Are you sending your kids to school next month?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Honestly, I would fully assume that if someone is out it’s due to Covid issues, if only because so many places are trying to actively cover up cases. There’s a high school football team near here that canceled the first two games. No reason was given. If it wasn’t Covid, they would absolutely have said something like personnel issue or maintenance problem or whatever. Of course it quickly got out that two people “associated” with the football team had Covid (via an email sent to parents). A parent reported it was two coaches, and since then their own kid was sick and tested positive. But the school is refusing to “admit” its Covid. Weird, cause when the schools shut down every year for flu issues, they have no problem saying why...

As time goes on COVID may become the same with respects to when an entire school is shut down due to an outbreak of whatever (flu, measles, etc). As is it's so new. Information on such outbreaks may be at the health departments discretion/guidance on whether to announce or not especially if it triggers the whole school to close down (which you mentioned with the flu). I don't think that your school announces every year each time a student or staff member has the flu. And it's not really tracked at all if someone had the flu and infected others at the school.

 

[RamblingMad]

Honestly, I would fully assume that if someone is out it’s due to Covid issues, if only because so many places are trying to actively cover up cases. There’s a high school football team near here that canceled the first two games. No reason was given. If it wasn’t Covid, they would absolutely have said something like personnel issue or maintenance problem or whatever. Of course it quickly got out that two people “associated” with the football team had Covid (via an email sent to parents). A parent reported it was two coaches, and since then their own kid was sick and tested positive. But the school is refusing to “admit” its Covid. Weird, cause when the schools shut down every year for flu issues, they have no problem saying why...

They don’t sound trustworthy.

 

[monsterkitty]

As time goes on COVID may become the same with respects to when an entire school is shut down due to an outbreak of whatever (flu, measles, etc). As is it's so new. Information on such outbreaks may be at the health departments discretion/guidance on whether to announce or not especially if it triggers the whole school to close down (which you mentioned with the flu). I don't think that your school announces every year each time a student or staff member has the flu. And it's not really tracked at all if someone had the flu and infected others at the school.

When a student at a school gets the measles, the health department requires the school to notify all parents and staff members. When the daughter of one of our teachers got whooping cough about 5 years ago, the health department required the school to notify all parents that someone had been exposed to whooping cough.

If schools are required to notify parents about whooping cough or the measles, why not COVID 19?

 

[Kestryl]

As time goes on COVID may become the same with respects to when an entire school is shut down due to an outbreak of whatever (flu, measles, etc). As is it's so new. Information on such outbreaks may be at the health departments discretion/guidance on whether to announce or not especially if it triggers the whole school to close down (which you mentioned with the flu). I don't think that your school announces every year each time a student or staff member has the flu. And it's not really tracked at all if someone had the flu and infected others at the school.

Each time a student or teacher is sick? No. Each time they close a school or cancel something due to flu? Yes, they announce they’re closed due to flu. They even give the numbers or percent of those out sick. I’ve seen schools do the same for norovirus or whooping cough.

It’s like now that it’s Covid, it’s ok to hide the reason? That’s seems backwards.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

When a student at a school gets the measles, the health department requires the school to notify all parents and staff members. When the daughter of one of our teachers got whooping cough about 5 years ago, the health department required the school to notify all parents that someone had been exposed to whooping cough.

If schools are required to notify parents about whooping cough or the measles, why not COVID 19?

Like I said I think it's because it's so new. Like I said as time goes on it it may become the same. We're 6 months (or more can't remember when they officially called it a pandemic) into a highly changing environment. I'm betting it will end up being just like highly contagious things schools give notice on (like lice for instance); just give it time.

 

[Kestryl]

They don’t sound trustworthy.

I’m having huge trust issues with the football programs around here. Coaches pushing to have games even if the school is closed, parents berating the school board about the crowd limits, blatantly hiding positive cases... this is the prelude to a disaster.

 

[monsterkitty]

Like I said I think it's because it's so new. Like I said as time goes on it it may become the same. We're 6 months into a highly changing environment. I'm betting it will end up being just like highly contagious things schools give notice on (like lice for instance); just give it time.

I think that way of thinking is backwards. I would like to think that because the virus is so new that they are being very cautious and would notify parents and staff if there were positive cases.

Schools here no longer give notice on lice. Lice is annoying but never threatens a life.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Each time a student or teacher is sick? No. Each time they close a school or cancel something due to flu? Yes, they announce they’re closed due to flu. They even give the numbers or percent of those out sick. I’ve seen schools do the same for norovirus or whooping cough.

