katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378 
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Post by katybee on Jan 24, 2021 22:06:22 GMT
Email we just got from my principal:
“We now have 11 staff members out and 10 of which do not have subs as of 7:00 p.m tonight!”
So currently, our entire 2nd grade team of teachers is out—either positive or quarantined (actually, I think patient zero is coming back tomorrow). And several other teachers/aides, as well. And more and more kids are turning up positive every day. I currently have 2 students who are positive (out of 11 in person kids). The first had a brother who was quarantined at home because he was a close contact from a second grade class. She waltzes into class one day week before last and announces that her brother was up all night with a fever and throwing up and he was going to get tested for covid. Mom denied it and because he was not officially positive, my student was allowed to remain in school. Then, a couple of days later, she reports that dad is sick (PSA: your kids WILL rat you out). Last Sunday, I got the call from my principal that they had all been tested, and brother and dad were indeed positive as was my student. Parents send their kids to school all the time when they are symptomatic (“it’s just allergies...”) or when they know they have a positive case at home.
There are NO subs to cover classes, so district level people have been covering classes and they have pulled every single warm body they can. On Friday, one of the aides who covers a million classes tested positive, and took out our PE teacher as a close contact. I have a feeling we just won’t have specials, tomorrow.
My teammate is symptomatic and is awaiting test results. She only has 5 kids on campus right now—the other 11 that are normally on campus are either positive or quarantined. They will be joining her 6 virtual kids, but she cannot teach them, so they will be split into our virtual classes (we teach in person and virtual kids at the same time, which is not easy under normal circumstances).
We don’t know who will cover lunch duty and I’ll bet you dollars to donuts we will have our planning period taken away. Our kids will have to miss recess because there’s no one to supervise them (we’re teaching our virtual kids at that time). They’ve pretty much thrown protocol (that says we cannot mix kids from different classes) out the window because we just don’t have enough teachers to supervise kids.
It’s a nightmare. And the worst part is they are not being transparent with the numbers. Every time there is a positive case on campus, they send a form email out. But the email says “an individual” who was recently on campus has tested positive—even if there were 4 positives that day, the letter still says “an individual.” There is also a district covid dashboard that is updated every day, and it is FAR from accurate (truthful).
We’re supposed to take a look at the data and see how we can do our part to keep the numbers down. WTF am I supposed to do? I wear my mask all day long, I wash and sanitize my hands so much they’re raw, I social distance as much as physically possible, I follow all of the protocols I’m supposed to...
Sorry....just dreading going to school tomorrow...
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Post by Blind Squirrel on Jan 24, 2021 22:12:25 GMT
But I'm sure your county claims the same as mine: Our mitigation efforts are working.
It is so incredibly frustrating; I'm sorry.
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Post by Merge on Jan 24, 2021 22:13:25 GMT
Hugs. If your district is like mine, they will rapidly change what qualifies as a “close contact” to keep more teachers in school. We are not considered to have been in close contact with an affected person unless we were both unmasked together, less than six feet apart, for more than 15 minutes. And no one will now admit to any of that because you open yourself up to an investigation about why you were not following district policy.
This has all been done to “maintain adequate staffing levels” because the state simply isn’t going to allow us to shut down again.
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tamra
Junior Member
Posts: 83
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Post by tamra on Jan 24, 2021 22:15:43 GMT
It is just a nightmare. I’m sorry you are in that position.
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 24, 2021 22:21:21 GMT
Sorry, I can sympathize. Every Sunday night, especially after vacation, I get that pit in the bottom of my stomach and feel anxious about returning.
My school administration is not handling it well, either. We’ve been fully in person since September with all of the kids. I’ve lost track of the number of cases. Kids come in and tell us their parent was exposed or is getting tested. Really mad that these parents are not keeping their kids home while waiting for test results.
The students had a 4 day weekend over MLK weekend. So many students told me they were going skiing or out of state. Unfortunately, I think that will lead to more cases.
Last week, a kindergarten student tested positive, notified administrators in the evening. The school quarantined the entire class but neglected to notify parents of children on the same bus. Those kids all came to school, then 28 were sent home 1-2 hours later. They were not in the building for an extended time, but they never should have been there in the first place. At a minimum, school should have closed for a day to complete the contact tracing.
No confidence at all in our administration, they are prioritizing keeping the school open over the health and safety of teachers and staff. Especially our specials teachers, they interact with all of the kids in the building (500). And all staff was only given 10 days for covid. What about the teachers and staff that have been exposed at school multiple times and have had to quarantine?
