AISD's (and other districts) Plans for Schools Starting August 18

[atomheartbevo 90673]

AISD send this email out a few minutes ago

• Austin ISD has learned much about continuous learning. Simply put, at-home instruction will not look like it did in March, April and May.
• The AISD Academics, Professional Learning, Technology teams and teachers have been working hard over the summer to create high-quality, online instructional resources for students in all grades that will be much more comprehensive and robust than what existed in the spring. 
• Austin ISD is designing high-quality course content that can be delivered either 100% virtually or face-to-face. We also know the connection between teachers and students, whether in a face-to-face or remote environment, is crucial to a student's success.
• The BLEND (Canvas) system will be used in grades pre-K-12 with the use of Seesaw as a supplemental tool in grades pre-K-2. 
• Through BLEND, students and parents will receive all communication about course assignments, be able to watch videos, access lesson content, submit assignments, receive feedback on assignments and communicate with their teachers. 
• Students in grades pre-K through second grade will also be able to use Seesaw, which can be accessed through BLEND, as a supplemental, developmentally-appropriate tool for younger learners.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

Northside ISD in San Antonio just announced online only for at least the first two weeks.

[atomheartbevo 90673]

https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-county-orders-all-schools-to-postpone-in-person-classes-until-sept-8

Quote

Dallas County health officials say no public or private schools in the county will be allowed to hold in-person classes until at least Sept. 8.

The new mandate came down on Thursday from Dallas County Health and Human Services, citing the record-high number of COVID-19 cases.

Quote

The county reported more than 1,000 new cases for the fourteenth straight day on Thursday, bringing the county total to 37,996 cases and 501 deaths

 

 

[washparkhorn 9974]

21 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Anybody have a good online resource for school furniture.  Thinking about ordering some school chairs/desks and basically converting the game room into a class room.  

https://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/

They have everything furniture/fixture related you might need. Good for planning out the space - prices may be cheaper elsewhere. They shipped quickly when I used them a few years ago. Good luck. 

 

[babysdaddy 2731]

https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-county-orders-all-schools-to-postpone-in-person-classes-until-sept-8

Dallas County health officials say no public or private schools in the county will be allowed to hold in-person classes until at least Sept. 8.
The new mandate came down on Thursday from Dallas County Health and Human Services, citing the record-high number of COVID-19 cases.

The county reported more than 1,000 new cases for the fourteenth straight day on Thursday, bringing the county total to 37,996 cases and 501 deaths

 
 

What is most frustrating about this is that Jenkins says as soon as they figured out they could delay and not get funding cut they pulled the trigger.

Why are private schools impacted then? Kids aren’t dying from this and kids don’t spread it to adults. So what the fuck is the point.

[Samson's Wig 3230]

17 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

AISD send this email out a few minutes ago

• Austin ISD has learned much about continuous learning. Simply put, at-home instruction will not look like it did in March, April and May.
• The AISD Academics, Professional Learning, Technology teams and teachers have been working hard over the summer to create high-quality, online instructional resources for students in all grades that will be much more comprehensive and robust than what existed in the spring. 
• Austin ISD is designing high-quality course content that can be delivered either 100% virtually or face-to-face. We also know the connection between teachers and students, whether in a face-to-face or remote environment, is crucial to a student's success.
• The BLEND (Canvas) system will be used in grades pre-K-12 with the use of Seesaw as a supplemental tool in grades pre-K-2. 
• Through BLEND, students and parents will receive all communication about course assignments, be able to watch videos, access lesson content, submit assignments, receive feedback on assignments and communicate with their teachers. 
• Students in grades pre-K through second grade will also be able to use Seesaw, which can be accessed through BLEND, as a supplemental, developmentally-appropriate tool for younger learners.

 

Most of this sounds great.  I was hoping they would come up with an alternative to Blend, as it is a complete piece of shit and failed to work about half the time this spring, but c'est la vie.

[The_Great_Hornsby 3614]

19 hours ago, Lobo said:

a top figure in the reopenings of schools apparently had this to say this morning, "The science should not stand in the way of this."  referring to school openings.  

So I'm feeling great about all this.  We have the top people in the top fields on top of this.  

Yeah, that's some fake news right there. If you read the full context, it was actually encouraged that people follow the science to guide there decision making. A debate can be had as to whether the science is actually on their side, but I would just be careful with clickbait out of context quotes. 

"The science is on our side here. We encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.”

