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

[Cap33 384]

1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

So what's the deal? They are voting on having February 11 and March 4 off?

Sounds like it's happening. I guess they don't want to take off on March 11 bc they know a bunch of kids play hooky the Friday before Spring Break anyway, so it's already a lighter day for teachers and staff?

[HornOnTheBayou 8931]

That actually works out well since I was going to let the kids get out of school on the 4th to go see the Longhorn baseball team in Houston.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

On 1/18/2022 at 9:59 AM, Snake Diggity said:

actually think that rather than throw money at salary increases they should instead dramatically lower the student/teacher ratio.  Not only would get better outcomes for the kids but also provides better insurance against staffing shortages.

 

On 1/18/2022 at 11:02 AM, Samson's Wig said:

That would mean hiring more teachers, which would mean reducing bloated administrative costs, i.e. never gonna happen.

At this point the problem would be building size.  Classrooms are sized for ~30 kids.  If you dropped ratios to 20:1 you then need 33% more classrooms or 33% more schools.  Only solution would be to have like 12 hours of school and some kids/teachers go morning, some go afternoons 

[utee94 15832]

2 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

 

At this point the problem would be building size.  Classrooms are sized for ~30 kids.  If you dropped ratios to 20:1 you then need 33% more classrooms or 33% more schools.  Only solution would be to have like 12 hours of school and some kids/teachers go morning, some go afternoons 

Just set up 24-hour triple shifts like wafer fabs, and factories in Asia.  100% utilization of all physical resources.

 

 

[Snake Diggity 4625]

5 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

 

At this point the problem would be building size.  Classrooms are sized for ~30 kids.  If you dropped ratios to 20:1 you then need 33% more classrooms or 33% more schools.  Only solution would be to have like 12 hours of school and some kids/teachers go morning, some go afternoons 

Just have multiple teachers per larger class.  Facility limitations can be pretty easily overcome.

[Your Mom 4806]

AISD going mask-optional March 7.   I'm glad and I hope it sticks.  

https://www.austinisd.org/announcements/2022/03/02/were-going-mask-optional-monday-en-espanol

 

 

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

Cases are down 97% in AISD. I’ve been pro-mask but I think the time is right.

[atomheartbevo 89727]

3 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Cases are down 97% in AISD. I’ve been pro-mask but I think the time is right.

Yeah, a lot of the kids at my kids' school are vaccinated, and the masks practically come off as soon as they get outside after school.  Seems like COVID burned through their classes already.

I'm cool with it.  They can always mask right back up if things pick up again.

[HornOnTheBayou 8931]

My district went mask-optional a couple of weeks ago. The funny thing is that most students are still keeping their masks on. Walking down the hall, I would say 90% or so still have them on. The ones that don't wear them are the ones that were always being told to pull them over their nose when we did require them. 

I did an informal poll of my students and most said they plan on wearing them until the end of the year. One boy said, "I'm wearing it until my acne disappears." 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

My district went mask-optional a couple of weeks ago. The funny thing is that most students are still keeping their masks on. Walking down the hall, I would say 90% or so still have them on. The ones that don't wear them are the ones that were always being told to pull them over their nose when we did require them. 

I did an informal poll of my students and most said they plan on wearing them until the end of the year. One boy said, "I'm wearing it until my acne disappears." 

Must be the difference between older kids and younger. My kid never complained about the mask. It's just been what he has known. I told him this morning that this is the last day he has to wear it. It was like that video of the class full of kids in Las Vegas. He literally started to jump on the bed. I had no idea he would react that way. I figured he would just say "okay" and then go on. 

[Anastasis 23475]

Our district has been mask optional for a long time. My kids still do their masks. We are going mask free after spring break as long as things stay on track. They are troopers and are basically the last ones masking. 

[South Austin 52519]

9 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Our district has been mask optional for a long time. My kids still do their masks. We are going mask free after spring break as long as things stay on track. They are troopers and are basically the last ones masking. 

Stupid question, but does “mask free” mean that the kids are prohibited from wearing masks?

[Anastasis 23475]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Stupid question, but does “mask free” mean that the kids are prohibited from wearing masks?

No. They can still wear your mom’s panties on their head if they want. 

[South Austin 52519]

I see . . .

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

16 hours ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

My district went mask-optional a couple of weeks ago. The funny thing is that most students are still keeping their masks on. Walking down the hall, I would say 90% or so still have them on. The ones that don't wear them are the ones that were always being told to pull them over their nose when we did require them. 

