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Post by epeanymous on Jul 28, 2021 18:23:30 GMT
This happened today. And so it begins.
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Post by aj2hall on Jul 28, 2021 18:37:01 GMT
I’m really sorry that we’re back to this, but given the circumstances, I think it’s the right thing to do. The school district for my youngest (high school) will not make a decision until an August board meeting. They just sent out a survey asking for input on masks. The school district has taken a conservative approach all along, the middle and high school were remote until March, then went to hybrid and not fully back until May. My expectation is that they will require masks. My son is fully vaccinated and regardless of the school board decision, will wear a mask until the threat of delta goes away. For context, we’re fortunate to live in an area and a state (New Hampshire) where our risk is only moderate. I think our vaccination rate is around 60%.
In contrast, the neighboring school district where I work, just 10 minutes away, is planning to open in September with limited precautions in place. Right now, we won’t be wearing masks unless the DHHS changes their guidance. The DHHS guidance as of now, is basically to throw up their hands and let schools make their own decisions. Our Republican Governor didn’t issue a mask mandate until late November. He extended it once, but let it expire in March. Doubtful that he will issue another one for schools or the state.
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 28, 2021 19:07:09 GMT
I’m really sorry that we’re back to this, but given the circumstances, I think it’s the right thing to do. The school district for my youngest (high school) will not make a decision until an August board meeting. They just sent out a survey asking for input on masks. The school district has taken a conservative approach all along, the middle and high school were remote until March, then went to hybrid and not fully back until May. My expectation is that they will require masks. My son is fully vaccinated and regardless of the school board decision, will wear a mask until the threat of delta goes away. For context, we’re fortunate to live in an area and a state (New Hampshire) where our risk is only moderate. I think our vaccination rate is around 60%. In contrast, the neighboring school district where I work, just 10 minutes away, is planning to open in September with limited precautions in place. Right now, we won’t be wearing masks unless the DHHS changes their guidance. The DHHS guidance as of now, is basically to throw up their hands and let schools make their own decisions. Our Republican Governor didn’t issue a mask mandate until late November. He extended it once, but let it expire in March. Doubtful that he will issue another one for schools or the state. Oh, I agree it is the right thing to do. I am just *so mad* at all the “freedom” people out there making things worse and necessitating this in the first place. Makes me reeeeeeeally wish we didn’t have a raft of tourists in Seattle right now from states that are much less cautious. |
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tracylynn
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,903 
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Post by tracylynn on Jul 28, 2021 19:38:05 GMT
This is absolutely the right thing to do. And I'm glad he's done it. But can you imagine the nightmare this is going to cause for the teachers? They're going to be dealing with a certain amount of entitled little assholes and having to be the mask police. Hopefully schools take up a zero tolerance policy on this and it's one and done.
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,064
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Jul 28, 2021 19:42:05 GMT
This is absolutely the right thing to do. And I'm glad he's done it. But can you imagine the nightmare this is going to cause for the teachers? They're going to be dealing with a certain amount of entitled little assholes and having to be the mask police. Hopefully schools take up a zero tolerance policy on this and it's one and done. Ugh, I thought of that, you poor teachers. Hopefully the kids are more used to wearing masks and won't fuss so much about it. DD is in HS so they are all eligible for the vax. I think (although I doubt it happens) they should allow in school classes with proof of vax only. Any objections, go back to distance learning. I'm afraid to read my local FB Moms group about now. Oh the bitching and the fighting that starts tearing our community apart. So sick of this shit that got politicized when it should never have been. |
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 28, 2021 19:45:48 GMT
This is absolutely the right thing to do. And I'm glad he's done it. But can you imagine the nightmare this is going to cause for the teachers? They're going to be dealing with a certain amount of entitled little assholes and having to be the mask police. Hopefully schools take up a zero tolerance policy on this and it's one and done. My kids went to school for two months this spring and reported literally zero classroom issues with mask wearing. I mean, who knows in the long run, but frankly I think the kids are more compliant than adults. |
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,447
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Post by amom23 on Jul 28, 2021 19:48:49 GMT
My nieces in N Seattle were out of school for almost a full 1.5 years. Remote learning was a joke. Nobody will be excited about having to wear a mask, but they will do it if it means FINALLY being back in a classroom with a real life in person teacher.
