K-12 Schools & COVID

[warriorchick]

True, I hadn't considered that he might have been referring to "ex-gameshow host experts" like Chuck Woolery.

I am so old, I remember when Chuck Woolery was the host of "Wheel of Fortune".

Then he was replaced by the guy who was the weekend weatherman at my hometown TV station.

[MUDPT]

Madison virtual 1st quarter...

https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/madison-school-district-to-start-school-year-fully-online/article_508d2e97-861b-5a77-9c1d-f93cfd9d9562.html#tracking-source=home-breaking

We got a survey on Monday about different options about going back, that was due on 7/27...

[MU82]

Unfortunate about the numbers, but good of the school district to be proactive. I have a feeling many more will be following very soon.

It’s a terrible thing for the kids, but the right thing for the country.

Yep. The governor, recognizing that the effect of COVID-19 has been different in different parts of the state, gave districts the option of going all-virtual or using a hybrid of in-person and virtual. Some districts are choosing the latter, but most of the larger ones, where COVID-19 has been devastating, are going with the former.

Just yesterday, NC hit our high for COVID-19 hospitalizations, continuing a trend that has gone on for about a month now. Truly sucky!

[forgetful]

Lately I've been seeing a lot of arguments from parents regarding online only classes saying, they want to see all there school taxes reimbursed then...the responses from people that don't have children have been interesting to say the least.

You'd think that would shut some people up...nope.

[GooooMarquette]

Lately I've been seeing a lot of arguments from parents regarding online only classes saying, they want to see all there school taxes reimbursed then...the responses from people that don't have children have been interesting to say the least.

You'd think that would shut some people up...nope.

Yeah, it's as though people have no clue how taxes work, as opposed to fees for specific services.

And it isn't as though schools' costs are going down. Quite the contrary - teachers and staff are going to be working harder than ever navigating these challenging times.

[4everwarriors]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

[The Lens]

City of Milwaukee updated its phases and current phase (4) no longer includes in person classes.  As of now, no school or university can have in person instruction.  MJS just uncovered this. 

Milwaukee schools and universities that have been planning to resume at least some face-to-face classes this fall may need to shift gears, after the city Health Department quietly changed the guidelines for when in-person instruction may resume.

Jim Bender, president of School Choice Wisconsin, said many of the private and independent charter schools in the city had been working on the assumption that they could offer in-person instruction with precautions during the current phase of the city's reopening plan, based on a document posted on the health department's website.

Earlier plans for the city's reopening process showed that schools could reopen during Phase 4, the city's current stage. But that document appears to have been updated on June 25. The latest version bars schools and universities from opening until Phase 5.

"Nobody saw this coming," said Bender. "Schools did not have any sort of consultative role in these changes. And they didn't get any communication from the health department that the changes were being made."

The Phase 4 order, which the health department issued June 26, clearly states that all schools and universities are closed for in-person instruction until further notice.

But neither the order, nor the news release announcing it, mentioned that the criteria for their reopening had changed.

Health Department Spokeswoman Shawn Benjamin did not answer Journal Sentinel questions about why the timeline for schools and universities to reopen had changed. She said the "gating criteria" for moving from one phase to the next "are updated to reflect activities that are permitted" and are "determined by level of risk using the latest research and feedback from public health professionals."

Members of the Higher Education Regional Alliance, which includes 18 southeastern Wisconsin universities and colleges, did appear to be aware prior to Friday.

The group sent a letter to Mayor Tom Barrett on Tuesday asking for the chance to work with the city on language for the order that allows them to reopen.

They asked that the city change the order to allow them to “determine policies and practices for safe operations,” provided they do not open dorms without strict policies and safety measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, they maintain social distancing to the greatest extent possible, and require face masks with some exceptions determined by the colleges.

Bender said the choice schools only discovered the change after MPS announced this week that it planned to start the school year online-only and ramp up to in-person instruction if and when the coronavirus threat subsided.

MPS did not mention in any of its documents or discussions that the city health department was actually barring in person instruction in the current phase.

More:What parents need to know about Milwaukee Public Schools' reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year

Bender is questioning why the health department made the change and speculated that it was to help MPS so it did not lose students to competing charter and voucher schools if it did not fully reopen.

"It makes me think the model got changed for something other than health reason," he said.

This story will be updated.

Contact Annysa Johnson at anjohnson@jrn.com or 414-224-2061. Follow her on Twitter at @JSEdbeat. And join the Journal Sentinel conversation about education issues at www.facebook.com/groups/WisconsinEducation.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

No. Here’s their description on Wikipedia.

“ The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a socially conservative advocacy group of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in the United States.[1] The group was founded in 2002. In 2005, it reportedly had between 150 and 200 members and one employee; in 2016 it reportedly had 500 physician members.[2][3] The group's primary focus is advocating against abortion and the adoption of children by gay or lesbian people. It also advocates conversion therapy.”

