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

[tchookem 3974]

People of a certain persuasion during normal times: public schools are left wing indoctrination camps that teach little useful information. They produce graduates that are barely functional at basic skills. 
Same people during covid: public schools are an essential function of society and kids will greatly suffer if they cannot go in person. There are risks but it’s worth it because schools are so important in social and academic development.

They'll mimic whatever the leaders of that persuasion are saying at the current moment, which just happens to be whatever is best for the monied interests. Hard to believe, I know.

[HornOnTheBayou 9064]

8 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

People of a certain persuasion during normal times: public schools are left wing indoctrination camps that teach little useful information. They produce graduates that are barely functional at basic skills. 

Same people during covid: public schools are an essential function of society and kids will greatly suffer if they cannot go in person. There are risks but it’s worth it because schools are so important in social and academic development.

Yep. As educators we're used to the double-speak from leaders saying, "Teachers are so important in shaping the future of the country" and then turning around and laughing when we ask for the resources to do our jobs well. But, damn, Covid has taken that up to 11. And I know educators aren't the only ones feeling like that right now. Nurses and small-business owners are in the same boat.

[Your Mom 4979]

Perhaps the effects of a year of Zoom school are overstated. I can buy that. But couldn’t you also argue that the dangers of teaching in the classroom right now also might be overstated?  My local mom-groups are convinced anyone who sends their kids back to school is actively trying to murder teachers.

How many teachers have been contact-traced and been showed to have gotten infected with COVID by a student in school?  Of course that number gets higher if we force everyone back to school but nobody is advocating that. But the option to return to school with the current situation of plexiglass around teachers, limited movements in hallways, masks required, most classes less than half full, etc... isn’t any more dangerous than the situation restaurant staff, airline workers, grocery store cashiers, and dozens of other occupations are currently facing. Is teaching less important than any of those occupations?  

There is certainly some level of danger there.  There is risk. But the same can be said for lots of other industries who are currently back in work because the work needs to be done. 

And it’s not a case of me constantly bitching about the education system and suddenly needing it. I’ve probably given more rep to Larry Spider over the years than I have to any other poster. I respect teachers and I love reading his insight to the system and correcting our assumptions about it.  I have donated many hundreds of hours in my kids’ schools over the years. I respect the profession. But I also see my kids’ struggles right now with virtual school.  It’s hard to accept that and to chalk it up as necessary to keep teachers safe when I’m back at work in crowded public spaces and seeing others all around me also back at work in jobs far less important than teaching. 

[GRHorn 105]

10 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Perhaps the effects of a year of Zoom school are overstated. I can buy that. But couldn’t you also argue that the dangers of teaching in the classroom right now also might be overstated?  My local mom-groups are convinced anyone who sends their kids back to school is actively trying to murder teachers.

How many teachers have been contact-traced and been showed to have gotten infected with COVID by a student in school?  Of course that number gets higher if we force everyone back to school but nobody is advocating that. But the option to return to school with the current situation of plexiglass around teachers, limited movements in hallways, masks required, most classes less than half full, etc... isn’t any more dangerous than the situation restaurant staff, airline workers, grocery store cashiers, and dozens of other occupations are currently facing. Is teaching less important than any of those occupations?  

There is certainly some level of danger there.  There is risk. But the same can be said for lots of other industries who are currently back in work because the work needs to be done. 

And it’s not a case of me constantly bitching about the education system and suddenly needing it. I’ve probably given more rep to Larry Spider over the years than I have to any other poster. I respect teachers and I love reading his insight to the system and correcting our assumptions about it.  I have donated many hundreds of hours in my kids’ schools over the years. I respect the profession. But I also see my kids’ struggles right now with virtual school.  It’s hard to accept that and to chalk it up as necessary to keep teachers safe when I’m back at work in crowded public spaces and seeing others all around me also back at work in jobs far less important than teaching. 

If I could rep this x 💯 I would. You stated much better than I ever could. I’m not sure how one could formulate a viable rebuttal to your last paragraph specifically. 
 

