OT: Upcoming Academic year for K-12

[Beretta.sixpack]

are you guys hearing that some of the school districts are planning rotating school days? For instance, the idea of half of the students will go to school Monday and Tuesday, while the other half do online work...Wednesday is a disinfectant day......Thursday and Friday the other half go to school while the other half from Mon/Tues go to online school?

This really infuriates me.....the schooling that went on during the last quarter was crap....i applaud the efforts at a short notice, but the best thing my kids learned during the shutdown was how to throw an open faced reel....

The local private school is planning school as usual....my wife and I plan on putting our kids in private school if this indeed happens

 

[aTotal360]

I really feel for the families that have 2 parents that can't work remotely. How are they going to manage the expense? Child care isn't cheap.

And for those families that can work remotely, it's a major disruption. At least for us it was.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I think they are supposed to roll out their plan this week.

 

[mstateglfr]

are you guys hearing that some of the school districts are planning rotating school days? For instance, the idea of half of the students will go to school Monday and Tuesday, while the other half do online work...Wednesday is a disinfectant day......Thursday and Friday the other half go to school while the other half from Mon/Tues go to online school?

This really infuriates me.....the schooling that went on during the last quarter was crap....i applaud the efforts at a short notice, but the best thing my kids learned during the shutdown was how to throw an open faced reel....

The local private school is planning school as usual....my wife and I plan on putting our kids in private school if this indeed happens

This is one of many plans that are being formulated across the country.
- It could be 2 days in school rotating each week.
- It could be 2 days in school then 3 days in school then 2 days in school rotating each week.
- It could be 5 days in school with required mask wearing at all times.
- It could be any of the above with no activities(sports, clubs, band, etc).

etc etc etc.

Any good school district is already well into the weeds of also planning how the schools will shut down for the 2nd wave in the fall. This is to help ensure they arent caught by surprise again and can actually teach new stuff instead of review already taught lessons like what happened this past spring semester.


School districts are trying to figure out how to best comply(they wont actually comply fully) with CDC guidelines as they apply to school busses. Districts are trying to figure out how to distance in schools- hallways being the biggest issue(block scheduling? staggered class changes?). And perhaps most importantly- districts are trying to figure out how to comply with Federal Education Laws with regards to IEPs. How will districts comply with IEPs in a remote setting?


Remote education for any extended period of time will only further separate the lucky from the rest. Those who lucked into having parents that luckily have jobs where they can work from home will inherently have more support and stick to a plan for education better. Those who lucked into having a family with stable income to provide consistent food will be better fed and better able to concentrate on schoolwork. Those who lucked into not needing an IEP will not have the challenges of remote learning compounded by the already significant challenges of learning in general.
etc etc etc.
The longer this goes on, the bigger the divide, unless states and districts manage to piece together something incredible.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Education is the key!

Equal education for all!

I agree with both statements, but what will this proposed schedule do for our country’s kids? The gap between haves and have nots will grow exponentially. Talk to some teachers, ask them what the participation was like from kids in poor families during this last quarter. So many of them have little to no encouragement to do anything academically from people they live with. This is a very bad idea. The current plan for a friend of mine’s district is to split the block schedule and kids go two days a week. They will go to each class once a week. College kids don’t have enough discipline for that, it will be a train wreck for 12 year olds. Even if they have one parent at home with them trying to encourage them, which most don’t. Not even gonna try to tackle the childcare challenges this will create.

Also, what’s the point? Even splitting the amount of people in schools in half won’t satisfy the 6ft rule. Is it supposed to protect the kids? They’re not getting sick. Is it supposed to protect the teachers? Their exposure will be basically the same.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I didn’t even think about the kids who get most of there meals from school. Whoa

 

[patdog]

They're just going to have to find a way to get ALL kids in school 5 days a week.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

School lunch is absolutely vital for so many kids. Several years a ago we did some volunteer work at one of the big food banks in Indianapolis where they have a school food backpack program. Kids from low income families get a backpack that has food in it that they can take home each night so that they don’t go hungry. Each day they must return it to be filled again. They distributed these backpacks all over their school district and said that maybe just a handful each day don’t get returned. So many kids go hungry each night sadly.

 

[The Peeper]

Well apparently large gatherings are allowed again and we no longer have to fear the Wuhan virus from what I've seen on TV and media. Why just this weekend there was a big march in Starkville, according to media there were "thousands" that marched from downtown to the amphitheater. They gathered there and listened to speeches and then rode Smart buses back to the starting point to get their cars. And gathering in amphitheaters is fine, but, gathering in movie theaters isn't because they are still closed in Starkville and Pearl and talking about bankruptcy.


https://twitter.com/sidsalter/status/1269307033800642562/photo/1

 

[Dawgzilla]

Everyone should just take gap year.