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Jan 24, 2021 22:27:16 GMT
Last week, a kindergarten student tested positive, notified administrators in the evening. The school quarantined the entire class but neglected to notify parents of children on the same bus. Those kids all came to school, then 28 were sent home. No confidence at all in our administration, they are prioritizing keeping the school open over the health and safety of teachers and staff. Especially our specials teachers, they interact with all of the kids in the building (500). And all staff was only given 10 days for covid. What about the teachers and staff that have been exposed at school multiple times and have had to quarantine? Kudos to your district for quarantining that many kids. You are only considered a close contact in my school if you are within 6 feet, unmasked for more than 15 minutes. So usually that only ends up being kids that sit by each other during lunch and or/snack (we try to keep our seating charts uniform). Yet kids across the room from each other are turning up positive. I don’t think CV19 likes to follow the 6 ft. rule.... |
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 24, 2021 22:31:44 GMT
The claim that schools don’t spread covid is really annoying. The truth is that we don’t know. This study for example, found a low rate of hospitalizations after schools opened in areas where the rate was already low. www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/07/953961009/where-is-it-safe-to-reopen-schools-new-research-offers-answersFor starters, I understand that testing is inconsistent and maybe not the best measure of spread. However, if only the most severe cases are hospitalized, that doesn’t seem like a good measure either. And right now, in the middle of this 3rd spike, so many areas already have high rates of hospitalization . |
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MaryMary
Pearl Clutcher
Lazy
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Post by MaryMary on Jan 24, 2021 22:33:19 GMT
Hugs. If your district is like mine, they will rapidly change what qualifies as a “close contact” to keep more teachers in school. We are not considered to have been in close contact with an affected person unless we were both unmasked together, less than six feet apart, for more than 15 minutes. And no one will now admit to any of that because you open yourself up to an investigation about why you were not following district policy. This has all been done to “maintain adequate staffing levels” because the state simply isn’t going to allow us to shut down again. This is exactly my experience. I’ve been told that I was not a close contact with any of the multiple students that have tested positive at my school as long as I wasn’t closer than six feet for 15 minutes or more. Even if I was in the same room with them the day they tested positive. It doesn’t make a bit of sense. |
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,835
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Post by CeeScraps on Jan 24, 2021 22:34:16 GMT
I'm so sorry ladies. It sounds like a sh*t show all the way around.
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 24, 2021 22:44:12 GMT
Last week, a kindergarten student tested positive, notified administrators in the evening. The school quarantined the entire class but neglected to notify parents of children on the same bus. Those kids all came to school, then 28 were sent home. No confidence at all in our administration, they are prioritizing keeping the school open over the health and safety of teachers and staff. Especially our specials teachers, they interact with all of the kids in the building (500). And all staff was only given 10 days for covid. What about the teachers and staff that have been exposed at school multiple times and have had to quarantine? Kudos to your district for quarantining that many kids. You are only considered a close contact in my school if you are within 6 feet, unmasked for more than 15 minutes. So usually that only ends up being kids that sit by each other during lunch and or/snack (we try to keep our seating charts uniform). Yet kids across the room from each other are turning up positive. I don’t think CV19 likes to follow the 6 ft. rule.... I do have to give my school credit. They have done some things right. Classes are essentially isolated from each other - lunch in the classrooms, recess by class in designated areas so classes don’t mix. In the morning, kids no longer congregate in the lobby, they go straight to their rooms. Kids are required to wear masks and are mostly compliant. Our general rule is to only quarantine kids on buses in a 6 foot radius. In this recent case, the child’s mom was the bus driver, I think that’s why they quarantined the whole bus. We found out the hard way in September when one of the 3rd grade teachers tested positive, all of the other 3rd grade teachers were exposed at a team meeting. Now, all of the meetings are virtual. |
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Post by mrssmith on Jan 24, 2021 23:00:18 GMT
Ugh. So sorry. We have been full remote since last March. Our elementary schools are opening up hybrid after Presidents' Day if the metrics hold. Worried about those new strains coming. Restaurants opening for indoor dining here this week.  One district teacher wrote a heartbreaking letter to a local paper. Among other things, they'll be teaching in coats with the windows open (our buildings are old, old, old). Our district is not bringing everyone back though. Only those with the most intensive needs would go back full day. Some staying full remote, some going hybrid. |
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Jan 24, 2021 23:00:56 GMT
Kudos to your district for quarantining that many kids. You are only considered a close contact in my school if you are within 6 feet, unmasked for more than 15 minutes. So usually that only ends up being kids that sit by each other during lunch and or/snack (we try to keep our seating charts uniform). Yet kids across the room from each other are turning up positive. I don’t think CV19 likes to follow the 6 ft. rule.... I do have to give my school credit. They have done some things right. Classes are essentially isolated from each other - lunch in the classrooms, recess by class in designated areas so classes don’t mix. In the morning, kids no longer congregate in the lobby, they go straight to their rooms. Kids are required to wear masks and are mostly compliant. Our general rule is to only quarantine kids on buses in a 6 foot radius. In this recent case, the child’s mom was the bus driver, I think that’s why they quarantined the whole bus. We found out the hard way in September when one of the 3rd grade teachers tested positive, all of the other 3rd grade teachers were exposed at a team meeting. Now, all of the meetings are virtual. That’s essentially what we’re doing to (or we’re until we didn’t have enough teachers). But it is still spreading. And I’m sure it’s spreading outside of school as well. Sports are still on as usual...basketball, volleyball, wrestling....and birthday parties and play dates...nothing has really changed. |
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 24, 2021 23:10:30 GMT
Currently the only teacher that is back in the classroom that was on my team before I retired is there because she already had Covid. The other three are out because one now has it and feels like poo and the other two were exposed. Thankfully the kids didn't come back in person until after MLK Day, so none of them were exposed.
