Then, they should find another job online that they can work at or start a business on their own. Life is still about choices and millions of Americans have been put out of work and is in dire straits, not only teachers. Disney laid off 28,000 employees and those guys earn even less and now, do not have a job? I got laid off in 2011 and did not get even one red cent of unemployment. My employer thru connivance with the unemployment officials denied our claim. Other co-employees got unemployment checks. Go figure that one out. I ended up living off my 401K which I saved my monies on. No employee matching so, it was all my monies and what I earned from investing it. I ended up using up all my 401K funds.
Re-opening Schools in the era of COVID
- Thread starter gwb-trading
- Start date
Then, they should find another job online that they can work at or start a business on their own. Life is still about choices and millions of Americans have been put out of work and is in dire straits, not only teachers. Disney laid off 28,000 employees and those guys earn even less and now, do not have a job? I got laid off in 2011 and did not get even one red cent of unemployment. My employer thru connivance with the unemployment officials denied our claim. Other co-employees got unemployment checks. Go figure that one out. I ended up living off my 401K which I saved my monies on. No employee matching so, it was all my monies and what I earned from investing it. I ended up using up all my 401K funds.
Provided without opinion for information about how different states are responding to COVID in schools.
New quarantine rules for Alabama schools means fewer sent home
https://www.al.com/news/2020/10/new-quarantine-rules-for-alabama-schools-means-fewer-sent-home.html
New guidance for schools from the Alabama Department of Public Health should mean fewer students and staff sent home to quarantine for possible exposure to COVID-19.
In a training session on Thursday afternoon, ADPH officials said schools no longer have to send home the close contacts--those within six feet for 15 minutes or more--of students and staff showing two of three major symptoms, new cough or new difficulty breathing, for quarantining.
Students and staff showing one of those three major symptoms will still be sent home. That part of the guidance did not change.
Those who have come into close contact with someone who has experienced a new loss of taste or smell or has tested positive for COVID-19, still must go home to quarantine for 14 days.
“The changing guidance is a good signal,” Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey said, “that we have a better handle on this. We’re going to send home fewer students and fewer adults.”
The new guidance, which will be published on Oct. 13, comes after hundreds of students and teachers doing in-person learning have been sent home to quarantine since the start of the school year because they either showed one of three major symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19 or were a close contact to someone who did.
“We’ve been very cautious in sending kids home,” Mackey said, “and maybe in some cases too cautious if you can say too cautious because we’re sending more people home than have to be.”
“Most of the students that we have sent home to quarantine do not eventually come down with the virus.”
Some schools across the state have had to shift to remote learning just this week because so many staff, including teachers, have had to quarantine under the previous guidelines.
Winston County and Haleyville City schools will be closed Oct. 12 through Oct. 14 because they had an uptick in the number of employees who were required to quarantine. “When paired with the fact that we have less substitutes this year, it has been more challenging to find coverage for classrooms over the past few days,” a social media post from Haleyville City School read.
On Thursday, Muscle Shoals officials announced the middle and high schools would shift to remote learning next week, due in part because of a shortage of employees. Two schools in Decatur shifted to remote learning this week, too, due in part to the number of students and employees quarantining.
New quarantine rules for Alabama schools means fewer sent home
https://www.al.com/news/2020/10/new-quarantine-rules-for-alabama-schools-means-fewer-sent-home.html
New guidance for schools from the Alabama Department of Public Health should mean fewer students and staff sent home to quarantine for possible exposure to COVID-19.
In a training session on Thursday afternoon, ADPH officials said schools no longer have to send home the close contacts--those within six feet for 15 minutes or more--of students and staff showing two of three major symptoms, new cough or new difficulty breathing, for quarantining.
Students and staff showing one of those three major symptoms will still be sent home. That part of the guidance did not change.
Those who have come into close contact with someone who has experienced a new loss of taste or smell or has tested positive for COVID-19, still must go home to quarantine for 14 days.
“The changing guidance is a good signal,” Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey said, “that we have a better handle on this. We’re going to send home fewer students and fewer adults.”
The new guidance, which will be published on Oct. 13, comes after hundreds of students and teachers doing in-person learning have been sent home to quarantine since the start of the school year because they either showed one of three major symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19 or were a close contact to someone who did.
“We’ve been very cautious in sending kids home,” Mackey said, “and maybe in some cases too cautious if you can say too cautious because we’re sending more people home than have to be.”
“Most of the students that we have sent home to quarantine do not eventually come down with the virus.”
