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Post by huskermom98 on Mar 10, 2020 1:14:15 GMT
I wanted to comment on the teacher thread, but I'm not a teacher or school employee. I am curious what other parents have been told by their districts about what would happen if they had to close down.
I have 2 boys--my oldest is in the largest district in Iowa and my younger one is in a very small private school. Neither school system has said anything about what would happen if they had to close down. The first confirmed cases were just announced in the state over the weekend, but you know that's only the beginning. The larger district has just been letting people know that they are doing extra cleaning and also canceling some school-sponsored spring break trips. They did have a list of rules/suggestions to follow if anyone does travel over spring break next week.
I'm not necessarily worried about my youngest because they get laptops from school and can easily do online lessons. My only concern would be his ability to sit and watch/learn without getting antsy or completely zoning out (ADD--and he doesn't like to take his meds if he's not at school).
I do wonder how it would work for my oldest, other than just extending the school year. They don't have school issued laptops. It's also a very diverse district in terms of race/ethnicity/income/etc. A lot of kids would have access to any online learning, but a lot would not. Food would also be another concern because a very large portion of the district qualifies for free/reduced lunches so most schools just offer free meals to everyone.
Thankfully it's been a very mild winter so they've maybe had one or two days off. The districts around here would have to do some scrambling with the baseball and softball schedules during any extended school year days--they are summer sports around here. Most of DS's games are scheduled for 10:30/11:30 am start times, 2-3 days a week in June and the first half of July. It works when school ends around the end of May, but not if it goes much later!
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on Mar 10, 2020 1:20:07 GMT
At this time they’ve made no major moves just ensuring us that extra cleaning is taking place and they are encouraging hand washing. But the latest email did include this, “we would not inhibit your ability to do what you feel is in your child’s best interest.” Which is basically telling parents to keep kids at home if they feel the need. I didn’t ask my son about attendance in his classes today, but read on a local message board that 9/30 were absent from her daughter’s class, but I have no way of knowing how many can be attributed to any type of illness vs opting out.
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Post by busy on Mar 10, 2020 1:20:19 GMT
We have one student at a middle school who is confirmed positive. It was announced over the weekend and it was also announced they are not closing the school. They hired some kind of specialty cleaning company who went through the school over the weekend and anyone known to have close contact with the student is being self-quarantined. They said this is the recommendation of our state and county health departments.
The student was the 8th confirmed case in our county.
Of course, they are putting extra emphasis on hand washing and similar hygiene practices with all students.
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Mar 10, 2020 1:20:50 GMT
We will provide assignments. If they don’t do them then they will have x amount of time to complete when returning. It’ll be very time consuming for teachers to collect and grade piles of papers at one time. Safety first though.
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Post by bianca42 on Mar 10, 2020 1:26:44 GMT
NY just announced that any school with a confirmed case MUST close for 24 hours while they determine next steps.
Our school has given a generic statement about the evolving situation.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,314
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Mar 10, 2020 1:26:58 GMT
We got an email this afternoon (and one last week) from the superintendent that there have been no cases here with school connections so school will go on and they are cleaning regularly... There was a case near us but in a different district last week where a middle schooler has the virus, and they cleaned but did not close school, which is probably what prompted today's email...
Other than the email (and I'm at one of the schools frequently and hear things...) and showing the kids hand washing videos, I haven't seen or heard anything else.
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used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,072
Jan 29, 2016 3:02:55 GMT
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Post by used2scrap on Mar 10, 2020 1:36:09 GMT
Our district hasn’t put anything out in a week, since before there were confirmed cases in NC. And it was the standard “we’re watching things, making response plans, wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick” kind of guidance.
All the students in the district have school issued computers, but I’m sure not all have consistent connectivity. Many students are already behind from the several months they missed last year from Hurricanes. Those days were made up through taking away parts of holiday breaks, adding time to each day, teacher work days, and ultimately the state just waived the attendance requirement so instruction was missed.
Youngest ds already can’t get a flu shot, and dd has been struggling with mono and other infections and some liver/kidney issues, so it’s concerning. Oldest ds is away at Univ, and rumors are running rampant among students and parents with testing “campus affiliated” people and plans/procedures that maybe implemented, but nothing official but the school reiterating they are monitoring the situation and cancelling all study abroad programs/trips. He’s supposed to come home for spring break in a week; no idea if he will be able, or should, or will end up stuck here or what.