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 28, 2021 20:04:17 GMT
My nieces in N Seattle were out of school for almost a full 1.5 years. Remote learning was a joke. Nobody will be excited about having to wear a mask, but they will do it if it means FINALLY being back in a classroom with a real life in person teacher. The teachers really tried, and I am sure that the online schooling worked for some kids (and have heard anecdotally how great it was foe some kids not to have to deal with bullying, eg), but I have two kids for whom it was pretty abysmal, and would send them in HazMat suits if necessary. |
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Post by aj2hall on Jul 28, 2021 20:05:09 GMT
This is absolutely the right thing to do. And I'm glad he's done it. But can you imagine the nightmare this is going to cause for the teachers? They're going to be dealing with a certain amount of entitled little assholes and having to be the mask police. Hopefully schools take up a zero tolerance policy on this and it's one and done. My kids went to school for two months this spring and reported literally zero classroom issues with mask wearing. I mean, who knows in the long run, but frankly I think the kids are more compliant than adults. I really thought masks were going to be a nightmare, especially at my elementary school. I was picturing kids using them like slingshots, flinging them (and germs) around etc. Surprisingly, they were really compliant. The only issue was either kids slid them off their nose or they didn’t fit well and slipped down. I would just tell them their nose escaped and most kids were cooperative. We started back fully in person 4 days a week last September. |
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,447
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Post by amom23 on Jul 28, 2021 21:49:35 GMT
My nieces in N Seattle were out of school for almost a full 1.5 years. Remote learning was a joke. Nobody will be excited about having to wear a mask, but they will do it if it means FINALLY being back in a classroom with a real life in person teacher. The teachers really tried, and I am sure that the online schooling worked for some kids (and have heard anecdotally how great it was foe some kids not to have to deal with bullying, eg), but I have two kids for whom it was pretty abysmal, and would send them in HazMat suits if necessary. It was the teachers who refused to return to in person school until the governor ordered them to. The teachers apparently run the show in that district and they are the ones who kept moving the bench mark for returning to in person class. Every private school was in person the entire year and they made it work just fine. |
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,447
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Post by amom23 on Jul 28, 2021 21:51:29 GMT
My kids went to school for two months this spring and reported literally zero classroom issues with mask wearing. I mean, who knows in the long run, but frankly I think the kids are more compliant than adults. I really thought masks were going to be a nightmare, especially at my elementary school. I was picturing kids using them like slingshots, flinging them (and germs) around etc. Surprisingly, they were really compliant. The only issue was either kids slid them off their nose or they didn’t fit well and slipped down. I would just tell them their nose escaped and most kids were cooperative. We started back fully in person 4 days a week last September. My DIL teaches 2nd grade and she and her students had to wear masks almost the entire school year. Nobody loved it, but they all did just fine. Kids definitely complain less than adults in most settings. |
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 28, 2021 22:07:44 GMT
The teachers really tried, and I am sure that the online schooling worked for some kids (and have heard anecdotally how great it was foe some kids not to have to deal with bullying, eg), but I have two kids for whom it was pretty abysmal, and would send them in HazMat suits if necessary. It was the teachers who refused to return to in person school until the governor ordered them to. The teachers apparently run the show in that district and they are the ones who kept moving the bench mark for returning to in person class. Every private school was in person the entire year and they made it work just fine. That is just not true. Plenty of private schools here did part or most of last year remotely. |
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dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 8,555
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
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Post by dawnnikol on Jul 28, 2021 22:42:53 GMT
Prior to the CDC announcement, most of the districts around us had opted for "strongly suggested" mask use by students, teacher, visitors, etc. The only safety protocols in place were "distancing", hand washing, and HVAC. I use "distancing" loosely, because it just doesn't/can't happen at least in our elementary school. As a planner, it was driving me nuts that our school district had not changed anything at their July meeting and the next one is not until less than a week before school is back in session. I e-mailed the school board and superintendent with no responses, so I contacted the district's virtual school that is opening with this school year and had my 2 elementary kids transferred. I felt bad because it meant I left my PTO hanging with my positions, but nobody else seems to want to worry about things until the ship has sailed.
I know our elementary school handled masking well last year, even though my kids were remote, because I still spoke to the teachers often and saw all the pics so I could handle the yearbook. It's the adults, especially the principal, who can't handle safety without throwing fits.
I am so sorry teachers will have to go through this again, I know nobody WANTS to wear a mask for 8+ hours a day, but it especially sucks when you've done all the "right things".