 

[Guest Lobo]

8 minutes ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

Yeah, that's some fake news right there. If you read the full context, it was actually encouraged that people follow the science to guide there decision making. A debate can be had as to whether the science is actually on their side, but I would just be careful with clickbait out of context quotes. 

"The science is on our side here. We encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.”

 

Okay, so if I put the two quotes together:

"The science should not stand in the way of this.  The science is on our side here.  We encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science." 

It makes the universe collapse back in on itself. . 

How can the science be beside her if it's standing in the way of her?  How do you follow science that has previously been cast aside so as not to stand in the way?  

Edited July 17, 2020 by Lobo

[The_Great_Hornsby 3614]

2 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Okay, so if I put the two quotes together:

"The science should not stand in the way of this.  The science is on our side here.  We encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science." 

It makes the universe collapse back in on itself. . 

How the science be beside her if it's standing in the way of her?  How do you follow science that has previously been cast aside so as not to stand in the way?  

She is saying, in her assessment, that the science shouldnt stand in their way of reopening, because the science is on her side. Between those two statements was a report from pediatric hospitals that the flu is statistically more likely to cause severe illness in a child than coronavirus. 

Her assessment that the science is on their side is up for debate certainly (blindspot for possible child to adult spread with her theory), but I dont think she said what the headlines were trying to lead you to believe. 

[Guest Lobo]

Yeah, I just watched the clip on youtube.  I don't have time for the entire briefing, but I did watch those four pertinent minutes.  I think I get what she/you are saying, she just fumbled through it when trying to find pediatric study and it did not come out smoothly.  She's eloquent enough but sometimes instead of just answering a question directly on her own, she races to the binder tabs and trips over herself.  /noCR

Anyway, back to school district starts.  The school district commission they put me on two years ago here in Austin to deal with real estate and bond issues of the school (stuff the Board doesn't want to touch directly).  It was all well and good and I felt like I was doing some good for my kids' district.  Well, since Covid-19 started, it's just been a roller coaster up-and-down of what we should do/shouldn't do/reopen/blend/close/etc.  The hammer has dropped and we are going completely remote.  They called a meeting for us, the principals, and the Superintendent on Wednesday morning to discuss how to handle all the sports and extracirriculars and activities will be handled.  They prefaced the zoom invite by saying it was not going to be good news for students/parents and that they'd like our help is disseminating out the decisions we vote on Wednesday to the community so it seems like it's coming from their peers and not just from the Board wagging its finger.  We're about to piss off thousands of Karens.  I'm planning to attend virtually, and virtually drunk.

But brings me to the point, if interscholastic sports aren't gonna happen, there's no way around that.  But what about debate competitions, art competitions, music competitions, etc?"  Stuff you can do remotely and still be pretty effective in terms of judging/scoring.  And in younger grades, can you block out 90 minutes, where the kids travel to the school, do a socially distanced phys.ed. period outside or non-contact games, and then travel back home and resume remote learning with your teacher?  Can parents self-organize those and do them on campus in the outdoor fields?  Stuff like this is gonna pop up organically all over the place and they have to get their minds around how the legality of that is going to work.  I'm interested to hear feedback on this.  The classroom fate is sealed for at least the first 9 weeks, probably 18 weeks.  But what about physical activities?  After-School clubs and competitions?  Study groups?  Lots of other stuff on the line.  And then apparently, i gotta help tell it to Karen.  

Edited July 17, 2020 by Lobo

[Samson's Wig 3230]

The Karens can eat a bag o' dicks if a lack of athletic competition is their main concern right now. 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

  The classroom fate is sealed for at least the first 9 weeks, probably 18 weeks.  But what about physical activities?  After-School clubs and competitions?  Study groups?  Lots of other stuff on the line.  And then apparently, i gotta help tell it to Karen.  

I never want to sound like a whiner, but the deal with the elementary school electives (pe, art, music) sort of bugs me because I know for a fact that both the teachers and students really just phoned it in at best in the spring.  I know with my own kids we didn't give a shit about the  acitvities they posted for them because me and my wife had our own work to deal with.  It was a sore spot because they essentially got full pay for 3 months for doing maybe 10% of the work.  They don't even really give grades in those subjects.  Point being they would be wise to just cancel those classes while 100% and reallocate those teachers to the " classroom" or in a support/tutoring role.  