Lots of wait and see!
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Post by fredfreddy44 on Mar 10, 2020 1:52:50 GMT
My son's HS has canceled/"delayed" a major music festival and the annual spring class rally competition. My son wants to go the prom in early April and bought tickets last week (first kid who wants to do a major dance is 11 years!) and I'm guessing it will also be canceled next week. We live in San Jose.
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Post by Neisey on Mar 10, 2020 2:04:11 GMT
My DD is on an exchange program in Australia Some of her friends have had their programs cancelled and had to go home. Her home university here in Canada has said follow the protocols of your host country. I think she is likely as safe in Australia as she would be traveling home. I keep reminding her of hand washing, avoiding crowds, etc. Youngest DD goes to university in the next province. She lives in residence but says she hasn't heard much from her school in the last week.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 20, 2024 22:15:58 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2020 2:39:09 GMT
My son wants to go the prom in early April and bought tickets last week (first kid who wants to do a major dance is 11 years!) Gosh, here I was wondering what kids are doing about their college decisions and tours and it didn't even dawn on me about proms and graduations being affected. DS is in college and they just announced that classes for the next quarter will be held remotely/online. I'm not sure if they mean the entire quarter or until further notice. If it's for the entire quarter, I imagine some kids might simply move back home vs remain in the dorms.
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Post by ntsf on Mar 10, 2020 2:44:22 GMT
a high school near us was closed for 5 days.. my child at the state university--they have cancelled events.. but classes go on. my kids class could not be taught online.. kanji..
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Post by huskermom98 on Mar 10, 2020 3:18:28 GMT
My son's HS has canceled/"delayed" a major music festival and the annual spring class rally competition. We just hosted a music festival & while at the time there were no official cases in the state yet, it was still a little weird to think "someone here has to have been exposed somehow...". But there were a ton of people there, young & old, and it was great to see people going about their normal lives...not stockpiling TP & water!
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Peal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,524
Jun 25, 2014 22:45:40 GMT
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Post by Peal on Mar 10, 2020 4:34:36 GMT
Nothing from the high or middle school. If needed we could do online classes. DS doesn't need his woodworking class to graduate. I'm not sure how his concurrent enrollment class would work. The kids don't have spring break until April. But we are rural enough maybe it won't show up here until then?
The university has made a couple of announcments about keeping an eye on how things progress. They are all back to school today after spring break. I imagine someone picked it up and it's only a matter of time. Graduation is in 7 weeks. I just need them to make it that far. I don't even care if they cancel commencement. I asked DS if he could take his classes online if he needed to. All but one. It`s a lab. They are building drones and have to meet there to do the work.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Mar 10, 2020 5:09:00 GMT
I live in Southern California near Anaheim. There are confirmed cases in Orange County, which makes me quite certain this virus has been passed around Disneyland for weeks. We are a bad situation waiting to happen, IMO.
Our district is keeping us updated and is claiming that the risk of exposure is low. I find that laughable given our proximity to Disneyland, LAX, the ports and the Southern border.
A high school in our district had a sporting event (can't remember which sport) against a team with a student that is currently quarantined. The students from our district visited the opposing team. Again, the district claims the chance of exposure is low and recommends a "wait and see" approach.
Spring break starts week after next. I will pull my son out of school if the situation in our area worsens.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Mar 10, 2020 9:05:28 GMT
They've just sent the link to the cdc about protecting yourself through hand washing, and told us they will keep us informed of any changes due to the virus.
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,995
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Mar 10, 2020 9:42:23 GMT
My dd's college sent an email early on Sunday morning to say a student had been confirmed positive. Sunday was spent deep cleaning the place. PHE (Public Health England) tracked and informed all contacts and they have gone into isolation. The college opened on Monday.
The college has sent three emails over the two days to keep everyone updated and promising to communicate often to counter any misinformation on social media.
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Post by ghislaine on Mar 10, 2020 11:16:49 GMT
My school district has been following the state recommendations as found here: education.vermont.gov/news/covid-19-guidance-vermont-schools. Basically handwashing, stay home if you are sick, and cough into your sleeve or a tissue. They are disinfecting the school regularly. The situation is being monitored.
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,009
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Mar 10, 2020 11:18:41 GMT
My daughter's school district hasn't said anything at all. My son's university sends daily updates - yesterday we got two.
