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School Re-Opening

What method do you support?

  • Full re-open

    Votes: 78 37.9%
  • Parents choice with in-class or virtual learning

    Votes: 103 50.0%
  • Hybrid learning for all

    Votes: 7 3.4%
  • Full Virtual

    Votes: 18 8.7%

  • Total voters
    206
When do you think we go back to in person school in Kentucky?

Personally, I don’t think it happens before the first of the year but I could easily see there being virtual learning the entire school year.

I just don’t know what metric Andy is using as the driving force in his decision(s) because it seems to change daily.
 
This is the most comprehensive look at the issue I've seen. For those that are interested. Roy is a great follow and super passionate about this issue. He has an op-ed in WSJ this week but I don't subscribe.

 
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TSK, it appears at least a few schools and districts are going to defy the recommendation so we'll probably figure that out pretty soon. I tend to lean with you on public schools being virtual at least fall semester, but then we're into flu, and maybe the new covid, seasons so will it be all school year?
 
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TSK, it appears at least a few schools and districts are going to defy the recommendation so we'll probably figure that out pretty soon. I tend to lean with you on public schools being virtual at least fall semester, but then we're into flu, and maybe the new covid, seasons so will it be all school year?
I have a friend in public school administration and the “recommendation” really put them in a bad spot. The vast majority of parents and teachers in his district want to return to in person school (it’s a very rural area) so on its face it looks like they can do what they want but the red tape involved with actually doing that is so overwhelming it’s really not practical. Long story short, it’s only a recommendation on its face and in practice more of a mandate, at least for public schools. Which puts all the heat on the administrators.

Private will be more interesting...
 
Students are going to get it...period. Just like they get the flu, strep, ear infections, etc, etc, etc. It is proven that the recovery rate and ability to ward off any severe issues at school ages is high so move forward and deal with it when it comes. Shutting down schools is a gross malfeasance by our officials.

Teachers are front line workers, imo, and I don't buy the argument that they are at a high risk given they don't have to be in close proximity to other teachers or students for prolonged periods of time.

It's TBD, but I have a feat that this fall/winter is going to play hell on the immune systems of the young due to the lockdowns and associated factors.
 
Our district went with the parents choice model and we chose to send our kids. I'm not sure how many chose to stay home, but judging from the car rider lines, not many.

The few people that I know that are keeping kids home are doing it solely because they don't think their kids should have to wear a mask.
 
Students are going to get it...period. Just like they get the flu, strep, ear infections, etc, etc, etc. It is proven that the recovery rate and ability to ward off any severe issues at school ages is high so move forward and deal with it when it comes. Shutting down schools is a gross malfeasance by our officials.

Teachers are front line workers, imo, and I don't buy the argument that they are at a high risk given they don't have to be in close proximity to other teachers or students for prolonged periods of time.

It's TBD, but I have a feat that this fall/winter is going to play hell on the immune systems of the young due to the lockdowns and associated factors.

I disagree. Schools must address the students, teachers, custodians, administration, etc. safety first. Covid is real and highly contagious.
 
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Our district went with the parents choice model and we chose to send our kids. I'm not sure how many chose to stay home, but judging from the car rider lines, not many.

The few people that I know that are keeping kids home are doing it solely because they don't think their kids should have to wear a mask.
Same with my daughter's catholic school. We also chose to send her since it's a smaller school with only two 7th grade classes. The guidelines they rolled out seem well- thought out and safe, so we'll see how it goes.

My son is in JCPS, so we don't have a choice with him at least through Oct, and I predict until at least the first of the year. Luckily my wife and I are WFH so we can swing distance learning for a bit.

IMO a parents' option is the way to go. Not everyone can WFH or have kids old enough to be left alone. Not to mention the kids without wifi and those that need school meals. JCPS said that over 1000 kids didn't even check in with their teachers once last spring after they closed the schools. We can't have that.

Also, as a guy with several teachers in my family, the constant shifting of mandates and recommendations is frustrating school officials to no end. Every time they come up with a plan, something else changes.
 