 

[mstateglfr]

I didn’t even think about the kids who get most of there meals from school. Whoa

Yeah, meals are a cluster. Multiple school districts in my metro have summer meal pickup each day at selected locations and I have been meaning to find out how frequently the sites are used. Speaking to an administrator last month, based on how quickly he answered 'yes', it seems like the sites are being utilized.

Check out the instances of suspected abuse since schools shut down back in mid-march. My state's reported cases dropped 50% and a neighboring state dropped 50% too(i dont know about other states). Ends up when kids dont have 1 on 1 time with mandatory reporters like teachers, nurses, and other school staff- less suspected abuse is reported and therefore more abuse occurs.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

If Mississippi didn’t have school for a year, would it really make a difference?

 

[WilCoDawg]

Me them dress as antifa and act like they’re heading to a protest at the schools. It’ll be perfectly fine then.***

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Our school district sent out a survey about a week or so ago. No results yet, but here were the basic options.

1. School starts as normal ​with additional safety and health measures in place.

2. School starts in a “socially distant” instructional environment with some blend of face-to-face instruction on campus and online learning at home. There would likely be a rotation of whole days on campus and whole days at home for students.

3. School starts in a “totally online” instructional environment.

I have a feeling that it will start as normal, but as soon as a few kids start getting sick (from anything... Cold, strep, Covid19.. it doesn't matter) everyone will freak out and send them home. If one kid gets Covid19 in a class, that attendance will go to virtually zero.

 

[GTAdawg]

Yes.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Yeah we had that survey as well.

 

[GloryDawg]

Rankin County Schools have A days and B days. When I was in school I went to the same classes everyday. I can't figure out what classes my kids are in day to day. I could see them doing day on day off.

 

[johnson86-1]

If Mississippi didn’t have school for a year, would it really make a difference?

Our schools are actually doing a good job at the moment, particularly with reading, if you believe the statistics.

 

[L4Dawg]

Our school district sent out a survey about a week or so ago. No results yet, but here were the basic options.

1. School starts as normal ​with additional safety and health measures in place.

2. School starts in a “socially distant” instructional environment with some blend of face-to-face instruction on campus and online learning at home. There would likely be a rotation of whole days on campus and whole days at home for students.

3. School starts in a “totally online” instructional environment.

I have a feeling that it will start as normal, but as soon as a few kids start getting sick (from anything... Cold, strep, Covid19.. it doesn't matter) everyone will freak out and send them home. If one kid gets Covid19 in a class, that attendance will go to virtually zero.

That last part is absolutely correct. That's going to be the real challenge with anything they try to do in person.

 

[johnson86-1]

OUrs is doing it and it's incredibly frustrating because it's completely unnecessary. I do think our school administration is sensible, and this is just box checking for them and we will have normal school unless someone up the chain in the state or something prohibits them. But it was completely unnecessary to cancel school in the spring and it's ridiculous that they are having to pretend to contemplate not starting in the fall with a normal schedule.

 

[thatsbaseball]

I have a feeling this same scenario will play out at colleges also. There are some college age people out there with a genetic susceptibility or underlying health issue that covid 19 will cause them serious problems and maybe death. When it happens will it cause a panic ?

"I have a feeling that it will start as normal, but as soon as a few kids start getting sick (from anything... Cold, strep, Covid19.. it doesn't matter) everyone will freak out and send them home. If one kid gets Covid19 in a class, that attendance will go to virtually zero.[/QUOTE]"

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Online schooling of K-12 is a joke and a waste of taxpayers money.... everybody (with a few exclusions due to documented health risk) back in school in August... actually I would start school year in July and end school year Thanksgiving.... reopen in February go to end of June 2021...

 

[woozman]

I ran into one of my son’s teachers a couple weeks back and she said that our school district on the coast was looking at an option similar to that (rotating days) and they were also looking at continuing the school shutdown for half of the fall semester...

 

[mstateglfr]

Online schooling of K-12 is a joke and a waste of taxpayers money.... everybody (with a few exclusions due to documented health risk) back in school in August... actually I would start school year in July and end school year Thanksgiving.... reopen in February go to end of June 2021...

Good luck with that scheduling. Contracts here were already set and I imagine that is similar across the country.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Good luck with that scheduling. Contracts here were already set and I imagine that is similar across the country.

If we can Defund The Police... we can defund Teachers and Administration that don’t show up to work...

 

[thatsbaseball]

Now that's a really bad analogy.....

 

[Seinfeld]

That last part is a big concern because as soon as there's a case, then there's a group of kids/admin that will be placed under some form of 10-14 day quarantine, and then what do you do? It's as if these districts are going to have to be planning for classroom study as well as at home assignments in parallel because there's going to be an ongoing population of people in both groups.