I did an informal poll of my students and most said they plan on wearing them until the end of the year. One boy said, "I'm wearing it until my acne disappears." 

I think a lot of these kids like being able to hide behind them. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8931]

1 minute ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

I think a lot of these kids like being able to hide behind them. 

Oh for sure. At first, I noticed the students not wearing masks were ones that had just come from band or athletics. I assumed they just didn't want to put one back on when they came into the classroom, since they were mask-free at practice. Then I realized they aren't wearing masks because they're the more outgoing and social group. The ones that are fanatic about wearing them are the wall flowers that would like to stay in the background and be ignored. 

[Nolacycling 893]

OR the kids that can talk constantly under their breath.

[atomheartbevo 89727]

17 hours ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

The ones that are fanatic about wearing them are the wall flowers that would like to stay in the background and be ignored. 

Or they want everybody to know they play Minecraft or play Pokemon games.

Because Minecraft and Pokemon are like the kids' version of CrossFit - they have to make sure everybody knows they like them.

Like this kid, he's going to let your kid know that he's got a binder in his backpack full of Pokemon cards to trade.

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by atomheartbevo

[Terry Silver 219]

On 3/3/2022 at 1:55 AM, atomheartbevo said:

Yeah, a lot of the kids at my kids' school are vaccinated, and the masks practically come off as soon as they get outside after school.  Seems like COVID burned through their classes already.

I'm cool with it.  They can always mask right back up if things pick up again.

So the kids are masked and a high percentage are vaccinated and Covid still burned through their population? How is that possible?

[Guest Lobo]

I forget the part where the "Warp Speed" vaccine program promised to keep children from getting Covid-19?  If you could cite a government source on that, it would certainly help guide our conversation.  Thanks.  Have a great weekend.

And no CR, but go ahead and report the post.  You specifically mentioned "Vaccinated" and I merely brought up the name of the government program that is associated with the Covid-19 vaccine deployment.  Sometimes governments are involved in vaccines you over-sensitive cunts.  So just tell us how exactly you feel confused (and your post does sound one of interrogative curiosity) about how kids still get Covid-19 despite vaccine efforts.  One more fucking test.  Please.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Lobo

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2678]

8 hours ago, Terry Silver said:

So the kids are masked and a high percentage are vaccinated and Covid still burned through their population? How is that possible?

I don't know if you've seen how a lot of schools are now, but my kid's school is so over-crowded that they're literally shoulder to shoulder shuffling/trudging through the halls ... if there was a freak-out, trampling is a real possibility. Plus, Omicron is way more contagious than Delta, which was way more contagious than the original.

Any more questions, so-called Terry?

[Terry Silver 219]

So the masks and vaccinations worked?

[Your Mom 4806]

2 hours ago, Terry Silver said:

So the masks and vaccinations worked?

I don't know if you are just stupid or what, so I'm going to talk slow and assume you are.  Mask and vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing transmission and were never expected to be nor described to be by any reputable expert at any level.  People who argue against their use because they aren't 100% effective are just refuting a claim that was never made.  It's a straw man argument and makes you look silly.

Masks and vax are, however, effective at reducing transmission, even while not 100% preventing it, and that has absolutely been a game changer and many people are alive who would not have been had nobody masked up and/or vaxxed.   A masked person can still infect others but not nearly as many.  A vaxxed person can still get the vid but not usually as severely.  So yes, in the sense they were expected to work, they have worked.  

That said, I'm glad we are now in an environment where we can cut way back on mask usage because I fucking hate wearing mine.  

Edited March 6, 2022 by Your Mom

[Terry Silver 219]

12 hours ago, Your Mom said:

I don't know if you are just stupid or what, so I'm going to talk slow and assume you are.  Mask and vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing transmission and were never expected to be nor described to be by any reputable expert at any level.  People who argue against their use because they aren't 100% effective are just refuting a claim that was never made.  It's a straw man argument and makes you look silly.

Masks and vax are, however, effective at reducing transmission, even while not 100% preventing it, and that has absolutely been a game changer and many people are alive who would not have been had nobody masked up and/or vaxxed.   A masked person can still infect others but not nearly as many.  A vaxxed person can still get the vid but not usually as severely.  So yes, in the sense they were expected to work, they have worked.  

That said, I'm glad we are now in an environment where we can cut way back on mask usage because I fucking hate wearing mine.  