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

2 hours ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

I never want to sound like a whiner, but the deal with the elementary school electives (pe, art, music) sort of bugs me because I know for a fact that both the teachers and students really just phoned it in at best in the spring.  I know with my own kids we didn't give a shit about the  acitvities they posted for them because me and my wife had our own work to deal with.  It was a sore spot because they essentially got full pay for 3 months for doing maybe 10% of the work.  They don't even really give grades in those subjects.  Point being they would be wise to just cancel those classes while 100% and reallocate those teachers to the " classroom" or in a support/tutoring role.  

You want the music teacher used to face to face teaching your kids how to read remotely. 
good luck man, we are all counting on you! 

[atomheartbevo 90673]

4 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

The Karens can eat a bag o' dicks if a lack of athletic competition is their main concern right now. 

They need something to sate their fantasies, and it sure as hell won't be their husbands.

[atomheartbevo 90673]

6 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

Most of this sounds great.  I was hoping they would come up with an alternative to Blend, as it is a complete piece of shit and failed to work about half the time this spring, but c'est la vie.

Everybody is on the same page which will help from a support point of view, and they were looking at those schools/teachers who were able to get a full compliment of content/activities up on Blend - I know they talked to my kid's teachers, because like I said elsewhere, every single day, they had a full day's worth of activities and assignments ready for the kids.  It was actually a little too much, given that we were trying to do our own thing.

And we know several teachers who are right now working on their lesson plans, doing webinars/classes on how to use Blend, Seesaw, etc. now that they have some certainty on how things are going to play out.  They are dreading it, but at the same time, they know how things are going to play out.

There are going to be some shocked/upset parents when they realize a week or two in that they are going to have to be a lot more involved with their kid's activities, and that participation is going to be required.  It's going to suck for those parents.

[Samson's Wig 3230]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Everybody is on the same page which will help from a support point of view, and they were looking at those schools/teachers who were able to get a full compliment of content/activities up on Blend - I know they talked to my kid's teachers, because like I said elsewhere, every single day, they had a full day's worth of activities and assignments ready for the kids.  It was actually a little too much, given that we were trying to do our own thing.

And we know several teachers who are right now working on their lesson plans, doing webinars/classes on how to use Blend, Seesaw, etc. now that they have some certainty on how things are going to play out.  They are dreading it, but at the same time, they know how things are going to play out.

There are going to be some shocked/upset parents when they realize a week or two in that they are going to have to be a lot more involved with their kid's activities, and that participation is going to be required.  It's going to suck for those parents.

You make a good point (or two or three).  I'm definitely glad everyone will be forced to be on the same page.  In the spring, even though both kids were in 2nd grade, every teacher they had was using their own software and system.  Between language arts, math, art, music, p.e., and foreign language, we had 9-10 different teachers doing their own thing and none of it worked well.  I wanted to shoot someone (starting with myself).

[Samson's Wig 3230]

Some things I've been working on just to help with things that caused problems this spring:

1. Converting dining room into a classroom setting, with cheapo desks for them so that there is a specific spot they associate with learning.  Dining table can serve as a group activity spot if needed.
2. Setting up a digital wall calendar on a vertical 24" monitor so that everyone's schedule is front and center and we can quickly see who needs to be doing what at a glance  You can easily build one using a Raspberry pi and an old monitor, https://www.raspberrypi.org/, or just buy one ready-to-go from Dakboard: https://dakboard.com/site
3. Purchased a big ass magnetic giant erase board  to hang on the wall to be used for quick access to organizational items (zoom passwords, etc.) and to serve as a space for instruction.
4. Updating their computer situation as my daughter's macbook air did not play well with any of the software utilized this spring, including Blend.  It became a huge issue after updating to Catalina.  Updating an old PC for use this go-round.  Fingers crossed.
5. Still determining best way to handle this, but some type of filing system in the dining room to keep all of the paperwork, assignments, etc. organizing and easily accessed.
6. Finally, and most importantly, I'm stockpiling liquor.  

These things will help keep me sane this fall based on what we experienced this spring.  Most of the frustration was born out of a lack of organization on my part and the school/district/teachers' part.  Mitigating even a bit of that will go a long way to making this a more functional experience for the kids and me.

[bad_teammate 13566]

20 hours ago, babysdaddy said:

Kids aren’t dying from this and kids don’t spread it to adults. So what the fuck is the point.

Kids aren't dying from it because kids have been in lockdown/quarantine since Spring Break.
Kids aren't spreading it to adults because kids have been in lockdown/quarantine since Spring Break.