I don't know what the answer is, but I think the best compromise is somewhere in the middle that would be similar to what my son's preschool is currently doing through the summer. Temp checked at drop drop off, limited classroom size, lunch/play in class room, etc. I'd also like to see much better use of tech such that if a kid is going to be home 2-3 days/wk, don't just send a packet hom or a link to a website. Set up cameras for them to watch the lessons in action, give online kids the same assignments as those in the classroom, and then have a structured turn in/grading process. Increase teacher's aid positions to support online questions and instruction while the classroom teacher is leading the class. CNN just posted an article this morning saying what we already knew. Last Spring was an utter failure on many levels, but that doesn't mean that we can't do a lot better this Fall, and it's alarming to me that Congress doesn't seem to have education anywhere on its radar.

 

[johnson86-1]

Good luck with that scheduling. Contracts here were already set and I imagine that is similar across the country.

The contracts may have flexibility on a start date. Have a friend teaching in a school district that is talking about going to school in July. She was complaining about already having a vacation scheduled after the start date and when I asked about her contract, she said their contracts basically commit them to 180 school days plus some work days (180 may not be right; whatever the minimum is for Mississippi) without any specifics on start or end dates. I guess maybe they do that to give them flexibility for making up days missed because of weather or whatever? Not sure if that's common or not.

 

[mstateglfr]

The contracts may have flexibility on a start date. Have a friend teaching in a school district that is talking about going to school in July. She was complaining about already having a vacation scheduled after the start date and when I asked about her contract, she said their contracts basically commit them to 180 school days plus some work days (180 may not be right; whatever the minimum is for Mississippi) without any specifics on start or end dates. I guess maybe they do that to give them flexibility for making up days missed because of weather or whatever? Not sure if that's common or not.

Yes, Our state has flexibility on dates too, but it is only to an extent.

Funny thing about our state- there is a date that was set by law where school cant start before. This was because some republican state legislators made it an issue to ensure school started after the State Fair every year. So our state has to deal with that right now, which reminds me I need to see if its been worked around yet or not.

 

[My Bru]

If you're not in a small town outside of a metro area, I strongly recommend private schools or homeschooling anyway. You're just fighting a losing battle with the public schools, why deal with it. Cut your travel ball budget and put that money towards education.

The only reason I mention the small towns is that, right or wrong, the public schools can be a unifying figure in the town, in order to recruit new businesses, etc. And most of the time the small town supports and takes part in school activities much like a private school would.

 

[L4Dawg]

If you're not in a small town outside of a metro area, I strongly recommend private schools or homeschooling anyway. You're just fighting a losing battle with the public schools, why deal with it.

Cut your travel ball budget and put that money towards education.

That's hogwash. There are some very good rual public schools in Mississippi. Some areas support their public schools.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

I would be all for the Democrats when they get in pushing their agenda of Teachers/Students going to school 12 months a year...

 

[My Bru]

That's hogwash. There are some very good rual public schools in Mississippi. Some areas support their public schools.

Reading comprehension. Try it sometime.

 

[L4Dawg]

Reading comprehension. Try it sometime.

Yeah, misread it, sorry.,

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Our district has been delivering meals to kids the entire time. I assumed this was done state-wide

 

[kired]

Any word on if there have been a surge in retirements? I'm not worried about getting sick myself or even my kids --- I do worry about my wife as a teacher, mainly because she was in the hospital a couple years ago with a serious case of pneumonia. So I don't want her getting this.

I've got to imagine people in that 60+ age range have got to think twice about going back to work this fall. Being in a room with 20 kids for 7 hours each day is a lot different than most of our working conditions.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Wife is a teacher. They have district meetings talking about all kinds of possibilities. So far all of them are stupid ideas. Not quite as stupid as a local district wasting time thinking about it when the state super is gonna tell them what to do anyway.

ETA: I've already advised her that if it is just completely stupid she should quit. Which is unfortunate because she is a great teacher and loves it. Of course the chances of her doing what I suggest...

 

[Irondawg]

They better come up with something because constantly being at home with a 3rd and 6th grader while trying to work is about to drive me insane.

 

[mstateglfr]

Reading comprehension. Try it sometime.

That post of yours was confusing as balls. Took me a couple double takes to figure out what you meant.
Basically you said- if you are in a metro of any kind, whether urban or suburban, put your kids in private school because more parents care.


That phrasing is easier for my brain to comprehend and easier for me to say- ********.
A school isnt good or bad simply based on location. There are great schools in urban areas, great schools in suburban areas, and great schools in rural areas. The same is true for **** schools.
Pay thousands and put your kids in private school if you want, but if it isnt for religious reasons, then it makes more sense to do it based on your actual school district and not some general idea that public schools are a losing battle if they arent rural.

 

[SteelCurtain74]

They better come up with something because constantly being at home with a 3rd and 6th grader while trying to work is about to drive me insane.

Agree whole heartedly. I have a 5th and 3rd grader. Another season of the last few weeks will not do. You will have parents rioting as hard as the people in Minneapolis. Just saw that the WHO just said asymptomatic patients very rarely pass on the virus.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asy...-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html