It’s like now that it’s Covid, it’s ok to hide the reason? That’s seems backwards.

I'm sure there are places that are doing something for not so good reasons. I'm trying to be more general about it.

I've seen the same with what you've mentioned too; usually when there's enough of a high call out that the required attendance rate can't be met and the school closes and I wasn't doubting you on that part; was just saying they don't announce when a student is sick with the flu; with this new territory there may be privacy reasons they don't announce when a student is positive or the health departments has advised it's their choice to announce it or whatever. I can understand wanting to know or that parents are feeling like they are hiding it.

I think on a general note they are walking on eggshells. Some businesses call themselves out some don't, some schools call themselves out some don't, some people call themselves out some don't.

 

[RamblingMad]

I’m having huge trust issues with the football programs around here. Coaches pushing to have games even if the school is closed, parents berating the school board about the crowd limits, blatantly hiding positive cases... this is the prelude to a disaster.

Avoid them. I’m surprised parents even let their kids play anymore with what we know now about the impact on the brain. Maybe the coaches already have brain damage.

 

[monsterkitty]

I’m having huge trust issues with the football programs around here. Coaches pushing to have games even if the school is closed, parents berating the school board about the crowd limits, blatantly hiding positive cases... this is the prelude to a disaster.

I am so sorry this is happening in your community!

I have a very good friend who has a son junior son that plays football for his high school in Texas. He is already being recruited by a few colleges. Their family made the decision for him NOT to play this season because his 10 year old brother has cystic fibrosis. Let's just say that some of the comments my friend and her family are getting about him not playing this year are unbelievable.

 

[Kestryl]

I’m seeing early reports that Michigan State University has emailed undergraduate students and told them to stay home, and that faculty are being told to pivot to online classes.

ETA: link to letter from President
https://president.msu.edu/communica...utm_source=msufacebook-post&utm_medium=social

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think that way of thinking is backwards. I would like to think that because the virus is so new that they are being very cautious and would notify parents and staff if there were positive cases.

Schools here no longer give notice on lice. Lice is annoying but never threatens a life.

Lice is still notified depending on where you are at but it was something that always triggered a notice from the school when I was growing up. I mentioned lice not so you would latch on to that as an example regarding some life threatening thing because that isn't why schools send notices about things but its infectious aspect (I clearly mentioned measles too, agreed about the flu, also the PP's comment towards norovirus and whooping cough so try not to fixate on lice). I don't think that and other things became that way overnight for parents to be notified by schools, nor would I expect uniformity across the nation on COVID at this point in time.

I would hope they are being very cautious but you're going to get varying opinions on what that means. For some parents it's that they need to know the name of the kid that has it so they can get their kid away from that kid. For others it's just knowing that the school had a positive case.

What I was trying to say is what a parent wants and what the county's health department and any applicable laws or merely just concerns could be playing a role in this or that. That was the part I was saying is so new. No one really knows the best way to handle this on notification--is it to compel all businesses to put a notice on their doors that they have a positive case or that there was an exposure, is it to compel all schools to publicly announce and send notices to all parents whenever there is a positive case or potential exposure versus just the parents/students considered close contacts, is it for the health department to announce all names and locations of outbreaks (which depends on what definition you are using), etc? And what about privacy concerns, what information should be given to the public and which information should be protected information. And that's not even considering any sort of uniformity in such protocols on this ever-changing, quickly evolving situation where what happens this week may be completely different than next week.

 

[monsterkitty]

Lice is still notified depending on where you are at but it was something that always triggered a notice from the school when I was growing up. I mentioned lice not so you would latch on to that as an example regarding some life threatening thing because that isn't why schools send notices about things but its infectious aspect (I clearly mentioned measles too, agreed about the flu, also the PP's comment towards norovirus and whooping cough so try not to fixate on lice). I don't think that and other things became that way overnight for parents to be notified by schools, nor would I expect uniformity across the nation on COVID at this point in time.

I would hope they are being very cautious but you're going to get varying opinions on what that means. For some parents it's that they need to know the name of the kid that has it so they can get their kid away from that kid. For others it's just knowing that the school had a positive case.

What I was trying to say is what a parent wants and what the county's health department and any applicable laws or merely just concerns could be playing a role in this or that. That was the part I was saying is so new. No one really knows the best way to handle this on notification--is it to compel all businesses to put a notice on their doors that they have a positive case or that there was an exposure, is it to compel all schools to publicly announce and send notices to all parents whenever there is a positive case or potential exposure versus just the parents/students considered close contacts, is it for the health department to announce all names and locations of outbreaks (which depends on what definition you are using), etc? And what about privacy concerns, what information should be given to the public and which information should be protected information. And that's not even considering any sort of uniformity in such protocols on this ever-changing, quickly evolving situation where what happens this week may be completely different than next week.