While I understand their youth/health makes death from COVID less likely, is there some scientific explanation for how kids cannot spread the virus?

[Guest Lobo]

23 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

Kids aren't dying from it because kids have been in lockdown/quarantine since Spring Break.
Kids aren't spreading it to adults because kids have been in lockdown/quarantine since Spring Break.

While I understand their youth/health makes death from COVID less likely, is there some scientific explanation for how kids cannot spread the virus?

Bullshit, I’ve been sending my five year old out every week to pickup Chinese takeout and whiskey for me.  Locking down kids is for Pussies!   

[South Austin 53263]

48 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

Some things I've been working on just to help with things that caused problems this spring:

1. Converting dining room into a classroom setting, with cheapo desks for them so that there is a specific spot they associate with learning.  Dining table can serve as a group activity spot if needed.
2. Setting up a digital wall calendar on a vertical 24" monitor so that everyone's schedule is front and center and we can quickly see who needs to be doing what at a glance  You can easily build one using a Raspberry pi and an old monitor, https://www.raspberrypi.org/, or just buy one ready-to-go from Dakboard: https://dakboard.com/site
3. Purchased a big ass magnetic giant erase board  to hang on the wall to be used for quick access to organizational items (zoom passwords, etc.) and to serve as a space for instruction.
4. Updating their computer situation as my daughter's macbook air did not play well with any of the software utilized this spring, including Blend.  It became a huge issue after updating to Catalina.  Updating an old PC for use this go-round.  Fingers crossed.
5. Still determining best way to handle this, but some type of filing system in the dining room to keep all of the paperwork, assignments, etc. organizing and easily accessed.
6. Finally, and most importantly, I'm stockpiling liquor.  

These things will help keep me sane this fall based on what we experienced this spring.  Most of the frustration was born out of a lack of organization on my part and the school/district/teachers' part.  Mitigating even a bit of that will go a long way to making this a more functional experience for the kids and me.

Do you have a place in the backyard where the kids can smoke during their lunch break?

[Samson's Wig 3230]

26 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Do you have a place in the backyard where the kids can smoke during their lunch break?

It's actually on the side of the house, near the asshole neighbor's kitchen window.

[atomheartbevo 90673]

Austin-area district plans:

• Austin ISD: Classes start Aug 18, online for 3 weeks.
• Bastrop: Online for 3 weeks (more info this coming Monday)
• Del Valle: Start Aug 17, online for first 6 weeks.  Families will be updated during week of Sept 8 for further plans.  They are planning for real-time interaction with teachers over video and not canned videos.
• Dripping Springs: Board meeting this coming Monday to decide about shifting first four weeks to being virtual.
• Eanes: Online for first three weeks.
• Georgetown:  No official plans yet, waiting on survey info.  They are looking at releasing plans on July 21 for parents.
• Hays: Moved actual start date back.   In-person teaching in "late September".  More plans coming this Monday.  They stated they are looking at all options that would allow them to delay in-person schooling as long as possible.
• IDEA: August 11, Classes online.
• KIPP Charter Schools:  Parents can choose 100% online or 100% on-campus, and have to decide by July 22.
• Lake Travis ISD: District Spokesperson: “It is too early for us to determine if we will be adding the additional four weeks of online learning, staggering start/end times, eliminating assemblies, or allowing teachers to teach remotely”
• Leander: Online through September 8/the first four weeks, and then reassess based on local health guidelines.  They are relying on Austin Public Health for guidance and wants Phase 2 before students can be back in the classroom.
• Lockhart ISD: They are not ready to release their plans yet.
• Manor ISD: No decision has been made
• Pflugerville ISD: PFISD Spokesperson: “Our leadership team hasn’t had the opportunity to determine how this will affect us and what decisions will be made for the future. What I can say right now is that we have informed our families this past week that we will begin the school year 100% virtual for the first three weeks, and if there are any changes we will be sure to inform our staff, parents and community as soon as decisions are made”
• Round Rock: Bragged about being the first Central Texas district to announce they were going all-virtual for the first three weeks.  School starts Aug. 20, on-campus starting Sept. 10 (depending on local cases).

[harpercollins 394]

On 7/14/2020 at 10:20 PM, atomheartbevo said:

Those thinking private schools would escape, nope.

 

The attorney general said today that religious private schools are exempt from local officials' orders.

[harpercollins 394]

On 7/15/2020 at 4:14 PM, Horns99 said:

 


Where in the hell are they getting those projected death #’s for kids? I know damn sure it’s not 1%. Trying to scare all the parents.
 