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Post by epeanymous on Jan 24, 2021 23:13:28 GMT
I want you to know, having my kids leaning online for almost a year now is effing miserable, and I have had to drop the ball on so many things at work because of it, and I still think that until teachers are vaccinated and schools have actual mitigation measures in place, sending kids back in person is a fool’s game.
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Post by freecharlie on Jan 24, 2021 23:21:38 GMT
Yeah, not spreading at school is bullshit.
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Post by Merge on Jan 24, 2021 23:30:43 GMT
I want you to know, having my kids leaning online for almost a year now is effing miserable, and I have had to drop the ball on so many things at work because of it, and I still think that until teachers are vaccinated and schools have actual mitigation measures in place, sending kids back in person is a fool’s game. Thank you. And I’m so sorry for what you and every other working parent is dealing with right now. This all just sucks for everyone. An article in the Houston paper today quotes a local healthcare expert as saying that we won’t even start the B group of vaccines until May or June at the earliest. If we’re doing this again next school year ... well, I shudder to think. |
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samantha25
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,935
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Post by samantha25 on Jan 24, 2021 23:39:51 GMT
Yeah, not spreading at school is bullshit.Di Did you see Superintendent siegfried of Cherry Creek School District is resigning after this year? His letter cited only a small percentage of students and staff is quarantined and positive, (about 900 students and 100 staff), but it's the highest numbers. I don't think there is enough testing. |
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Deleted
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Jun 10, 2024 19:45:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2021 23:54:54 GMT
I so appreciate that every Friday we get an update from our Superintendent sharing number of positive cases, current quarantines and an overview of the totals this school year. Our elementary has shut down twice for two weeks at a time and our high school and middle school have shut down once this year for two weeks right before Christmas/finals. They have been as transparent as possible and as thoughtful with their decisions as possible and I am so grateful.
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Gravity
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 27, 2014 0:29:55 GMT
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Post by Gravity on Jan 24, 2021 23:56:11 GMT
The rule of quarantining if you were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more is a CDC guideline. I am a hospital RN. My teacher DH currently has COVID-19. My hospital is bursting at the seams with covid patients. I do not get to sit at home for 10-14 days to quarantine. I am required to report for work unless I develop symptoms. Fun times!
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Post by ameslou on Jan 25, 2021 0:00:40 GMT
My kids (HS) have been back in school about 3.5 weeks. They both report classes where half the students have been quarantined due to exposure to a student who tested positive. In fact the only reason why DD1 isn’t quarantined now is bc we kept her home a couple of days bc she was running a low fever. (Got her tested, negative and able to return in person.)
I don’t see us making it all the way to the end of the semester without at least one being in Q.