But Covid still burned through the school. So maybe it didn’t work?

[Hefeweizen 5328]

18 hours ago, Your Mom said:

I don't know if you are just stupid or what, so I'm going to talk slow and assume you are.  Mask and vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing transmission and were never expected to be nor described to be by any reputable expert at any level.  People who argue against their use because they aren't 100% effective are just refuting a claim that was never made.  It's a straw man argument and makes you look silly.

Masks and vax are, however, effective at reducing transmission, even while not 100% preventing it, and that has absolutely been a game changer and many people are alive who would not have been had nobody masked up and/or vaxxed.   A masked person can still infect others but not nearly as many.  A vaxxed person can still get the vid but not usually as severely.  So yes, in the sense they were expected to work, they have worked.  

That said, I'm glad we are now in an environment where we can cut way back on mask usage because I fucking hate wearing mine.  

I love your mom schooling someone.  Great username.

[hornian 5219]

My 6YO in kinder, who has never gone to school sans-mask went maskless today.

She didn't know it, but she looked like thus getting out of the car this morning:

 

[Guest Lobo]

Yeah, I walked my 6yo in a few weeks back when the maskless decision was made.  The two folks at the doors (I think one is a teacher and the other a staff member), both looked and said, "Oh my goodness, that's what you look like?  What a wonderful smile!"  And she looked back at me with the same grin.  It was an awesome moment.  And they looked at me like, "You're so lucky to be her dad!"  I almost started crying.  She was one of the last ones to stop masking (for a number of reasons we can get into later). i think there's 1, maybe 2, still in her classroom doing it.  But she did it for well over a year going back to Kinder and she told me the same thing every time we talked about, "Daddy, I wanna make sure I don't get my friends or my teacher's sick."  So maybe she wasn't thinking of society-at-large, but she was at least thinking beyond herself and that's what made us so proud.  And she probably bitched about masking maybe twice during all of Covid-19.  Whereas I heard complaints about it daily from elsewhere.  And like Daddy, she has oily skin so musta been rough.  

[CooterBrown 18014]

Gullett Elementary is still about 80% masked and there are only 2 teachers without one.  Estimates from a friend that teaches there. My kid said there's 3 kids in her class not wearing one. Two kids were from freedom warrior families who protested masks and didn't wear one for the past month anyway. So, the policy change only resulted in one more kid in her class.

My oldest said McCallum is still mostly masked. It was virtually 100% before and she said it's probably 90% now. 

[BrazilHorn 6612]

My 6th grader had a teacher yesterday yell at the class for being selfish and going un-masked. She said she was wearing double masks from now on and that none of the kids can approach her desk without a mask on (among some other rants)

Wife (no pics) is pinging Principal today as we have been masked for ~18 mos or so and kids are ready to have them off. We would have happily kept them on but if you give kids a choice they want them off (which is what district did)

[South Austin 52519]

6 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

My oldest said McCallum is still mostly masked. It was virtually 100% before and she said it's probably 90% now. 

My McCallum sophomore said the same thing.  She says she'll keep her mask in school but might take it off for basketball.  I wonder as the weeks go on if kids will slowly start shedding their masks.

[MAUFRAIS 6629]

My kids said they didn’t see a single mask at casis yesterday.

[Knoxtnhorn 6055]

17 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

My 6th grader had a teacher yesterday yell at the class for being selfish and going un-masked. She said she was wearing double masks from now on and that none of the kids can approach her desk without a mask on (among some other rants)

Wife (no pics) is pinging Principal today as we have been masked for ~18 mos or so and kids are ready to have them off. We would have happily kept them on but if you give kids a choice they want them off (which is what district did)

That sucks.

At my school we've (teachers and staff) basically been split 3 ways.

33% couldn't wait to get the mask off.

33% would surgically attach the masks if they were able.

33% have just gone with the flow.  

Edited March 8, 2022 by Knoxtnhorn

[Dennis Taylor 18830]

21 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

My 6th grader had a teacher yesterday yell at the class for being selfish and going un-masked. She said she was wearing double masks from now on and that none of the kids can approach her desk without a mask on (among some other rants)

Wife (no pics) is pinging Principal today as we have been masked for ~18 mos or so and kids are ready to have them off. We would have happily kept them on but if you give kids a choice they want them off (which is what district did)

Sounds like the teacher needs a time out

[CooterBrown 18014]

39 minutes ago, MAUFRAIS said:

My kids said they didn’t see a single mask at casis yesterday.