Thanks, Mom. 

Edited January 3, 2021 by GRHorn

[GRHorn 105]

11 hours ago, Your Mom said:

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by GRHorn
Double post

[atomheartbevo 90653]

So are hospitalizations are still on a really bad streak, are we taking bets on whether the city/county will shut them down?

[BradInATX 9208]

One thing that's been eye opening about Covid is how reliant parents are on teachers to pseudo raise their children for them. There's this tacit admission bubbling up by a lot of people that when parents are relied on to provide enrichment and emotional support for their kids outside of baseball practice that they're all going to morph into little Jeffrey Dahmers.

Teachers are underpaid. I hope we all come away from this appreciating that (we won't).

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

So are hospitalizations are still on a really bad streak, are we taking bets on whether the city/county will shut them down?

I’m betting the state won’t let them. Schools are state funded and they have let us know repeatedly over the last 8 months where the orders come from.

[Gardner Barnes 1579]

One thing that's been eye opening about Covid is how reliant parents are on teachers to pseudo raise their children for them. There's this tacit admission bubbling up by a lot of people that when parents are relied on to provide enrichment and emotional support for their kids outside of baseball practice that they're all going to morph into little Jeffrey Dahmers.

Teachers are underpaid. I hope we all come away from this appreciating that (we won't).

Really great post. Before I got off Facebook permanently a few months ago I noted how many parents were posting variations of “I have to work and don’t have time (for my kids)”

[atomheartbevo 90653]

51 minutes ago, Gardner Barnes said:

Really great post. Before I got off Facebook permanently a few months ago I noted how many parents were posting variations of “I have to work and don’t have time (for my kids)”

A lot of parents didn't realize they were raising little shitheads, since their only exposure during the week to the kid was when they got home and hopped on the iPad, or the weekends/summers when the kid was doing a preferred activity, rather than schoolwork.

I can only imagine what my parents would have thought if they had been stuck with me during the school year.

Edited January 3, 2021 by atomheartbevo

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

Hold onto your butts

[EE2B 1569]

That doesn’t sound good.

[atomheartbevo 90653]

[HornOnTheBayou 9064]

[Gardner Barnes 1579]

That doesn’t sound good.

??

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

Details are sparse. Be back in a couple of hours.

[gsoda3 3362]

1 hour ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Hold onto your butts

holding, but it's not very comfortable

[Your Mom 4979]

[zman13 185]

Just got an email from the school - some announcement at noon about the rest of the week. 

I'm assuming they are going remote for all students the rest of the week.

[swraith 348]

44 minutes ago, zman13 said:

Just got an email from the school - some announcement at noon about the rest of the week. 

I'm assuming they are going remote for all students the rest of the week.

Oh for FUCK sake.  AISD do not go remote for the entire week.

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

44 minutes ago, zman13 said:

Just got an email from the school - some announcement at noon about the rest of the week. 

I'm assuming they are going remote for all students the rest of the week.

This is pretty much it but we still have to stay open for people that really need it in order to fulfill our TEA obligations. So now schools are scrambling to figure out who is coming, getting supplies home to those that aren’t, and it’s supposed to be 28 degrees tonight with wet roads. 

[utee94 16090]

47 minutes ago, zman13 said:

Just got an email from the school - some announcement at noon about the rest of the week. 

I'm assuming they are going remote for all students the rest of the week.

Why would they do that?

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

And my teachers are teaching right now so they don’t even know this.

Austin city health officials really pushed this.

[Your Mom 4979]

It’s not my preference but I can live with it.  I expect this won’t be the last time we do this.  

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

Week by week decision until hospital beds open up. 

[Bevo Num1 1068]

This is pretty much it but we still have to stay open for people that really need it in order to fulfill our TEA obligations. So now schools are scrambling to figure out who is coming, getting supplies home to those that aren’t, and it’s supposed to be 28 degrees tonight with wet roads. 

So does this mean specialized programs, K, and pre-K? Basically, just like how it opened for the fall semester.