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,447
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Post by amom23 on Jul 29, 2021 0:34:37 GMT
It was the teachers who refused to return to in person school until the governor ordered them to. The teachers apparently run the show in that district and they are the ones who kept moving the bench mark for returning to in person class. Every private school was in person the entire year and they made it work just fine. That is just not true. Plenty of private schools here did part or most of last year remotely. Not in my sister's school district. They were all in person class for the school year. That is what made the parent's in the public school system so damn frustrated. |
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luckyjune
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,687
Location: In the rainy, rainy WA
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Post by luckyjune on Jul 29, 2021 0:53:37 GMT
That is just not true. Plenty of private schools here did part or most of last year remotely. Not in my sister's school district. They were all in person class for the school year. That is what made the parent's in the public school system so damn frustrated. You said you sister is in N Seattle. If she's teaching in the Seattle School District, there were plenty of private schools in that district that stayed remote. Also, no one in WA was fully remote for 1.5 years. Schools went remote in March and were ordered back in April of the next year. Many, if not most, were back well before the April deadline. And since your comments about private schools and the length of time WA schools were remote are not accurate, I'm going to say the comment about teachers running the show is coming from someone who really doesn't know what they're talking about. |
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Post by myshelly on Jul 29, 2021 1:05:38 GMT
That is just not true. Plenty of private schools here did part or most of last year remotely. Not in my sister's school district. They were all in person class for the school year. That is what made the parent's in the public school system so damn frustrated. First of all, if the parents (no apostrophe) in the public schools are frustrated, then they are welcome to pay for private school or homeschool. Second, how would anyone know what “all” private schools are doing? There are literally hundreds of private schools in any given area. Did you have a list and check them all? |
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Post by Skellinton on Jul 29, 2021 1:32:35 GMT
My kids went to school for two months this spring and reported literally zero classroom issues with mask wearing. I mean, who knows in the long run, but frankly I think the kids are more compliant than adults. I really thought masks were going to be a nightmare, especially at my elementary school. I was picturing kids using them like slingshots, flinging them (and germs) around etc. Surprisingly, they were really compliant. The only issue was either kids slid them off their nose or they didn’t fit well and slipped down. I would just tell them their nose escaped and most kids were cooperative. We started back fully in person 4 days a week last September. I have been working the last 5 or 6 weeks with kids in summer camp and mass are a total non issue. The kids wear them, don’t fuss, don’t mess with them. There are a few kids who we have to give the toss away masks to because their masks are too loose, but not one child has complained and it has been going great. I can’t imagine Kate Brown will make this call in Oregon, but our program has already decided pre-K will be masked, vaccinated teachers included. I am relieved, I think it is the only thing that can be done. |
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Post by aj2hall on Jul 29, 2021 1:36:04 GMT
The teachers really tried, and I am sure that the online schooling worked for some kids (and have heard anecdotally how great it was foe some kids not to have to deal with bullying, eg), but I have two kids for whom it was pretty abysmal, and would send them in HazMat suits if necessary. It was the teachers who refused to return to in person school until the governor ordered them to. The teachers apparently run the show in that district and they are the ones who kept moving the bench mark for returning to in person class. Every private school was in person the entire year and they made it work just fine. Respectfully, there's a significant difference regarding Covid precautions in private vs public schools. In general, private schools have more flexibility - they can socially distance kids effectively by creating smaller class sizes, they can require Covid tests on a regular schedule, they can require staff to get vaccinated etc. In general, private schools had smaller class sizes pre-covid. And private schools have newer buildings and newer ventilation. Some private schools also have the ability to update ventilation systems if needed, add air filters, create outdoor classrooms etc. Not all private schools have these advantages, but some do. Initially, I thought this was from your state, but I think it's actually DC. The article is still relevant, though about the advantages that private schools have to adapt more quickly too Covid. www.washingtonian.com/2020/10/14/how-are-some-private-schools-able-to-have-in-person-classes-right-now/ |
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Post by Katiepotatie on Jul 29, 2021 1:44:56 GMT
Excellent! C’mon, Oregon!
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jul 29, 2021 1:47:37 GMT
I’ve already had quite a few moms bring me fabric and/or order dozens of masks for their kiddos starting g school next month.
It’s not near over yet.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jul 29, 2021 1:48:49 GMT
This is absolutely the right thing to do. And I'm glad he's done it. But can you imagine the nightmare this is going to cause for the teachers? They're going to be dealing with a certain amount of entitled little assholes and having to be the mask police. Hopefully schools take up a zero tolerance policy on this and it's one and done. My kids went to school for two months this spring and reported literally zero classroom issues with mask wearing. I mean, who knows in the long run, but frankly I think the kids are more compliant than adults. The kiddos here too don’t seem to have issues wearing masks (they are not resisting wearing them) |
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Post by melanell on Jul 29, 2021 1:52:46 GMT
I'm sad that we need to do this, but not surprised.
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