From China. In a Chinese study of 72314 COVID19 cases published in Feburary in China, 549 of those 72k cases were in children aged 10-19. One child died which results in a case fatality rate of .18% with a confidence interval of 95% (meaning that the case fatality rate could be as low as .03% or as high as 1.02%). Dr. Escott has exploited extrapolated this single child's death in China in January to imply that between 40 and 1,370 children will die in Travis County if schools reopen. It's absurd and appalling, and that's coming from someone who supports the schools staying closed.

No clue how to disseminate this perspective without sounding like a fake news trumpkin, though.  

Edited July 18, 2020 by harpercollins

[harpercollins 394]

I'm not understanding the logic in delaying the school start by just a few weeks. Has there been any indication that we are close to a peak? I have not seen anything that would suggest this will die down in the least without another shelter-in-place or vaccine. So unless the schools are prepared to shut down entirely until we have a vaccine, what is the three weeks going to do?

[South Austin 53263]

My ex-wife and I are discussing our fourth-grade son forming a “pod” of four classmates where they rotate at one of the parents’ homes each week for about 4 hours or so. They’ll work on their online lessons together, but also have some semblance of in-person education and the much-needed social interaction.  All families have to be of like mind—i.e., no anti-maskers, everyone keeps a relatively tight circle, no in-person interactions with other kids outside the pod. 

We’ve only started discussing the details. But I think it’s a recognition that resuming education at the schools is likely going to be a shitshow through 2020, and possibly beyond, and we need to find a way for our younger kids to have some sort of in-person engagement with their classmates. I know it adds some measure of risk to all of the participating families, but keeping our kids locked up in their homes for the  next six months and beyond doesn’t seem to be the answer.

Have any of you been thinking about the same thing?

[Samson's Wig 3230]

A ton of our kids' classmates are doing the pod setup this fall.  We decided it wasn't for us for a couple of reasons.  First, there's just no way to to trust that all people involved will act responsibly, no matter what they claim (and many pods are hiring college kids/ young adults to handle the teaching/babysitting - so you're exposing everyone to a demographic that can't control itself).  Even without a twenty something involved, you're increasing your kids and your exposure significantly by inviting a group of kids (and every they've been in contact with) into your home.   That part is a matter of risk tolerance, and I understand some folks landing on the side of it being worth it for the social interaction.  The second, and more important reason, is that getting my kids out of my house every now and then isn't worth the nightmare of having 4-8 extra kids in my house for those days it's our turn.  What a fucking nightmare that will be.  My wife and I both work out of the house (even before the pandemic), and having to just shut everything down for one week per month because an atomic bomb of noise, snot, shit, hurt feelings, bad attitudes, etc. has descended upon our sanctuary just isn't worth it.  Depending on your situation, especially if you're leaving the house to work and can hire someone else to deal with that nonsense, it might make more sense.

FWIW, a significant number of people at our kids' elementary school have completely disenrolled their kids for the year (info coming from a source in the school).  I'm not surprised and the big concern here is that AISD will be another fatality of the Covid pandemic.  The district was gasping for air before this came along, and it won't take that many folks bailing to put the final nail in the coffin and turn AISD into the severely underfunded inner city school district it's destined to become at some point anyway.  If your long term plans involve staying in the city and sending your kids to public school, now is the time to do what you can to ensure it's not a complete disaster in the coming years (although I have no clue what we can actually do about it - with our without the new caronavirus we're on the same trajectory every other large city district in America has traveled). 

[Murfdogg21 4574]

Dp

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by Murfdogg21

[Murfdogg21 4574]

According to ze Germans who looked at Covid+ patients of all ages, children and adolescents are significantly less likely to spread it due to less viral load and release. 
 

https://virologie-ccm.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/m_cc05/virologie-ccm/dateien_upload/Weitere_Dateien/analysis-of-SARS-CoV-2-viral-load-by-patient-age-v2.pdf

There are several additional scientific published references that speak to the significantly lower risks to children. The health risk vs economic risk seems weighted substantially more towards economics for keeping schools open, yet emotional reaction to thoughts of one dead child are defying logic. 
 