Enough of this crap of ever more government control. KY should pass constitutional amendment abolishing public schools in favor of vouchers that parents can use at school of their choice. Vouchers banned for schools that want to charge beyond voucher amount. Students are chosen by lottery, not schools' choice.
 
IMO, back to school should've been priority #1 starting in March. We've seen distance learning has been all but a disaster for most and especially the children that need us most. Teaching is a skill and most parents don't have the ability or patience to do it effectively. Teaching is also THEE essential employee and someone needs to come out and say that. Give them hazard pay, we're printing fake money as it is. If I had to tell employees in March, "sorry you're scared, but you're required to show up or you're not eligible for unemployment," why should teachers be different? If we're safe having attendance at soccer games, Derby, Ky Kingdom open, we're fine to have schools open for those that need it. We built 1/2 billion dollars worth of field hospitals that never saw a patient yet we can't do the same for classrooms to achieve social distancing? What if this drags on for another 2 years with no vaccine or advances in treatments? Are we just going to lose 2.5 years of schooling for our kids? We're already working on a full school year. We keep being reminded how awful America handled this pandemic yet countries with higher deaths per capita have been back in school safely since May(France/Sweden). In my opinion the teachers associations are using this as a bargaining chip and it's really f*cked up, to say the least. Just disgusting.

Schools shouldn't have been the last thing to open, they should've been the first thing to re-open and everything else tailored around that. Offer a parents choice, go find the at risk teachers and boot camp them to being the best NTI teachers, pair them(without districts or border restrictions) with at risk children and get the others back in the building safely.
 
I don't have kiddos, so I don't have a dog in the fight, but I used to do a fair bit of domestic violence/dependency abuse and neglect work. My heart breaks for those kids that have been trapped at home away from resources to help them, away from mandatory reporters (fyi all adults are mandatory reporters in Kentucky, but schools are HUGE for getting the ball rolling since they generally see the kids daily and can monitor progress). I haven't heard the teachers' unions say a damn thing about that. Covid is real, it's a risk, but the damage some of these populations are experiencing is far worse than a respiratory virus. The food poverty is also something that concerns me. Yes, I know there were deliveries of school lunches--my boyfriend's dad did it through the end of May--but still. There's so much so many are missing being out of school.

my parents homeschooled me, but it was a thought-out decision with a lot of research and both of them have college/terminal degrees, and we had outside resources (umbrella school, outside classes, etc) so I wasn't 100% at home. I did fairly well with it; my brother a little less so. It's NOT for everybody, and I can't imagine how working parents are coping with the prospect of NTI interminably.

tl;dr parents' choice, and get as many of these at risk kids back in the classroom asap.
 
My youngest goes to small "therapy" school in Lexington. It has about 30 kids in K-8. Being the type of school that it is they had to start in person. There is no need for virtual with the type of school that it is. They had no choice in March because we did not know enough but I think they saw it as a must to survive and they started last week. Actually their enrollment is up now.
 
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IMO, back to school should've been priority #1 starting in March. We've seen distance learning has been all but a disaster for most and especially the children that need us most. Teaching is a skill and most parents don't have the ability or patience to do it effectively. Teaching is also THEE essential employee and someone needs to come out and say that. Give them hazard pay, we're printing fake money as it is. If I had to tell employees in March, "sorry you're scared, but you're required to show up or you're not eligible for unemployment," why should teachers be different? If we're safe having attendance at soccer games, Derby, Ky Kingdom open, we're fine to have schools open for those that need it. We built 1/2 billion dollars worth of field hospitals that never saw a patient yet we can't do the same for classrooms to achieve social distancing? What if this drags on for another 2 years with no vaccine or advances in treatments? Are we just going to lose 2.5 years of schooling for our kids? We're already working on a full school year. We keep being reminded how awful America handled this pandemic yet countries with higher deaths per capita have been back in school safely since May(France/Sweden). In my opinion the teachers associations are using this as a bargaining chip and it's really f*cked up, to say the least. Just disgusting.

