family members to be concerned about. We are beginning the school year 5 days a week in person. However, parents have the option of doing remote learning, but have to make that commitment for the first grading period.

I absolutely agree that kids need to go back to physically being in school if we expect to get the economy fully up and running again. Many, many parents do not have the option of staying home to school their children. For many reasons (beyond just education), kids need in person schooling.

Having said that, it will take every community member to make this successful. Teachers are not babysitters, and our fears/anxieties, etc. need to be taken very seriously. We need to trust that families will do the right thing and keep their sick kids home, etc. That is a very big factor and I'm not convinced that they will do the right thing. Many don't. They send their sick kids to school because they need to go to work. Again, we are not babysitters.

I know the mask thing is going to be an ongoing debate. Our elementary students must wear masks on the bus and in and around the school building. My classroom's desks have already been moved 6 feet apart. Kids will be able to remove their masks when seated at their desks. But these kids are 8 years old--they need to get up and move around. I'm going to insist (as much as possible) that they wear their mask most of the day.

Many parents don't want to hear that little Johnny has to wear a mask at school; they are very quick to dismiss the teachers, support staff, custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria employees, etc. who have to go home to their own families. Parents cannot have it both ways. If you need/want to send your kids back to in-person instruction, please, please have some respect for the adults that your child may come in contact with.

Now would be a wonderful time for parents to teach their kids that the world doesn't revolve around them. We need parental support before than ever now.

 

[EveDallas]

I don’t think that people understand that for many people, sending kids back to school is not a choice. They simply CAN NOT stay home with their kids. Not if they want a roof over their heads and food on their table. A lot of us here, who take multiple trips to Disney and have disposable income for a nanny and/or the ability to stay home, aren’t seeing what others are going through. To say nothing of the child abuse that is taking place due to children being home instead of in school.

At a certain point we need to realize a few things. One: there may never be a vaccine. Two: we can never eliminate risk, we can only mitigate it.

Get ready for the chorus of "school is not for childcare". Every time someone tries to point of what you've said, that's the usual response.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I do wish people would stop using the "we are young and healthy" excuse for being willing to go anywhere. This virus doesn't care. 1 in 5 people of any age get very sick for months.

 

[HeatherC]

Get ready for the chorus of "school is not for childcare". Every time someone tries to point of what you've said, that's the usual response.1

Because it is true! You just don’t like hearing it.

 

[EveDallas]

Because it is true! You just don’t like hearing it.

What a shocking response from you. Same tune, different day.

 

[Renarr]

Of potential interest to this group was an analysis performed in King County, Washington, the largest metro area in my state.

In it, they determined that if community mobility exceeded 70%, no mitigation factors taken by the schools themselves would be able to keep the R factor below 1 for transmission of the virus. They determined that when the uptick for King County began, community mobility was at 65%, and that 70 tests per 1,000 students would be needed in the first three months of school. Since there are approximately 300,000 public school students in King County, that would mean 21,000 tests for public school students alone. Based on current testing rates, that would be roughly the testing rate that we've been able to do for the last four months for all county purposes, so we would need to be able to ramp up testing.

King County is currently in Phase 2 in their reopening plan, where a substantial portion of our economy is pretty limited.

The big takeaway for me from the report (https://covid.idmod.org/data/School..._community_transmission_to_reopen_schools.pdf) is that many people are saying without the schools open, it's nearly impossible to reopen the economy, but it also appears that with the economy open, it's nearly impossible to reopen the schools.

 

[HeatherC]

What a shocking response from you. Same tune, different day.

Because I speak the truth.

 

[Keetchino]

To counter the argument of “school is not meant to be childcare”, you are correct, in the sense that school is meant to first and foremost provide an education. However, it is completely ridiculous to try and say that attending school does not *also* serve the dual purpose of providing structured supervision during school hours, and for parents to have an expectation that that will be provided. Hence why schools are required to provide a lunch hour and the option to be able to purchase a school lunch, which serves no “educational purpose” and which would fall under the category of “providing care to a child”.

School has been required and mandated by this country for decades, and up until this precise moment one only really had 2 options.... send them to a physical school building for 8 hours M-F for the majority of the year, or homeschool. And if you chose homeschool you had the logistics ready to go, either through someone being a stay at home parent, or someone’s job allowing them the flexibility to do so. So for the flippant response of “school is not childcare” as the be all end all answer to a very real problem facing dual working parents is extremely ignorant and dismissive.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I do wish people would stop using the "we are young and healthy" excuse for being willing to go anywhere. This virus doesn't care. 1 in 5 people of any age get very sick for months.

Exactly. I also don't like hearing, "Kids don't get sick from this virus. Send them back to school." What about me? I would be in the classroom all day with the kids who could be carriers. Their parents and caregivers will be on campus at various times. Other staff members will be around. We would be sharing the same restroom, break room and office equipment. As much as I wash my hands, try not to touch my face and sanitize my classroom, I regularly get at least two colds each year. If I was working in my classroom, each cold would cause me the anxiety of thinking I had Covid. I would have to stay isolated at home until I could get tested and receive my results.

I had a Covid scare a few weeks ago. I had mild symptoms for about a week that weren't getting worse but weren't getting better either. I had a video visit with my doctor and she ordered a Covid test to be safe. I had the test on a Monday morning and was told I would have my results in 24-48 hours. Then the anxiety set in. I started reading way too much about Covid symptoms. Then I read all the things the virus can do to your body. I started feeling worse throughout the day. I kept taking deep breaths to see if my lungs hurt or if it would cause me to cough. I read that some people get stomach pain and heartburn, so I started feeling both. I barely slept that night because I was afraid if I fell asleep I would wake up and be short of breath. I kept feeling awful into the next day. My adult son, who has autism, started getting very anxious. Whenever he heard the thermometer beeping or saw that I was trying to nap, he would freak out. "Mom are you OK? Oh my gosh what's going to happen?" I was lucky to get my results that evening (within 36 hours of the test). Negative. I likely had some other type of virus and my anxiety made my symptoms even worse.

I really do not want to go through that scenario again. I can't imagine how difficult it is for people who actually have the virus. The stress of not knowing how you'll feel in the next day or even the next hour is horrible. I will likely feel that way whenever I pick up a cold or other virus at school. The thought of going back to school right now doesn't thrill me a bit.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I have a sophomore and a senior in high school. Our school district has not released its plan yet, but plan to do so tomorrow. At this point, my kids will be attending school as I know the school is planning to be open. What the school offers as how many days they are open, virtual options, and all the rest of it I don't know yet.