So, how do you reopen schools? (Preschool to High School & even College)

[Xameil]

1 minute ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

Virginia isn't on the list.  Thanks for the info.  

No problem...also keep in mind school wise we dont start until after labor day

[China]

Science Offers Few Answers on Schools

 

Many children in the U.S. are supposed to start heading back to the classroom in just a few weeks. Science currently offers little insight into how safe that might be.

 

Other nations have sent children back to school—or never shuttered schools to begin with—but none has done so with the virus surging as it is in the U.S. That’s on top of the fact that the virus can be airborne in crowded indoor spaces, and that children are commonly known to be spreaders of other respiratory viruses, like the seasonal flu. While there’s data showing children aren’t likely to become very ill from Covid-19, there’s less information on how likely they are to transmit it to others.

 

Scant early data suggest children may in fact be less likely to transmit the disease. One Chinese study, for example, found that of 65 of 68 children with confirmed Covid-19 admitted to a hospital lived in households with previously infected adults, indicating the child caught the virus from the adult rather than transmitting it.

 

In another study from Australia, nine students and nine staff members were infected across 15 schools, making close contact with 735 other students and 128 staffers. Only two secondary infections were found. There is also some evidence that younger children are less likely to spread the virus than older ones.

 

What’s more, staying home from school could do a different kind of long-term damage to kids, dimming lifetime earnings prospects and potentially reinforcing existing social and economic divides.

 

Still, scientists say there just isn’t enough convincing evidence that kids won’t transmit the coronavirus. And that means that for schools that do opt to open, things will look a lot different than they did the previous September, with more masks, limited classroom time and physical distancing.

[China]

As school closures continue, students could face long-term learning setbacks

 

Schools across the country, amid pressure from the Trump Administration to fully reopen schools this fall, are in the throes of making a decision that will likely have consequences lasting beyond the 2020-2021 school year.  

 

This week, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) announced that students will not return to the classroom when the fall semester begins in August because of the surge in coronavirus cases. This decision came after United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union which represents LAUSD teachers, announced over the weekend that 83% of 18,000 members who took part in a poll voted against physically reopening schools to students.

 

The San Diego Unified School District also announced that the fall semester will begin virtually. It wasn't that long ago, however, when San Diego officials had announced a "detailed plan," developed in consultation with public health experts, to send kids back to school by the end of August. These decisions follow similar ones made in Nashville and Atlanta. Some major U.S. cities like Miami and New York City are still deciding whether or not students should physically return to the classroom this fall.

 

As my colleague Andrew O'hehir wrote, the decision to reopen schools is akin to "a 'Deer Hunter'-style game of Russian roulette, played blindfolded under conditions of complete chaos." Nobody knows what the best decision is – for students, for teachers, for other school employees, for guardians at home – and any decision made certainly comes with its own set of pitfalls. Moreover, like most of the fallout from this pandemic, the burden of each decision will be largely carried by working-class families and communities of color.

 

Click on the link for more

Edited July 15, 2020 by China

[Xameil]

So..it look as though my daughters high school has their plan..

 

Only 11 kids to a bus, so basically I'll be driving her to and picking her up from school. Lunches in the class rooms, no choir/chorus, no band, no gym, low risk sports will be moved to fall if not already there and high risk sports are the spring. 

 

NYS is providing all necessary PPE and sanitizer. If it spikes then they go back to online learning. 

Luckily all students have chromebooks as a standard thing and kept them for the summer.

 

That's the latest I have heard for the area I live in

[visionary]

 

[dfitzo53]

3 hours ago, China said:

As my colleague Andrew O'hehir wrote, the decision to reopen schools is akin to "a 'Deer Hunter'-style game of Russian roulette, played blindfolded under conditions of complete chaos." Nobody knows what the best decision is – for students, for teachers, for other school employees, for guardians at home – and any decision made certainly comes with its own set of pitfalls. Moreover, like most of the fallout from this pandemic, the burden of each decision will be largely carried by working-class families and communities of color.

This paragraph nails it.

