Our school district just announced it would be 100% online in the fall.

[Ronstar]

Local high school has a football player with Covid. So now football is shut down. Last week volleyball was shut down when one of the volleyball players tested positive.

It will be interesting to see what the schools do when regular students test positive. I hope they have a plan for when this happens. I read most of our school district’s plan book for this year and I didn’t see a “what if“ section.

 

[tmm99]

Local high school has a football player with Covid. So now football is shut down. Last week volleyball was shut down when one of the volleyball players tested positive.

It will be interesting to see what the schools do when regular students test positive. I hope they have a plan for when this happens. I read most of our school district’s plan book for this year and I didn’t see a “what if“ section.

I forsee a lot of closures like that due to one person getting infected. This isn't related to schools, but more to do with adult organized group activities, but our region opened up to outdoor leagues like soccer, flag football and volleyball, and I have a feeling once one person gets infected, the whole league for that particular sport may close down, as people who were around that infected person will most likely have to self-isolate for 14 days. I think we may need to be prepared for that.

 

[REWahoo]

Our youngest daughter has two school age children, one will be a HS senior, the other just entering middle school. She and our son-in-law went back and forth on whether to opt for remote schooling to start the year or opt for the in-person choice. The HS senior really preferred the in-person route and the middle schooler didn't care.

Knowing how brutal the peer atmosphere can be for middle schoolers, mom and dad opted to go the in-person route for both. They doubt in-person classes will last longer than a week or two before a positive test will send the kids home, but know the middle schooler will almost certainly be in a better peer/social environment starting out this way. They are trying to avoid the possibility of starting at home and potentially having to change to in-person later in the year after all those middle school cliques are already firmly established.

 

[audreyh1]

Our youngest daughter has two school age children, one will be a HS senior, the other just entering middle school. She and our son-in-law went back and forth on whether to opt for remote schooling to start the year or opt for the in-person choice. The HS senior really preferred the in-person route and the middle schooler didn't care.

Knowing how brutal the peer atmosphere can be for middle schoolers, mom and dad opted to go the in-person route for both. They doubt in-person classes will last longer than a week or two before a positive test will send the kids home, but know the middle schooler will almost certainly be in a better peer/social environment starting out this way. They are trying to avoid the possibility of starting at home and potentially having to change to in-person later in the year after all those middle school cliques are already firmly established.

Are they in Texas?

 

[REWahoo]

Yes, in Midland.

 

[Teacher Terry]

A couple of my friends were still teaching because they love it. Their schools are going back in a few weeks and they are retiring due to the virus and they are 66.

 

[Gumby]

Our youngest daughter has two school age children, one will be a HS senior, the other just entering middle school. She and our son-in-law went back and forth on whether to opt for remote schooling to start the year or opt for the in-person choice. The HS senior really preferred the in-person route and the middle schooler didn't care.

Knowing how brutal the peer atmosphere can be for middle schoolers, mom and dad opted to go the in-person route for both. They doubt in-person classes will last longer than a week or two before a positive test will send the kids home, but know the middle schooler will almost certainly be in a better peer/social environment starting out this way. They are trying to avoid the possibility of starting at home and potentially having to change to in-person later in the year after all those middle school cliques are already firmly established.

I can see their concern about the middle school issue. I went to five different schools in five different states during middle school, and periodically did not attend school for weeks in between. It was rough.

 

[Chuckanut]

There is a movement in my area to get the school districts that are going to be fully on-line to refund 15% of the money they get for each student to the parents so they can pay for additional tutoring, supplies, etc. The belief is that at least this much money is saved when the districts do not have to maintain the facilities, operate many buses, pay as much administrative staff, etc.

How they would monitor how the money is spent is beyond me.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

There is a movement in my area to get the school districts that are going to be fully on-line to refund 15% of the money they get for each student to the parents so they can pay for additional tutoring, supplies, etc. The belief is that at least this much money is saved when the districts do not have to maintain the facilities, operate many buses, pay as much administrative staff, etc.

How they would monitor how the money is spent is beyond me.

I assume these are some type of school taxes? Wonder how "refunding" would work if so. Here in TX school taxes are part of prop taxes. No own\no pay. Rolled into rents if renting. Landlords aren't going to be refunding. Plus, I don't have kids. Do I get 100pct back? 15 pct back to offset fees for my nonexistent kids? What an accounting feat.

 

[harllee]

A local private school started in person classes on Monday (the public schools are going to be all remote). Yesterday a staff person at the private school tested positive for Covid-19 so the private school has now shut down (after being open for 4 days). The school is going to be "sanitized" and says it will reopen. I am afraid this is what is going to be like for schools that open in person--open a few days, someone tests positive, then the school closes, then reopens, and then over and over until the school goes to online classes.