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2020/07/08/peds.2020-004879

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/29/no-case-child-passing-coronavirus-adult-exists-evidence-review/

https://www.health.gov.au/news/australian-health-protection-principal-committee-ahppc-coronavirus-covid-19-statements-on-24-april-2020#updated-advice-regarding-schools

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/grandparents-can-safely-hug-under-10s-say-swiss-20200429-p54o9r.html

[Guest Lobo]

Beavis/ you said ‘load and release’

Edited July 18, 2020 by Lobo

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

6 hours ago, harpercollins said:

From China. In a Chinese study of 72314 COVID19 cases published in Feburary in China, 549 of those 72k cases were in children aged 10-19. One child died which results in a case fatality rate of .18% with a confidence interval of 95% (meaning that the case fatality rate could be as low as .03% or as high as 1.02%). Dr. Escott has exploited extrapolated this single child's death in China in January to imply that between 40 and 1,370 children will die in Travis County if schools reopen. It's absurd and appalling, and that's coming from someone who supports the schools staying closed.

No clue how to disseminate this perspective without sounding like a fake news trumpkin, though.  

I think the did that pretty well here (not sound like a Trumpkin). 

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

6 hours ago, harpercollins said:

I'm not understanding the logic in delaying the school start by just a few weeks. Has there been any indication that we are close to a peak? I have not seen anything that would suggest this will die down in the least without another shelter-in-place or vaccine. So unless the schools are prepared to shut down entirely until we have a vaccine, what is the three weeks going to do?

My suspicion pretty much is that we are shutting down until there’s a vaccine, we just haven’t admitted or come to terms with that yet. 

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

A ton of our kids' classmates are doing the pod setup this fall.  We decided it wasn't for us for a couple of reasons.  First, there's just no way to to trust that all people involved will act responsibly, no matter what they claim (and many pods are hiring college kids/ young adults to handle the teaching/babysitting - so you're exposing everyone to a demographic that can't control itself).  Even without a twenty something involved, you're increasing your kids and your exposure significantly by inviting a group of kids (and every they've been in contact with) into your home.   That part is a matter of risk tolerance, and I understand some folks landing on the side of it being worth it for the social interaction.  The second, and more important reason, is that getting my kids out of my house every now and then isn't worth the nightmare of having 4-8 extra kids in my house for those days it's our turn.  What a fucking nightmare that will be.  My wife and I both work out of the house (even before the pandemic), and having to just shut everything down for one week per month because an atomic bomb of noise, snot, shit, hurt feelings, bad attitudes, etc. has descended upon our sanctuary just isn't worth it.  Depending on your situation, especially if you're leaving the house to work and can hire someone else to deal with that nonsense, it might make more sense.

FWIW, a significant number of people at our kids' elementary school have completely disenrolled their kids for the year (info coming from a source in the school).  I'm not surprised and the big concern here is that AISD will be another fatality of the Covid pandemic.  The district was gasping for air before this came along, and it won't take that many folks bailing to put the final nail in the coffin and turn AISD into the severely underfunded inner city school district it's destined to become at some point anyway.  If your long term plans involve staying in the city and sending your kids to public school, now is the time to do what you can to ensure it's not a complete disaster in the coming years (although I have no clue what we can actually do about it - with our without the new caronavirus we're on the same trajectory every other large city district in America has traveled). 

 Boy you seem like you’d be a lot of fun at parties and what not. 

[Murfdogg21 4574]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

My suspicion pretty much is that we are shutting down until there’s a vaccine, we just haven’t admitted or come to terms with that yet. 

Doesn’t seem wise to plan for something that may not happen given the low retention of antibodies and the rapid mutation of the virus. 

[babysdaddy 2731]

19 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

Kids aren't dying from it because kids have been in lockdown/quarantine since Spring Break.
Kids aren't spreading it to adults because kids have been in lockdown/quarantine since Spring Break.

While I understand their youth/health makes death from COVID less likely, is there some scientific explanation for how kids cannot spread the virus?

don't know on that.  your first two statements only focus on US.  Studies below along with commentary from NIH:

 

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2006100?articleTools=true

Study published in the New England Journal of medicine showing infection rates for children 10 and under is half of what it is for people over 10 years old. This data come from Iceland’s screening of its population.  Genetic sequence tracing. 

 

https://www.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/blog/hunting-down-covid-19/

Commentary from the above study.  “Children under 10 are less likely to get infected than adults and if they get infected, they are less likely to get seriously ill. What is interesting is that even if children do get infected, they are less likely to transmit the disease to others than adults. We have not found a single instance of a child infecting parents.”