[bearrock]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/15/school-reopening-budget-trump-gop-coronavirus/

 

Quote

The White House and Senate Republicans are developing plans to prod schools to reopen by attaching incentives or conditions to tens of billions of dollars of new aid as part of the next coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said Wednesday.

....

But key Republicans have grown increasingly vocal in recent days about the importance of schools reopening physically, arguing that keeping children home from school is disruptive.

 

“There’s no doubt that there is more harm to a child’s health being out of school, and that encompasses nutritional health, mental health, physical health,” Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, said in an interview Wednesday. “And, clearly, our scientists on the task force agree that children need to be in school in person.”

 

So, is the GOP going to advocate for banning homeschooling?  

[China]

School districts talk later starts, online only options for reopening

 

Since Tuesdays are regular school board meeting days, it comes as no surprise that today’s news is dominated by school districts’ continuing attempts to find a path toward reopening that meets family and staff expectations while also keeping in line with state demands. Those two things aren’t always compatible, leaving board members and administrators playing an elaborate game of Twister to get their hands and feet on all the colors. Read on for that and the rest of today’s Florida education news.

 

The Pinellas County board spent nearly five hours going over its plan. The proposal is so fluid that it could change numerous times before the scheduled first day of classes. Teachers and others protested outside the meeting, while parents sent a petition asking for a virtual-only return.

 

Pasco County’s administration came through with a mask mandate. The propose rule defines what counts as a mask, who has to wear one, when and where. • Duval County added a mask requirement to its revised reopening plan, too, the Florida Times-Union reports.

 

Online only, you say? That’s where the Broward County School Board is headed to start the year, barring a massive turnaround in health conditions, the Sun-Sentinel reports. • A group of Manatee and Sarasota teachers and parents are asking for the same thing, the Bradenton Herald reports. • There’s a movement afoot in Duval County, as well, the Florida Times-Union reports.

 

Who says classes have to begin as expected? The Sarasota County School Board decided to ask the state for permission to start three weeks late as part of its plan, the Herald-Tribune reports. • A Palm Beach County board member expects to encourage her colleagues to do the same when they meet Wednesday, the Palm Beach Post reports. • Orange and Seminole counties also are headed that direction, the Orlando Sentinel reports. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LD0506]

[gbear]

I am fairly sure Anne Arundel is slow playing the "only distance learning" to prevent mass hysteria in the county/appear like they considered every other choice.  Today's email said they have ruled out alternating days (too much cleaning required every day), full classrooms, and full buses.  They left open the possibility of an AA BB schedule. 

 

Now my kids' buses were full, so I am not sure how you get the number of kids to school needed even if only half full buses.  They say nobody on seat behind driver or aid  and only one student per row (instead of 4?).  I am not sure from where the extra buses and drivers/aids will come.    

 

Other counties in MD with far fewer cases and children have already said distance learning for at least 2020.  I just look at a lot of what Anne Arundel is saying as trying to look like they are making an effort already knowing what the outcome will be.  My wife and I are certainly taking the approach that they have already ruled out in person learning, and we are trying to plan accordingly. 

 

I just try to duck my head and not say, "I told you this 2 weeks ago" because I know it pisses my wife off to no end to think about trying to home school all 4 which is a lot of what distance learning becomes at our house.  I still maintain the state needs to just pull the band-aid off and declare distance learning for the year.  There is no point in putting resources into trying to plan out any in person classes if it is taking away from planning for distance learning.  It is irresponsible in my eyes (I can't unlearn project management lessons) even if it is the politic thing to do.   

Edited July 16, 2020 by gbear

[TheDoyler23]

Prince George's County has said they are distance learning until February. 

 

I bet Montgomery and adjacent will follow. 

 

Guess I'm buying a Chromebook this week... 

[visionary]

 

[Xameil]

Ok...updating from what I said before...

School is now going alternating days....2 on 2 off...dont know what they are doing with the 5th day....

No interscholastic sports...arts still being assessed..masks on buses, staggered arrival, parents drop off encouraged.

 

This is still subject to change...but this is where they are at now

[visionary]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

Back To School: Teachers Are Ready To Quit Rather Than Put Their Lives At Risk

 

The crisis over when and how to reopen schools underscores a central contradiction in American society: It can’t function without the public school system, which doesn’t have the funding and resources to follow the basic health and safety guidelines that would make reopening schools during a global pandemic feasible.