So very grateful that my two are old enough and responsible enough to stay home by themselves
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Jan 25, 2021 0:07:48 GMT
The rule of quarantining if you were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more is a CDC guideline. I am a hospital RN. My teacher DH currently has COVID-19. My hospital is bursting at the seams with covid patients. I do not get to sit at home for 10-14 days to quarantine. I am required to report for work unless I develop symptoms. Fun times! Maybe if we quarantined more, we would have fewer cases and make your job easier and less dangerous. Because I truly believe that although kids may not always show symptoms, they DO spread it, and they take it home (evidenced by the little boy who took it home from his class to both his dad and sister). I believe, when numbers are high, schools feed community spread. Thank-you for everything you do! And I hope your husband is doing well. |
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Jan 25, 2021 0:08:50 GMT
I want you to know, having my kids leaning online for almost a year now is effing miserable, and I have had to drop the ball on so many things at work because of it, and I still think that until teachers are vaccinated and schools have actual mitigation measures in place, sending kids back in person is a fool’s game. Thank-you. This does suck—for EVERYONE. |
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Post by hookturnian on Jan 25, 2021 0:11:11 GMT
Do schoolkids have to wear masks in class in the US? In South Africa masks must be worn by anyone over the age of 6. In my niece's primary school individual desks are normally grouped into a "table" of 4 to 6 kids. At lunch you are only allowed to interact with the kids from your table, and the table groups are distanced from each other. This is also outside - lunch rooms are not a thing in South Africa (or Australia for that matter).
ETA South Africa has delayed the start of the new school year due to their current surge and the new strain.
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,582
Location: In the leaves and rain.
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Post by stittsygirl on Jan 25, 2021 0:11:16 GMT
So many hugs to you and your coworkers ❤️. In my part of WA state most kids still haven’t returned to in-person class, even in a hybrid model (I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since my kids were in a physical classroom). They say they are going to try to go hybrid around the beginning of February, starting with the elementary-aged kids, but we’ll see if it happens. I know all-online school is really rough on a lot of our kids and their families, but at least we’re not dealing with this constant merry-go-round of exposures and quarantine and illness . |
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,971
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Jan 25, 2021 0:20:23 GMT
Our district (in Washington State) opens to 1st and 2nd graders tomorrow... my 1st grader is not participating.
My two middle schoolers and one high schooler are not when those open either. I have kids in 4 different buildings (when they are open...) with 22 teachers, and 3 bus drivers. My phone would be ringing with "a child at blah blah blah school has been diagnosed with COVID" every single day.
The arts block teachers are staying virtual which I am clapping for, those teachers work with 500 students a week, they'd probably be in quarantine for the rest of the year.
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Jan 25, 2021 0:34:50 GMT
I thought I posted... anyways, I'm sorry you are dealing with all that. It's too much!
I'm trying to figure out why it hasn't been bad in our school. I've probably just jinxed our school. uhg. Ill fitting masks seem to be keeping our numbers down. I don't know how.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Jan 25, 2021 0:47:39 GMT
I thought I posted... anyways, I'm sorry you are dealing with all that. It's too much! I'm trying to figure out why it hasn't been bad in our school. I've probably just jinxed our school. uhg. Ill fitting masks seem to be keeping our numbers down. I don't know how. How is the positivity rate in your community? Our school numbers started going up when community numbers did... Also—it’s been spreading like WILDFIRE the last week or so. I’m wondering if the new strain from the UK has arrived (it’s been in Houston awhile, so I wouldn’t be surprised...) |
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Post by mollycoddle on Jan 25, 2021 0:52:49 GMT
Ugh, how awful for all of you! What a dumpster fire.
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Post by Merge on Jan 25, 2021 0:58:08 GMT
The rule of quarantining if you were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more is a CDC guideline. I am a hospital RN. My teacher DH currently has COVID-19. My hospital is bursting at the seams with covid patients. I do not get to sit at home for 10-14 days to quarantine. I am required to report for work unless I develop symptoms. Fun times! CDC guidelines don't mention the part about how the 6 feet and 15 minutes are apparently just fine as long as both parties wore a mask. That's the part of my district's policy that I object to. According to them, even if I spent 45 minutes within 6 feet of the kid, I haven't been exposed. It doesn't take into account whether the kid was wearing the mask properly, if it fit well, if it was wet, or if the same cloth mask has been worn without washing every day for the past three weeks. |
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Post by Merge on Jan 25, 2021 0:59:59 GMT
I thought I posted... anyways, I'm sorry you are dealing with all that. It's too much! I'm trying to figure out why it hasn't been bad in our school. I've probably just jinxed our school. uhg. Ill fitting masks seem to be keeping our numbers down. I don't know how. How is the positivity rate in your community? Our school numbers started going up when community numbers did... Also—it’s been spreading like WILDFIRE the last week or so. I’m wondering if the new strain from the UK has arrived (it’s been in Houston awhile, so I wouldn’t be surprised...) I've started doubling up an N-95 and a cloth mask, and am teaching from behind my plexiglass as much as possible (which is really not much, as you know). We know the new strain is here. |
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