My daughter's friend at Anderson said maybe 10% work a mask for the past year.

It's a cultural defect found west of Mopac.

 

[Guest Lobo]

I don't know where to post this, but a real estate developer (heavy into construction ties) who serves on the "strategic planning" committee with me and my school district just emailed me about my opposition to a $15mm parking garage.  Asking me to present data to the group tomorrow night about my opposition.  I offered a bunch to them personally.  But finished it with the fact that by the time the bond is voted on, passed, paper sold, and ground broken, and the garage completed, we'll only need half the spaces.  But I get their grift.  But I won't be a party to it.  It's complete bullshit.  If you can honestly tell me that a high school that is basically static with regard to enrollment because of growth constraints on housing in the district (give or take 100 students per year)...will have more kids driving to/from school 10 years from now...you are out of your fucking mind and engaged in fraud.  And then they come back with "Well what if the teacher's need more space to park?"  Well how in the fuck are we gonna suddenly get 200 more teachers and staff for a school that's the same fucking size?  "Well what about people attending plays or football games?"  It's the same fucking seat/space ratio.  Unless you're adding an upper deck with suites to the football stadium, how the fuck does that ratio  require 300 more spots?  /rant

Another fucking legendary Texas shakedown of a school district.  Gonna be a damn shame when I report this to our credit rating agencies.

[Texas Jeff 1945]

46 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I don't know where to post this, but a real estate developer (heavy into construction ties) who serves on the "strategic planning" committee with me and my school district just emailed me about my opposition to a $15mm parking garage.  Asking me to present data to the group tomorrow night about my opposition.  I offered a bunch to them personally.  But finished it with the fact that by the time the bond is voted on, passed, paper sold, and ground broken, and the garage completed, we'll only need half the spaces.  But I get their grift.  But I won't be a party to it.  It's complete bullshit.  If you can honestly tell me that a high school that is basically static with regard to enrollment because of growth constraints on housing in the district (give or take 100 students per year)...will have more kids driving to/from school 10 years from now...you are out of your fucking mind and engaged in fraud.  And then they come back with "Well what if the teacher's need more space to park?"  Well how in the fuck are we gonna suddenly get 200 more teachers and staff for a school that's the same fucking size?  "Well what about people attending plays or football games?"  It's the same fucking seat/space ratio.  Unless you're adding an upper deck with suites to the football stadium, how the fuck does that ratio  require 300 more spots?  /rant

Another fucking legendary Texas shakedown of a school district.  Gonna be a damn shame when I report this to our credit rating agencies.

If I had one guess I would guess this is Westlake.  They found out Bowie had a parking garage.  They were not happy ... therefore must have parking garage.

[yoladu 4094]

23 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

My oldest said McCallum is still mostly masked. It was virtually 100% before and she said it's probably 90% now. 

My kid at Austin High said the same thing (although he is a smart ass and said it was about 91%)

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

16 hours ago, Lobo said:

I don't know where to post this, but a real estate developer (heavy into construction ties) who serves on the "strategic planning" committee with me and my school district just emailed me about my opposition to a $15mm parking garage.  Asking me to present data to the group tomorrow night about my opposition.  I offered a bunch to them personally.  But finished it with the fact that by the time the bond is voted on, passed, paper sold, and ground broken, and the garage completed, we'll only need half the spaces.  But I get their grift.  But I won't be a party to it.  It's complete bullshit.  If you can honestly tell me that a high school that is basically static with regard to enrollment because of growth constraints on housing in the district (give or take 100 students per year)...will have more kids driving to/from school 10 years from now...you are out of your fucking mind and engaged in fraud.  And then they come back with "Well what if the teacher's need more space to park?"  Well how in the fuck are we gonna suddenly get 200 more teachers and staff for a school that's the same fucking size?  "Well what about people attending plays or football games?"  It's the same fucking seat/space ratio.  Unless you're adding an upper deck with suites to the football stadium, how the fuck does that ratio  require 300 more spots?  /rant

Another fucking legendary Texas shakedown of a school district.  Gonna be a damn shame when I report this to our credit rating agencies.

Hey man, the kids need another place to hide and smoke their snickerdoodle flavored vape.  

[Anastasis 23475]

Kid's were given leash to decide whether they wanted to wear masks today.  Not much debate involved. There may have been a "Let's go!" exclaimed. 