 

Teachers are quick to acknowledge that remote, online learning isn’t nearly as effective as being in the classroom, but with coronavirus cases rising all over the country, many don’t feel prepared to go back, either. A lack of national leadership on the schools issue has left states to give orders and school districts to make piecemeal plans that many teachers don’t understand or trust.

 

While some school staffers feel ready to go back, others are so frustrated and afraid that they’ve floated the idea of organizing a national walkout similar to the 2018 and 2019 teacher strikes over low pay. But as public employees, teachers in some states are legally barred from striking, and some are afraid that breaking their contract by resigning at the last minute or organizing “sick-outs” as a form of protest could lead to them losing not just their jobs, including insurance and salary, but their teaching certifications and therefore their ability to work at all.

 

Rather than face that decision, Michael McCann, who taught middle school English in Virginia for the last three years, decided to quit in June. The problem, he said, is that leaders are “expecting teachers to be the glue that holds society together.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[EmirOfShmo]

[Dan T.]

Virginia High School League this week announced no high school football this fall.  So no reffing for me.  Probably a blessing.

[visionary]

 

[China]

Gov. Gavin Newsom announces which California school districts can reopen in the fall

 

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new guidelines Friday to determine which school districts are allowed to reopen classrooms in the fall.

 

In order to resume in-person class instruction, a county must have been off the state's COVID-19 watch list for 14 consecutive days. Districts in counties on the watch list will only be able to do distance learning.

 

As of Friday, 33 of California's 58 counties are on the COVID-19 watch list, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That represents more than 80% of the state's population.

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[The Evil Genius]

2 minutes ago, China said:

 

 

As of Friday, 33 of California's 58 counties are on the COVID-19 watch list, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That represents more than 80% of the state's population.

 

 

I hate when articles do this. Those 4 counties represent roughly 44% of the states population.  I suspect the 80% claim was in reference to the 33 counties that are on the watch list.

[China]

With No End in Sight to the Coronavirus, Some Teachers Are Retiring Rather Than Going Back to School

 

When Christina Curfman thought about whether she could return to her second-grade classroom in the fall, she struggled to imagine the logistics. How would she make sure her 8-year-old students kept their face masks on all day? How would they do hands-on science experiments that required working in pairs? How would she keep six feet of distance between children accustomed to sharing desks and huddling together on one rug to read books?

 

“The only way to keep kids six feet apart is to have four or five kids,” says Curfman, a teacher at Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia, who typically has 22 students in a class. Her district shut schools on March 12, and at least 55 staff members have since tested positive for the coronavirus. “Classrooms in general are pretty tight,” she says. “And then how do you teach a reading group, how do you teach someone one-on-one from six feet apart? You can’t.”

 

So Curfman—who has an autoimmune disease that makes her more vulnerable to COVID-19—consulted her doctor, weighed the risks of returning to school and decided to retire early after 28 years of teaching. At 55, she’s eligible for partial retirement benefits and will take home less pay than if she had worked for a few more years, but the decision gave her peace of mind.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Edited July 17, 2020 by China

[Elessar78]

2 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

I hate when articles do this. Those 4 counties represent roughly 44% of the states population.  I suspect the 80% claim was in reference to the 33 counties that are on the watch list.

Yeah articles have been disappointing lately. They leave valuable numbers out. I read an article where a thousand kids in California got sick in daycare. That's a lot. But the article said there are 38,000+ day care facilities in CA. They do not go on to say how many kids are in these daycare facilities. 
 

If you estimate that there are 12 individuals in each daycare (10 kids, 2 adults) that's an infection rate of 0.2%. I think my estimate is an undercount. And you could reasonably theorize that some of those weren't following the rules strictly. 
 

 

[EmirOfShmo]

The A10 & CAA have canceled all Fall sports. 

[Xameil]

1 hour ago, EmirOfShmo said:

The A10 & CAA have canceled all Fall sports. 

I'm hearing conflicting reports in my area.

I've heard late start and no championships, and I've heard fall sports will start in March