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

8 minutes ago, Bevo Num1 said:

26 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

This is pretty much it but we still have to stay open for people that really need it in order to fulfill our TEA obligations. So now schools are scrambling to figure out who is coming, getting supplies home to those that aren’t, and it’s supposed to be 28 degrees tonight with wet roads. 

So does this mean specialized programs, K, and pre-K? Basically, just like how it opened for the fall semester.

There is some flexibility campus by campus but mostly mean kids with no internet, special education kids, kids with nowhere else to go because their parent is a first responder, etc. 

We are caught in between city health officials telling us to close and TEA saying we have to stay open. Seems like this is the compromise.

[Your Mom 4979]

25 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

This is pretty much it but we still have to stay open for people that really need it in order to fulfill our TEA obligations. So now schools are scrambling to figure out who is coming, getting supplies home to those that aren’t, and it’s supposed to be 28 degrees tonight with wet roads. 

How do they determine who really needs it?  My kid learns Algebra better F2F than via Zoom so in our eyes he really needs it.  I’m guessing that’s not the standard they have in mind though.  It’s not the hill I’m gonna die on, just curious how the district determines that. 

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

Just now, Your Mom said:

How do they determine who really needs it?  My kid learns Algebra better F2F than via Zoom so in our eyes he really needs it.  I’m guessing that’s not the standard they have in mind though.  It’s not the hill I’m gonna die on, just curious how the district determines that. 

We can’t turn anybody away per TEA. We can say it’s for the groups I listed above but at the end of the day, we will teach anybody that shows up.

[Bevo Num1 1068]

There is some flexibility campus by campus but mostly mean kids with no internet, special education kids, kids with nowhere else to go because their parent is a first responder, etc. 
We are caught in between city health officials telling us to close and TEA saying we have to stay open. Seems like this is the compromise.

I guess the means the wife will still be in person teaching since she's a SPED teacher at a title 1. She already has 3 in her class with 1 more coming this week.

[gsoda3 3362]

37 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

This is pretty much it but we still have to stay open for people that really need it in order to fulfill our TEA obligations. So now schools are scrambling to figure out who is coming, getting supplies home to those that aren’t, and it’s supposed to be 28 degrees tonight with wet roads. 

what a mess.  will all teachers/staff be going in?

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

33 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

what a mess.  will all teachers/staff be going in?

Depends on the campus most likely. We are trying to figure out how many/which kids are coming tomorrow so we can plan for staff, breakfast/lunch, virtual schedule vs in person schedule, special Ed kids that get extra support, etc. 

It quickly became a clear the calendar type of day.

[Your Mom 4979]

1 hour ago, Larry T. Spider said:

We can’t turn anybody away per TEA. We can say it’s for the groups I listed above but at the end of the day, we will teach anybody that shows up.

Thanks, I had missed that post. Like I said it’s not the hill I’m gonna die on. There are bigger problems in the world and my kid learning algebra in the best manner right now. 

[Horn_Spanker 524]

Email says please stay home and go remote for the rest of the week.

[atomheartbevo 90653]

4 hours ago, swraith said:

Oh for FUCK sake.  AISD do not go remote for the entire week.

4 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

 We are caught in between city health officials telling us to close and TEA saying we have to stay open. Seems like this is the compromise.

Actually it's the state.  We hit the state guidelines to trigger 50% or less occupancy this past weekend, per the Governor's order.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/most-local-businesses-must-operate-at-50-occupancy-after-hitting-covid-19-hospitalizations-rate/

Quote

Sunday Texas’ Trauma Service Area O, which includes 2.3 million people in the Austin area, reached the COVID-19 hospitalization rate which automatically triggered additional restrictions for the area under state guidelines. 

Under the new restrictions, which went into effect Sunday, businesses and retail establishments in the Austin area must reduce their operations to 50% occupancy. Per state rules, hospitals must also stop elective surgeries must across the area.

Quote

Under an order issued by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in October 2020, the 50% occupancy limitations go into effect when more than 15% of overall hospitalizations in any trauma area are COVID-19 hospitalizations for seven consecutive days. Trauma Service Area O, which includes Austin, has exceeded that 15% threshold from January 3 through January 9.