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7268273/

Here is a study from Ireland which shows no evidence of secondary transmission of covid from children attending school.  They tracked child contacts of cases and there were no confirmed secondary cases.

 

http://ncirs.org.au/sites/default/files/2020-04/NCIRS NSW Schools COVID_Summary_FINAL public_26 April 2020.pdf

A report on school-related transmission in New South Wales, Australia, examining the spread of SARS-CoV-2 from 18 confirmed cases (nine students and nine staff) from 15 schools identified only two potential cases of secondary school-based transmission, despite the identification of 863 close contacts

 

https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/children-and-covid-19

A study from the Netherlands. Essentially repeating the same.

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32371442/

From the NIH explaining the children are not Covid spreaders.

 

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882316641/what-parents-can-learn-from-child-care-centers-that-stayed-open-during-lockdowns

NPR article on tracking spread at the YMCA from children of essential workers.

“The YMCA says that during the lockdowns it cared for up to 40,000 children between the ages of 1 and 14 at 1,100 separate sites, often in partnership with local and state governments. And in New York City, the pandemic's national epicenter in March and April, the city's Department of Education reports that it cared for more than 10,000 children at 170 sites. Working in early days, and on very short notice, these two organizations followed safety guidance that closely resembles what's now been officially put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Y says a few staff members and parents at sites around the country did test positive, but there are no records of having more than one case at a site. This, among a population of essential workers.”

Edited July 18, 2020 by babysdaddy
clarify

[babysdaddy 2731]

I will say I've read about Ace2 receptors being undeveloped in kids which is part of the reason for mild symptoms which leads them to less coughing/symptoms meaning less spread.  But I'd defer to the docs on that

[atomheartbevo 90673]

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/watch-live-city-of-corpus-christi-nueces-county-officials-join-tamucc-to-provide-covid-19-updates-in-the-coastal-bend/503-55e9ab3a-9bef-496f-8bb4-8c9ec20ee3a3

Quote

Another shocking announcement today as 85 babies under the age of 1 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Nueces County, according to Health Director Annette Rodriguez.

During Friday's local Coronavirus Task Force briefing, researchers estimated that 1 in every 8 residents in the Coastal Bend is actively infected with COVID-19.  

Have siblings catch it at school, and pass it onto their infant siblings, and see a shit-ton of soccer moms completely lose their shit.

 

[CooterBrown 18289]

[bad_teammate 13566]

Iceland has strict contact-tracing/testing/treatment regimes in place for COVID. Their data is not relevant to Texas (or America), where we have zero contact tracing, testing is difficult and slow, and our healthcare system is a joke. Our back-to-school plans rely on self-reporting and won't include checks beyond that.

From the NYC/YMCA childcare article... "In order to slow the spread of illness, local YMCAs and New York City grouped "pods" of no more than nine children with each adult. ,,, They did temperature checks and symptom screenings on each child coming in each day, with staff members wearing masks, gloves and gowns where available. Children with symptoms were urged to stay home."

Public schools won't be doing any of that. They will be jammed in at a MUCH higher than 9:1 ratio.

53 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/watch-live-city-of-corpus-christi-nueces-county-officials-join-tamucc-to-provide-covid-19-updates-in-the-coastal-bend/503-55e9ab3a-9bef-496f-8bb4-8c9ec20ee3a3

Have siblings catch it at school, and pass it onto their infant siblings, and see a shit-ton of soccer moms completely lose their shit.

Yep.

When a child gets sick the mom won't see "THIS IS COVID, BUT YOUR CHILD WILL SURVIVE" printed on their forehead. They'll be rightfully terrified that this is the needle in the haystack.

Or it might just be long-term cognitive problems resulting from the infection. Or long-term vascular problems. Or long-term lung problems.

[atomheartbevo 90673]

On the flip side, we'll get to teach our children our own take on history.  I'm going to teach them about the Winnie the Pooh WWII movies.

[Samson's Wig 3230]

8 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

 Boy you seem like you’d be a lot of fun at parties and what not. 

Thanks. You too.

[bad_teammate 13566]

South Korea Study: Older children spread the virus just as much as adults.

A large new study from South Korea offers an answer: Children younger than 10 transmit to others much less often than adults do, but the risk is not zero. And those between the ages of 10 and 19 can spread the virus at least as well as adults do.

--------------

The idea I heard a while back about keeping MS/HS closed and using those empty buildings to spread elementary school kids out seems solid.

[Deej 77871]

The smaller kids are spreading it at knee level. 