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Post by Linda on Mar 10, 2020 12:37:31 GMT
just monitoring the situation, wash hands, stay home if unwell, self-quarantine on return if you travel to certain countries during Spring Break (next week) for my 7th grader. Going virtual would be VERY hard in this district - rural, poor, and without universal internet availability. I know teachers who don't have internet at home (because it's simply not available to their homes).
college student is on spring break this week - no communication from the college yet (to parents - she's receiving emails - basically they're monitoring the situation) but I wouldn't be surprised by a move to online classes
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 20, 2024 22:15:58 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2020 14:01:14 GMT
I suggested online / virtual learning a few years ago in our district. Intention was to increase the offerings to students, but not to increase the personnel budget.
Of course the union hated that idea. So I hope they enjoy a longer school year if our district shuts down for any reason.
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Post by barbarac on Mar 10, 2020 15:01:40 GMT
I'm in Connecticut and we've had a case in two of the towns bordering us. But school is business as usual - even the school play which will be performed this weekend.
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Post by Neisey on Mar 11, 2020 0:16:51 GMT
There aren't any reported cases in my province. Yesterday the minister of education announced that all school trips outside of Canada would be cancelled for the rest of the year and anyone returning to Canada after Sunday, March 8th (our spring break ended on the 8th) would be excluded from school and childcare facilities for 14 days. I have a coworker on vacation in the US (New Hampshire) and we have a childcare facility at my workplace. She is supposed to return to work on Monday but will now have to exclude for 14 days. We have a meeting on Thursday to discuss ramifications of this policy and our plan for any possible cases.
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Post by epeanymous on Mar 11, 2020 0:52:05 GMT
My kids are in Seattle Public Schools, which is (as it sounds like) the public school district in Seattle. We get daily communication from the district now. They have been clear about several things:
1. They aren't closing unless they absolutely have to. If a student tests positive in a school, they will close the school for a day and deep-clean. Students will not have absences held against them in any event.
2. All events, however, have been cancelled. Field trips, school performances, assemblies, you name it. The only thing that is still going is school sports. Which the schools claim aren't really school-based -- since there are outside sporting governing bodies, they are pretending that sports are something separate and are continuing to have athletic competitions and after-school practices. Seriously, don't get me started.
3. It's not that easy to switch to online learning. Not every kid has access to an electronic device. The district at one point experimented with giving 7th-12th students Kindles, but it didn't work out, at all -- between failures with individual devices, losses, breakages, and, most importantly, students who didn't have internet access in the first place, my kids' classes stopped using them at all (I am not sure if the district stopped the program altogether or not, but I haven't had a kindle issued to a kid in several years, so I imagine so).
4. Also in any district that isn't an affluent district, you're going to have a lot of kids for whom it is safer to be at school than not. Part of it as has been publicized is food; part of it is that you can't necessarily stay home from work just because school is cancelled, so school closures mean a lot of unsupervised kids. A lot of kids get various necessary social services through schools. It's all well and good to yell at people about how we expect schools to do too much and parents use them as babysitters, etc., but the thing is that other countries provide those services elsewhere (subsidized child care! socialized health care!) so let's not get all indignant about the fact that in this country we use schools as our locus for providing a lot of those services.
Anyhow, a lot of friends have been emailing me about doing some homeschooling collectives for the next few months, and I am considering it :/. But I have a flexible job at which I am tenured, so it's a lot easier for me than for most working parents.
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Post by Jen in NCal on Mar 11, 2020 1:25:22 GMT
We had an email from the superintendent about a week ago. Since then, crickets. But the principal of one of our high schools was on the news tonight talking about what they are doing on his campus. Of course, his campus is the wealthiest so the parents can afford to flood the school with cleaning supplies.
We had an amazing field trip Monday and today out on the Bay so I'm glad they aren't cancelling field trips. Ironically, we got to see the Grand Princess as it came through the Golden Gate.
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,689
Location: Ohio
Jul 5, 2014 1:53:49 GMT
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Post by StephDRebel on Mar 11, 2020 1:53:51 GMT
My son's girlfriend is so stressed. They closed her school and she lives too far out to have wifi.
I read that one of the county school systems also closed. I don't see how they could do online school, about half the people I know dont have internet or cell service at home
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