Schools shouldn't have been the last thing to open, they should've been the first thing to re-open and everything else tailored around that. Offer a parents choice, go find the at risk teachers and boot camp them to being the best NTI teachers, pair them(without districts or border restrictions) with at risk children and get the others back in the building safely.

I don't have kiddos, so I don't have a dog in the fight, but I used to do a fair bit of domestic violence/dependency abuse and neglect work. My heart breaks for those kids that have been trapped at home away from resources to help them, away from mandatory reporters (fyi all adults are mandatory reporters in Kentucky, but schools are HUGE for getting the ball rolling since they generally see the kids daily and can monitor progress). I haven't heard the teachers' unions say a damn thing about that. Covid is real, it's a risk, but the damage some of these populations are experiencing is far worse than a respiratory virus. The food poverty is also something that concerns me. Yes, I know there were deliveries of school lunches--my boyfriend's dad did it through the end of May--but still. There's so much so many are missing being out of school.

my parents homeschooled me, but it was a thought-out decision with a lot of research and both of them have college/terminal degrees, and we had outside resources (umbrella school, outside classes, etc) so I wasn't 100% at home. I did fairly well with it; my brother a little less so. It's NOT for everybody, and I can't imagine how working parents are coping with the prospect of NTI interminably.

tl;dr parents' choice, and get as many of these at risk kids back in the classroom asap.

Two great posts that I agree with 100%.
 
Same with my daughter's catholic school. We also chose to send her since it's a smaller school with only two 7th grade classes. The guidelines they rolled out seem well- thought out and safe, so we'll see how it goes.

My son is in JCPS, so we don't have a choice with him at least through Oct, and I predict until at least the first of the year. Luckily my wife and I are WFH so we can swing distance learning for a bit.

IMO a parents' option is the way to go. Not everyone can WFH or have kids old enough to be left alone. Not to mention the kids without wifi and those that need school meals. JCPS said that over 1000 kids didn't even check in with their teachers once last spring after they closed the schools. We can't have that.

Also, as a guy with several teachers in my family, the constant shifting of mandates and recommendations is frustrating school officials to no end. Every time they come up with a plan, something else changes.



Which Catholic school does your daughter attend? My son is in 6th grade at one of the Catholic schools and they have given the option of in person or virtual. Our school has a nice plan in place and we chose to send our son. They are scheduled to start on the 19th, but that could change today in regards to Andy's new recommendation.
 
Which Catholic school does your daughter attend? My son is in 6th grade at one of the Catholic schools and they have given the option of in person or virtual. We've chosen to attend and supposed to start on the 19th. Supposed to hear today if that gets moved back due to Andy's new recommendation.
St. Aloysius in Peewee Valley. I just saw a few minutes ago that the superintendent is pushing forward with the in-person option. I think it's the right decision given the circumstances and the NTI option. Honestly, I'm pleased with the way they've handled all of this.

My daughter has been asking her friends, and it sounds like the majority of kids will be in-person for middle school.
 
Pretty sure the Catholic schools in Lexington are going forward with their in-person plans. They haven't really been provided with any reason to deviate from them imo. Not sure about LCA, Sayre, or any of the other private schools.
 
Just go in person. Virtual teaching is terrible for the most part. It works on the college level (somewhat) but I can't imagine teaching AP World History via zoom without creating a ton of new content and new ways. Teaching isn't just presenting information and moving on. Good teachers connect, motivate, and develop a rapport with their students. That is probably impossible to do online.

I also don't want to hear my wife complain about virtual teaching any more. Most teachers hate it.

I also think it is better for my daughter to get routine and be taught in person (7th grader).


These threads are a lot better without embedding tweets.
 
Open them up. Use whatever combination of social distancing practices fits the individual school situation best.

- If necessary...do some kind of staggering with the days. MWF half the students are in person the other half are NTI. Flip it on TU/Th. Then alternate that schedule the following week.

- Make special arrangements for kids that don’t have the means to participate in the NTI part.