HIPPA and FERPA protect the identities of students or staff who may become infected with a highly contagious disease. Students and or staff can probably figure out who the person was, but the school or the health department cannot release the names of those who are infected. Just like they would with any other highly contagious disease, I hope the health department would work with the ill staff member or parents of the ill child so that they could do contact tracing. Parents and a staff member may allow the school and health department to release their names, but the school and health department cannot do it without consent.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

HIPPA and FERPA protect the identities of students or staff who may become infected with a highly contagious disease. Students and or staff can probably figure out who the person was, but the school or the health department cannot release the names of those who are infected. Just like they would with any other highly contagious disease, I hope the health department would work with the ill staff member or parents of the ill child so that they could do contact tracing. Parents and a staff member may allow the school and health department to release their names, but the school and health department cannot do it without consent.

...I know about HIPPA and FERPA and all that jazz. It's not really worth much more discussion. I feel like I've already explained my viewpoint enough already in understanding the complexities of this situation and weighing that with the demands/wants/desires of people and the information they want to be shared with this new virus 6ish or so months into a global pandemic so I'm just going to leave it as what my several other comments have stated and move on from this particular discussion

 

[quandrea]

I am so sorry this is happening in your community!

I have a very good friend who has a son junior son that plays football for his high school in Texas. He is already being recruited by a few colleges. Their family made the decision for him NOT to play this season because his 10 year old brother has cystic fibrosis. Let's just say that some of the comments my friend and her family are getting about him not playing this year are unbelievable.

I can believe it. My daughter is not doing high performance swimming this year because her dad is high risk. The swim parents are crazy. It would turn your hair grey to hear all the risks the families take just to swim. They break all kinds of rules. Travelled out of country when our prime minister was telling us to get home at the beginning of the pandemic.

 

[DopeyDame]

Notre Dame just announced they're doing the next two weeks online. Not sending kids home (yet) but off campus students are instructed to stay off campus and on campus students are instructed not to leave campus except in an emergency.

And I have to believe that other than the military academies, ND is one of the easier schools to keep a lid on transmission, simply because of the on-campus nature and the small size. If they can't do it, no way enormous state schools will be able to.

 

[yeahdisney]

We decided DS will not go to uiuc all his classes are online.
I just read there is an emergency order they are going to close all restaurants in the campustown for indoor eating and for outdoor eating you must pick it up and go away with it; tomorrow at 5 PM.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

A teacher at a local high school created a spreadsheet that has been tracking schools with cases (includes athletes, summer activities, school year, etc). Her spreadsheet is continuously updated and she said she uses news stories (vetting them for credibility) for her collection of data. It's data from all states and comprises of presently approximately 800 schools and counting from March-present. Looks like she and then later on her volunteers have done an incredible amount of work into this and she also breaks it down to where there's no article to back up the information (ETA: a cautionary note for this part regarding my earlier discussion regarding rumor mills and telephone game--just keep that in mind; I appreciate that she at least calls out and details that there is no corresponding article to back it up)

For those who are interested this may be a LOT easier to look at than getting the information from (or having posters) posting articles on the DIS here every day of this school or that school.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...kMB0ZFsmFBL5orqjIq22mjFNZ7n-11ObCylGn/pubhtml
You can also submit an article to her for her to review and add to her list.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

Just found out our district is starting everyone online, even the "in person" kids. The gating criteria went from yellow to red, so no hybrid to start like they had originally thought. I'm glad I have my online plan sorted out. I feel for the "in person" group, though. They have to plan/accommodate all options. That sounds like a nightmare going back and forth as cases rise or fall. That was one of several reasons I chose to do all online in the first place.

 

[kymom99]

My college senior has had 2 in person classes so far. I’m glad he is on campus because he said his senior seminar is going to be challenging. The semester is compressed to end at thanksgiving and do the assignments are due closer together. He’s a little stressed and he doesn’t stress easily over school. I think he will benefit from having his teachers there where he can get help if needed. This is way too important to try to do remotely.

Also, I’m a retired teacher. For the second year in a row I’ve been called and offered a job. Special Ed teachers are in short supply. We are all virtual starting out. I’m praying the kids can come in at the end of September, even if it’s just hybrid. Special needs kids are very hard to work with online.