Any organization that believes in gay conversion therapy doesn’t believe in science to begin with.

[Galway Eagle]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

...dude...

No. Here’s their description on Wikipedia.

“ The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a socially conservative advocacy group of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in the United States.[1] The group was founded in 2002. In 2005, it reportedly had between 150 and 200 members and one employee; in 2016 it reportedly had 500 physician members.[2][3] The group's primary focus is advocating against abortion and the adoption of children by gay or lesbian people. It also advocates conversion therapy.”

Any organization that believes in gay conversion therapy doesn’t believe in science to begin with.

...This... take away the political thing, the abortion thing. And you're still left with a messed up group of people

[Pakuni]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

This is a tiny (500 members) conservative spinoff of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was created in opposition to the latter, legitimate and larger (65,000 member) group's support for LGBT rights.
It opposes same-sex marriage, wants sex ed to focus exclusively on abstinence and believes LGBTQ advocates are pedophiles.

Super-sciency, indeed.

So, what does the American Academy of Pediatrics have to say?

[reinko]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

Care to share any additional thoughts on your Islamophobic post from last week? 

[mu_hilltopper]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

This is (now) false.  The AAP walked back/clarified their recommendations. 

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/pediatricians-walk-back-school-reopening-stance-as-who-gives-dire-warning/

They called for data driven openings based on science and derided political input into the school openings.  They also replied to Trump's concept of withholding federal funds for schools as "misguided."

So .. yeah, I think we all agree with most of the AAP's full statements.

[Skatastrophy]

This is (now) false.  The AAP walked back/clarified their recommendations. 

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/pediatricians-walk-back-school-reopening-stance-as-who-gives-dire-warning/

They called for data driven openings based on science and derided political input into the school openings.  They also replied to Trump's concept of withholding federal funds for schools as "misguided."

So .. yeah, I think we all agree with most of the AAP's full statements.

You're conflating the AAP with the ACP, maybe on purpose?

[pbiflyer]

White House blocks CDC from testifying on reopening schools next week
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/politics/white-house-cdc-house-testimony-schools/index.html

The White House is blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on reopening schools next week, just as the debate over sending children back to classrooms has flared up across the US.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

White House blocks CDC from testifying on reopening schools next week
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/politics/white-house-cdc-house-testimony-schools/index.html

The White House is blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on reopening schools next week, just as the debate over sending children back to classrooms has flared up across the US.

Personally I feel like this is the “open it up” part II.  The federal government won’t be a player in this but it is politically in their best interest to argue and divide.  Pure theatre unless we start talking dollars to schools. 

[Jockey]

White House blocks CDC from testifying on reopening schools next week
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/politics/white-house-cdc-house-testimony-schools/index.html

The White House is blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on reopening schools next week, just as the debate over sending children back to classrooms has flared up across the US.

Another million votes for Biden.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Personally I feel like this is the “open it up” part II.  The federal government won’t be a player in this but it is politically in their best interest to argue and divide.  Pure theatre unless we start talking dollars to schools.

Is it, though? I think this I is yet another case of Trump trying to political calculus when he failed 3rd grade math. He seems to think sending children back to school will make things "normal" but is completely oblivious to the effects of a return to school spiking cases and deaths even more just as people are going to the polls. Or, maybe he thinks telling his people to "slow down the testing" and hiding the data will do the trick.

[mu_hilltopper]

You're conflating the AAP with the ACP, maybe on purpose?

Ummm yeah, on purpose!  Right.  I don't make mistakes.

[Hards Alumni]

American College of Pediatrics recommends sending children back to in classroom instruction this school year. I know y'all want to believe the science and medical personnel, so everyone supports their position, aina?

You're a rube again.

[MU82]

They’re a hate group, not scientists.

[GB Warrior]

White House blocks CDC from testifying on reopening schools next week
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/politics/white-house-cdc-house-testimony-schools/index.html

The White House is blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on reopening schools next week, just as the debate over sending children back to classrooms has flared up across the US.

Everyone knows you should always stifle debate on a winning issue for you.

[4everwarriors]

Just got back on da turnip truck. Wish y'all were here.
Love,
Rube

[Pakuni]

Sounds like Missouri's got it all figured out.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch @stltoday
Gov. Mike Parson: “These kids have got to get back to school.... And if they do get COVID-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals.... They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it.” buff.ly/2WBb8Ye

[4everwarriors]

Sound reasoning, aina?

[GooooMarquette]

Sounds like Missouri's got it all figured out.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch @stltoday
Gov. Mike Parson: “These kids have got to get back to school.... And if they do get COVID-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals.... They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it.” buff.ly/2WBb8Ye

Yeah, he has it all figured out...except he forgot to add the parts about passing it to their parents and grandparents, who will pass it to co-workers and others in senior centers, who will then flood the hospitals with an overwhelming wave of new cases and eventually deaths.

But other than that, he's probably spot on with the part about the kids.