- Wear masks in and out of the school and in hallways.

- Stager start times for classes so hallways aren’t as crowded in between classes.

- Use whatever inside each classroom. By “whatever” I mean to say that the administrators & teachers have had 4 months to come up with how to make a classroom safe. It might be different for each district or school or even for each individual classroom within a school depending on the classroom logistics, class size, class subject, etc...

- If bars, restaurants, Walmart, Lowe’s, hospitals, doctors offices, barber shops, salons, etc...can figure it out then so can schools.

- Kids need to be in school.


Almost forgot...

- Cancel car pool lines. Not necessarily Covid related and I don’t have a better plan to offer...I just hate those mofos. So cancel them.
 
Not to mention the kids without wifi and those that need school meals. JCPS said that over 1000 kids didn't even check in with their teachers once last spring after they closed the schools. We can't have that.

Yeah it was over 1000 alright. It was actually 6500+ students that JCPS couldn’t even make contact with in any shape or form last spring when schools shut down.

1) That’s effed up.

2) Those 6500+ kids that JCPS was unable to contact passed their classes same as the ones who participated in the NTI classes.

3) That’s even more effed up.

4) What have they done in the last 4 months to correct the situation?
 
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Catholic Schools in Lou/Lex are moving forward as planned next week. Nice.

That's at least 4-5 sizeable districts telling Andy to get pumped. Be intersting to see if he tries to penalize them.
Hadn’t heard from my daughter’s school, so this is fantastic news.
 
Open them up. Use whatever combination of social distancing practices fits the individual school situation best.

- If necessary...do some kind of staggering with the days. MWF half the students are in person the other half are NTI. Flip it on TU/Th. Then alternate that schedule the following week.

- Make special arrangements for kids that don’t have the means to participate in the NTI part.

- Wear masks in and out of the school and in hallways.

- Stager start times for classes so hallways aren’t as crowded in between classes.

- Use whatever inside each classroom. By “whatever” I mean to say that the administrators & teachers have had 4 months to come up with how to make a classroom safe. It might be different for each district or school or even for each individual classroom within a school depending on the classroom logistics, class size, class subject, etc...

- If bars, restaurants, Walmart, Lowe’s, hospitals, doctors offices, barber shops, salons, etc...can figure it out then so can schools.

- Kids need to be in school.


Almost forgot...

- Cancel car pool lines. Not necessarily Covid related and I don’t have a better plan to offer...I just hate those mofos. So cancel them.

LOL...Governor Cuomo ordered all NY schools to open in person this fall. All districts have to submit their plans to open this past week - no plan/no open (simple like that). Each district can do what they want as long as they leverage a lot of the items you mentioned about above.

Here are some of the other things that will be implemented in my district.

K-6 (6 is considered middle school) will be in school each day. Masks for everyone, kids will be at their desks all day - very little movement allowed. Teachers will move if needed.

7-12 will alternate school use. Last name A-L at school on Monday and Tuesday, school cleaned on Wednesday, last name M-Z on Thursday and Friday.

Grade school child supervision will be provided for teachers who live in other districts if that district has to shut down for any reason. This resolves any concerns about teacher shortages. Expected there will be many teacher/sub shortages everywhere.

Arts/Humanities/Gym teachers will be asked to teach or assist with supervision of other classes. These teachers are all certified to teach K-12 in NYS.

Large spaces in all schools will be leveraged to give each child ample space.

Even with all that, we still know some families that will begin the transition to home schooling.

But then again, our state has its sh1t together with regards to COVID after a terrible, horrible start...everyone wears masks and continues to practice social distancing. Amazed at how many out of state license plates we see on a daily basis.

Definitely a difficult decision for each district and family...
 
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Catholic Schools in Lou/Lex are moving forward as planned next week. Nice.

That's at least 4-5 sizeable districts telling Andy to get pumped. Be intersting to see if he tries to penalize them.

Pray no kid or group of kids gets the virus at a Catholic school, because they will be vilified by the Mayors, Governor and every teacher union.
 
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