[bad_teammate 13566]

Runts only for middle schools.

[atomheartbevo 90673]

1 hour ago, bad_teammate said:

Runts only for middle schools.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid will take on new meaning.

If we can't get the younger kids in school, here's what's going to happen in a lot of households where the parents can help the kids:

From 9am - lunchtime: Parents help the kid check in with the teacher, download homework, do a little homework.

After lunchtime:  Parents give the kid an iPad and basically run out the clock.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

26 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid will take on new meaning.

If we can't get the younger kids in school, here's what's going to happen in a lot of households where the parents can help the kids:

From 9am - lunchtime: Parents help the kid check in with the teacher, download homework, do a little homework.

After lunchtime:  Parents give the kid an iPad and basically run out the clock.

That’s basically what our homeschool looks like. But, in 3 hours of focused work you accomplish as much or more than you do in a day of face to face (elementary school edition anyway). I’m not sure that what you described counts as focused work though.  And it’s not screen time it’s hikes, or outdoor play time. Or day trips. 

[babysdaddy 2731]

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/watch-live-city-of-corpus-christi-nueces-county-officials-join-tamucc-to-provide-covid-19-updates-in-the-coastal-bend/503-55e9ab3a-9bef-496f-8bb4-8c9ec20ee3a3

Another shocking announcement today as 85 babies under the age of 1 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Nueces County, according to Health Director Annette Rodriguez.
During Friday's local Coronavirus Task Force briefing, researchers estimated that 1 in every 8 residents in the Coastal Bend is actively infected with COVID-19.  

Have siblings catch it at school, and pass it onto their infant siblings, and see a shit-ton of soccer moms completely lose their shit.
 

https://www.kristv.com/news/coronavirus/canales-clarifies-reports-about-local-infant-covid-numbers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BradInATX 9208]

On 7/18/2020 at 1:51 PM, bad_teammate said:

Iceland has strict contact-tracing/testing/treatment regimes in place for COVID. Their data is not relevant to Texas (or America), where we have zero contact tracing, testing is difficult and slow, and our healthcare system is a joke. Our back-to-school plans rely on self-reporting and won't include checks beyond that.

From the NYC/YMCA childcare article... "In order to slow the spread of illness, local YMCAs and New York City grouped "pods" of no more than nine children with each adult. ,,, They did temperature checks and symptom screenings on each child coming in each day, with staff members wearing masks, gloves and gowns where available. Children with symptoms were urged to stay home."

Public schools won't be doing any of that. They will be jammed in at a MUCH higher than 9:1 ratio.

 

Yeah. And the issue with self-reporting is that most of the policies for self-reporting will probably be punitive, whether intentionally so or not. Self-report and your kids are going to be kicked out of school for multiple weeks at a time while you wait on recovery, a negative test to come back, and a doctor's note. There will be a lot of parents that, for financial or convenience reasons, don't test their kids and write it off as "just a cold", or just straight up lie to the schools about it.

In a society where anti-vaxxers and flat-earthers are an actual real thing, self-reporting is not a real, valid solution.

Edited July 19, 2020 by BradInATX

[atomheartbevo 90673]

4 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Yeah. And the issue with self-reporting is that most of the policies for self-reporting will probably be punitive, whether intentionally so or not. Self-report and your kids are going to be kicked out of school for multiple weeks at a time while you wait on recovery, a negative test to come back, and a doctor's note. There will be a lot of parents that, for financial or convenience reasons, don't test their kids and write it off as "just a cold", or just straight up lie to the schools about it.

In a society where anti-vaxxers and flat-earthers are an actual real thing, self-reporting is not a real, valid solution.

My wife was a teacher for a long time.  You'd be surprised how many parents will give their kids Tylenol to knock a fever down so they can send them to school.  And later in the day when the kids are really sick, they'll admit to their parents giving them Tylenol or whatever.

Actually, I guess you wouldn't be surprised.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

8 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

My wife was a teacher for a long time.  You'd be surprised how many parents will give their kids Tylenol to knock a fever down so they can send them to school.  And later in the day when the kids are really sick, they'll admit to their parents giving them Tylenol or whatever.

Actually, I guess you wouldn't be surprised.

Not the least bit surprised. I’d be more surprised if that wasn’t super common.

when everyone in the household works what the fuck else you gonna do?

Instill remember when my mom went back to school getting dragged to class with her when I was too sick to go to my own school because she “couldn’t miss”.