[dcbc 14487]

15 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

If I had one guess I would guess this is Westlake.  They found out Bowie had a parking garage.  They were not happy ... therefore must have parking garage.

 

[BrazilHorn 6612]

New term has entered lexicon of my middle and high schooler as a result of masks not being as prevalent in school. 
“mask-fishing”

it’s where someone looked cute with mask on but new shit has come to light upon seeing full face. 

[CleverNickname 1319]

Does recapture take into account cost of living? AISD is going to need to pay teachers much more, simply because even 45 minute out suburbs are that much more expensive. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8931]

3 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

New term has entered lexicon of my middle and high schooler as a result of masks not being as prevalent in school. 
“mask-fishing”

it’s where someone looked cute with mask on but new shit has come to light upon seeing full face. 

This is a real thing. Friday was a teacher work-day at my school. Since there were no students on campus, most of the teachers were walking around maskless. We have a couple of new teachers who have been hired in the last two years that I had never seen without a mask. I was ... disappointed.

[Texas Jeff 1945]

2 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

Does recapture take into account cost of living? AISD is going to need to pay teachers much more, simply because even 45 minute out suburbs are that much more expensive. 

The short answer is no.  The rules changed in 2019 with HB 3, and cost of living is not a big factor.  There is a giant formula that determines each district's entitlement per child.  The district gets their entitlement times the number of kids in the district.  Everything else goes to recapture.

The state could help AISD by accounting for the local cost of living and raising the entitlement so that the district could pay teachers enough for housing expenses, but that's not part of the current formula.  It seems so obvious ... collect local property taxes and give enough to local teachers so that the teachers can live in the community they serve ... but it's not being done today.

[tchookem 3900]

Does recapture take into account cost of living? AISD is going to need to pay teachers much more, simply because even 45 minute out suburbs are that much more expensive. 

Why would teachers' cost of living need to
be taken into account? Their husbands pay for everything, their income is for nice purses and make-up.

[ZB'Tejas 593]

On 3/8/2022 at 10:12 AM, MAUFRAIS said:

My kids said they didn’t see a single mask at casis yesterday.

Teacher sent out a note asking whether we planned on having our K student keep wearing one. Hesitant at first but my daughter was excited to finally stop wearing it.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

My son's schools goes mask optional a week after back from spring break (to account for any diseases picked up by the muckity muck parents and kids while traveling over the break).  I'm curious to see how many kids still where them.  I have to peel the mask off my son when he gets home each afternoon.  I think he just forgets it is there. 

[TexasEd 8067]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:35 AM, BrazilHorn said:

New term has entered lexicon of my middle and high schooler as a result of masks not being as prevalent in school. 
“mask-fishing”

it’s where someone looked cute with mask on but new shit has come to light upon seeing full face. 

 

On 3/12/2022 at 1:45 PM, HornOnTheBayou said:

This is a real thing. Friday was a teacher work-day at my school. Since there were no students on campus, most of the teachers were walking around maskless. We have a couple of new teachers who have been hired in the last two years that I had never seen without a mask. I was ... disappointed.

There are already terms for this, butter face and pretty from far but far from pretty (pff/ffp). Ughh I feel bad remembering that.

I think the acne thing makes the most sense for some kids, I have a Sunday school class where some of the teens still opt to wear them (it was never mandatory) and it is only the wall flowers and me on occasion. For me it was dealing with allergy cough or to support the one kid in class that wore a mask so they were not alone. 

[Guest Lobo]

That was nice of you to do the mask solidarity thing.

Growing up in the Midwest, we didn't say 'butter face', we said, "She's a Penn-Stater.  Great uniform, bad helmet."  Then Sandusky and Joe came along and messed that up.

May have mentioned this upthread, but don't care...makes my heart smile.  Daughter was literally one of the last 3 or 4 kids in her class to remove her mask (it's been optional on her campus the whole semester).  She asked everyday if it was okay because she knew it protected her friends, and her teachers.  But wife dropped her off first day of no mask (a few weeks ago).  And the gym teacher at the front door said, "Oh my goodness, what a beautiful smile.  I've never seen it before because of your mask, but it's so wonderful!"  She was on cloud nine for the whole week after that.  So there's a little bit of positivity in this two years of shit.  

[Nolacycling 893]

Our Ms students have learned they can use the string on the mask to act as as a saw on their plastic chairs.

What's next, knives from toothbrushes?