 

[tmm99]

A local private school started in person classes on Monday (the public schools are going to be all remote). Yesterday a staff person at the private school tested positive for Covid-19 so the private school has now shut down (after being open for 4 days). The school is going to be "sanitized" and says it will reopen. I am afraid this is what is going to be like for schools that open in person--open a few days, someone tests positive, then the school closes, then reopens, and then over and over until the school goes to online classes.

That's exactly what I am foreseeing too, unfortunately.

 

[explanade]

Maybe some private schools wouldn't be able to stay in business if they couldn't open.

No income coming in and if they are unable to pay teachers or other staff, they go look for other jobs so the private schools would be in trouble even if they're able to re-open.

 

[gayl]

DGS taught music & movement (dance) at a private school [emoji17]

 

[Chuckanut]

Here’s a rather thoughtful take on how to reopen schools.


https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2024920?query=TOC

They point out a number of countries that have physically reopened schools without dire consequences and examine why it can work if things are done correctly. Hint: we need a much lower infection rate.

“When schools in the Netherlands opened in April, they cut class sizes in half but did not enforce distancing among students younger than 12 — a loosening of restrictions that has now been extended to everyone under 17.11 Primary schools in the Netherlands returned to full capacity and full-day teaching in early June. Though both staff and children who are high-risk or have high-risk family members have been exempted from returning to school in person, most children and educators have returned and the case rate has thus far remained flat.”

“But the fundamental argument that children, families, educators, and society deserve to have safe and reliable primary schools should not be controversial. If we all agree on that principle, then it is inexcusable to open nonessential services for adults this summer if it forces students to remain at home even part-time this fall.”

 

[audreyh1]

Well, schools are out now for summer break in the Netherlands, and normally return in early September. The nation got their cases way down in May and June, but like some other European countries are starting to see a rise in cases that might become a second wave. Things could look a little dicier in September.

 

[KarlH]

We have seen the cancellation of our marching band camp and fall sports. As we have been going through this I think of the secondary effects on the teachers and staff who participate in these programs. I can only sympathize with the teachers whose contracts compensate for their participation as coaches, hall/lunch monitors, club activities, etc. Many of these professionals have good base salaries, but the extras are part of their normal annual budgets. In addition to the switch to full time online education, many of these teachers are taking pay cuts on top of it.

 

[rodi]

Locally fall sports county wide were cancelled... but many schools are still doing football practice off campus... just in case. I've seen the local high school at a local park - lots of parents cheering on. Little physical distancing among the parents.

Some of the spring sports are also doing sports practices - baseball, la crosse....

Another issue for those of us with rising seniors is the standardized testing fiasco. ACT and SAT reopened sessions to get testing in the fall before college apps in November. Tests have been cancelled in March I tried to register my son for the SAT. There were ZERO spots available in a 75 mile radius for the three dates that are before the college app deadline. Thankfully, the California public schools (UC and CSU) are waiving standardized test requirements... but merit based scholarships still look at it. ACT is even worse - they announced they were going to run some tests - and the website crashed HARD on the morning they opened registration... By the time they fixed it all testing was full. (A friend has been ranting big time about this.)

 

[brewer12345]

When they cancelled marching band DD1 was devastated. A big part of her life right now.

Our school district announced to day that for grades 6-12 they are half pregnant. "Hybrid" system where kids will be in the schools 2 days a week with remote instruction the other 3 days. But the same email said that they will update everyone in 2 more weeks as they watch case counts. Didn't know the school board was composed of virologists and epidemiologists.

 

[gayl]

When they cancelled marching band DD1 was devastated. A big part of her life right now.

Our school district announced to day that for grades 6-12 they are half pregnant. "Hybrid" system where kids will be in the schools 2 days a week with remote instruction the other 3 days. But the same email said that they will update everyone in 2 more weeks as they watch case counts. Didn't know the school board was composed of virologists and epidemiologists.

LOL. [emoji16] must be a typo

 

[brewer12345]

LOL. [emoji16] must be a typo

Ain't no typo.

 

[gayl]

What's half pregnant?

 

[brewer12345]

What's half pregnant?

Exactly. What is hybrid schooling? Most of the viral exposure, half the calories.

 

[gayl]

Exactly. What is hybrid schooling? Most of the viral exposure, half the calories.

[emoji23]

But seriously that's why my granddaughters are now homeschooled.

 

[harllee]

Exactly. What is hybrid schooling? Most of the viral exposure, half the calories.

That's way the local school district decided to do all online

 

[teetee]

A school in Indiana discovered a student is tested positive the first day it opens.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.indystar.com/amp/5552735002

Whoever though it is a good idea to let kids go back to school during the pandemic continues to underestimate the spread of the virus. We already knew the reopen caused the national uptick since June. Now they think kids will be able to do social distancing at school? How dumb are they?