People fucked around and are now going to find out the results of said fucking around.

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

The Austin people want us way under 50%. 

[atomheartbevo 90653]

5 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

The Austin people want us way under 50%. 

Yeah, we are on our way to triggering much harsher restrictions.

From what our son's principal said, they really only want kids who were suffering academically at home, or need SPED services.

We are back to March or April.

The state says these counties kicked in to the 50% restrictions:

• Bastrop
• Blanco
• Burnet
• Caldwell
• Fayette
• Hays
• Llano
• Travis
• Williamson

Lee and San Saba have their shit somewhat together, and are able to stay at 75%.

[irishtexan 11712]

12 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Yeah, we are on our way to triggering much harsher restrictions.

From what our son's principal said, they really only want kids who were suffering academically at home, or need SPED services.

We are back to March or April.

The state says these counties kicked in to the 50% restrictions:

• Bastrop
• Blanco
• Burnet
• Caldwell
• Fayette
• Hays
• Llano
• Travis
• Williamson

Lee and San Saba have their shit somewhat together, and are able to stay at 75%.

That's not a metric, as it applies to pretty much everyone. Sounds like if you want to send your kid to school this week, nothing's stopping you from doing that.

[BrazilHorn 6847]

Irony to this is CNN just ran a big deal today on how kids in school is a non-issue re: cv19 spread 

[utee94 16090]

2 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

Irony to this is CNN just ran a big deal today on how kids in school is a non-issue re: cv19 spread 

The rules were put in place before anyone really understood the dynamic of spread within schools (or the lack thereof).

It's possible they should revisit the rules.

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

Covid spread in my school last semester. It wasn’t terrible but it happened and affected students and teachers.

[atomheartbevo 90653]

2 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Covid spread in my school last semester. It wasn’t terrible but it happened and affected students and teachers.

And it mirrors Austin at large - this was last week's AISD covid cases

Confirmed Cases: 183

• Students: 47
• Employees: 133
• Other*: 3

Exposures: 434

• Students: 297
• Employees: 135
• Other*: 2

That's a shit-ton of employees - that's like 3-4 schools' worth of employees?

[ZB'Tejas 597]

Our Pre-K program was cancelled for the week last night... said they will reveal at the end of this week about next and beyond. I really should start deducting from the tuition I pay each month to account for this.

[BrazilHorn 6847]

7 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

And it mirrors Austin at large - this was last week's AISD covid cases

Confirmed Cases: 183

• Students: 47
• Employees: 133
• Other*: 3

Exposures: 434

• Students: 297
• Employees: 135
• Other*: 2

That's a shit-ton of employees - that's like 3-4 schools' worth of employees?

Challenge is I don’t believe these positive tests are all caught on campus. Rather a mix of caught at all vs caught on campus. I need to dig into numbers to confirm. 
 

Today is a joke though. My 5th grader had moved back to an all in person class. No email has come out since Superintendent’s note from Casis principal or my son’s teacher. Zoom room not up. Just a mess. 

[utee94 16090]

32 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Challenge is I don’t believe these positive tests are all caught on campus. Rather a mix of caught at all vs caught on campus. I need to dig into numbers to confirm. 
 

Today is a joke though. My 5th grader had moved back to an all in person class. No email has come out since Superintendent’s note from Casis principal or my son’s teacher. Zoom room not up. Just a mess. 

I don't believe many at all, are caught on campus.  It's coming in from the home.  National, and global, reports show that there is very little spread on-campus.

We can't stop students and staff from getting it outside of school, though.

[BrazilHorn 6847]

41 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I don't believe many at all, are caught on campus.  It's coming in from the home.  National, and global, reports show that there is very little spread on-campus.

We can't stop students and staff from getting it outside of school, though.

Just checked the data through Jan 2nd. There are 4 confirmed caught on campus cases for students & staff for all of AISD, all other cases were off campus. Keeping the kids away from school does nothing as people are not living in bubbles off campus. A mom today of another 5th grade boy wrote a screed about how her kid is crying due to staying home from school and how she is sacrificing to keep kids/teachers safe and how those of us who want our kids in school are selfish. At the same fucking time her son is playing on a WAYA basketball team and running around with my son and other kids in the neighborhood every day. It is just stupid and reflective of how people aren't living cloistered lives.

Due to the temperature testing prior to admission daily, the teachers doing more thorough job of cleaning surfaces & socially distancing etc transmission in school has been very low. The teacher masked up (shit wear gloves/booties if worried) in front of a class room with doors open/even windows in some cases is not at a significant risk of catching Covid while at school. Stopping to grab their morning Starbucks or stopping to get after school drink at the bar puts them at a much higher risk of transmission.

A real truth for AISD is that the schools on the West Side pretty much 100% fund all "elective" type teachers salaries and much of athletics equipment/travel etc expense. Beyond students going private the other challenge for AISD going forward will just be fucking apathy at parents being stuck in the middle of this fight. The email from the superintendent putting the onus on parents is total bullshit. If as the leader of AISD you want it all virtual then do it, you want to close it then do it. Don't make me and the thousands of other parents decided your public health policy. Funding will dry up for these roles as people get sick of the tug of war.

tl:dr only 4 cases in AISD of Covid are confirmed to be caught in school across teachers/students. AISD making parents do superintendents job.

[yoladu 4191]

we had our two HS age kids doing the hydrid model (attending school 2 days a week with an alternating Friday) last Fall. We felt it was important they get personal instruction from their specific teacher in their specific class. They did great last semester grade-wise. However, it is difficult to assess how much of a drop off in actual learning there is (this is not a criticism of teachers, but just the nature of the world we are living in now. Teachers have been awesome)

but this cluster approach this week doesnt seem to be worth that risk to go to physical school

I see no benefit in having my children at school, if they are basically just going to sit in a large room with a bunch of disparate classes, students, and teachers, getting instructed via Zoom anyway. They can do that safely at home just the same.

i get why AISD is doing it, it just seems a step backward in the quality of in-person learning. So keeping my kids home (at least this week)

Edited January 12, 2021 by yoladu

[swraith 348]

We voluntarily complied with the district request. Kept both kids home. They are Having zoom calls today. Both kids would prefer to be at school. Wife is concerned about them getting bored. Of course they are going to get bored. 

[Anastasis 23721]

Just got a notice that my daughter (6th) had an exposure to a positive case in her classroom. Did not meet the close contact definition.  Fun stuff. This is her second one. 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Anastasis

[atomheartbevo 90653]

4 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

Challenge is I don’t believe these positive tests are all caught on campus. Rather a mix of caught at all vs caught on campus. I need to dig into numbers to confirm. 

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

I don't believe many at all, are caught on campus.  It's coming in from the home.  National, and global, reports show that there is very little spread on-campus.

We can't stop students and staff from getting it outside of school, though.

This week is not about cases caught on campus, it's about meeting the Governor's requirements that occupancy be kept below 50% when hospitalization rates reach a certain point.  We hit the state's requirements on Sunday.  Hopefully, people will get their shit together, get us on a downward slope with hospitalizations, and we can get back to "normal" next week.

3 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

The email from the superintendent putting the onus on parents is total bullshit. If as the leader of AISD you want it all virtual then do it, you want to close it then do it. Don't make me and the thousands of other parents decided your public health policy. Funding will dry up for these roles as people get sick of the tug of war.

If the superintendent closes the district to in-person 100%, then Abbott and TEA try to make life as miserable as possible for AISD.  But again, this is about meeting the state's requirements of 50% occupancy, and the district has a lot of kids they know need to be in school.

The superintendent is putting the onus on parents, because at 50% occupancy, it gets real dicey who you include and exclude with in-person/on-campus.  

If enough parents can keep their kids home voluntarily, then they don't have to start telling parents who can't afford to keep their kids home, to keep their kids home.