Some schools across the state have had to shift to remote learning just this week because so many staff, including teachers, have had to quarantine under the previous guidelines.
Winston County and Haleyville City schools will be closed Oct. 12 through Oct. 14 because they had an uptick in the number of employees who were required to quarantine. “When paired with the fact that we have less substitutes this year, it has been more challenging to find coverage for classrooms over the past few days,” a social media post from Haleyville City School read.
On Thursday, Muscle Shoals officials announced the middle and high schools would shift to remote learning next week, due in part because of a shortage of employees. Two schools in Decatur shifted to remote learning this week, too, due in part to the number of students and employees quarantining.
Schools are 2 months into reopening under Covid-19 and no one's officially keeping track of how it's going
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/us/school-year-start-in-pandemic-wellness/index.html
A 6-year-old afraid to go outside. A mom scared to send her children back to school, then thrilled at how they've thrived. A teacher worried she'll be ordered back to the classroom and become some kind of test subject.
These are some of the stressed stories of the pandemic-hit school year so far -- but it's impossible to know how widespread the experiences are because there is no national tracking of what happens when children and staff return to schools.
And without that tracking, health and education experts say, there's no way to come up with best practices to restart schools, educate children most effectively and open up their parents to commit to their work lives.
"Unfortunately, some of our knowledge is really just derived from anecdote," said Dr. Susan Coffin, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We don't have any good strategies to systematically collect the experience across a swath of the US to actually be able to study the different approaches that have and, in some cases, not worked so well."
Kimberly Berens, a scientist-educator with a PhD in behavioral science, told CNN she sees that play out around her in Long Island, New York.
"In a five-mile radius around my office there are several public and private schools, and every single one of those schools are doing different things, which is crazy," she said.
"What I know as a scientist is, if I'm manipulating multiple variables at one time, I have no idea what variable actually produced whatever outcome I achieved, or didn't achieve. So, with schools in one district all doing different things, then we can't put our finger on what contributed to an increase in prevalence or a decrease in prevalence."
New research on children and Covid-19
Some scientific knowledge about children and coronavirus has increased since schools across the country shut down in March.
Coffin told CNN that while new research has shown that children can catch and transmit coronavirus, which previously had not been as certain, "on average, a child's ailment will be less severe than that of the adult, provided they don't have underlying conditions."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study in late September saying that the incidence of Covid-19 among younger children appears to be much lower than in adolescents, which could give confidence that elementary schools, in particular, are safer to reopen.
But there hasn't yet been a chance to study that.
(Much more at above url)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/us/school-year-start-in-pandemic-wellness/index.html
A 6-year-old afraid to go outside. A mom scared to send her children back to school, then thrilled at how they've thrived. A teacher worried she'll be ordered back to the classroom and become some kind of test subject.
These are some of the stressed stories of the pandemic-hit school year so far -- but it's impossible to know how widespread the experiences are because there is no national tracking of what happens when children and staff return to schools.
And without that tracking, health and education experts say, there's no way to come up with best practices to restart schools, educate children most effectively and open up their parents to commit to their work lives.
"Unfortunately, some of our knowledge is really just derived from anecdote," said Dr. Susan Coffin, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We don't have any good strategies to systematically collect the experience across a swath of the US to actually be able to study the different approaches that have and, in some cases, not worked so well."
Kimberly Berens, a scientist-educator with a PhD in behavioral science, told CNN she sees that play out around her in Long Island, New York.
"In a five-mile radius around my office there are several public and private schools, and every single one of those schools are doing different things, which is crazy," she said.
"What I know as a scientist is, if I'm manipulating multiple variables at one time, I have no idea what variable actually produced whatever outcome I achieved, or didn't achieve. So, with schools in one district all doing different things, then we can't put our finger on what contributed to an increase in prevalence or a decrease in prevalence."
New research on children and Covid-19
Some scientific knowledge about children and coronavirus has increased since schools across the country shut down in March.
Coffin told CNN that while new research has shown that children can catch and transmit coronavirus, which previously had not been as certain, "on average, a child's ailment will be less severe than that of the adult, provided they don't have underlying conditions."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study in late September saying that the incidence of Covid-19 among younger children appears to be much lower than in adolescents, which could give confidence that elementary schools, in particular, are safer to reopen.
But there hasn't yet been a chance to study that.
(Much more at above url)
Cuomo’s, de Blasio’s school shutdowns are breaking parents like me
As COVID-19 situations go, mine is relatively blessed. My job has always been work-from-home. My husband has been working from home since March and is a huge help. My kids are mostly well-behaved and competent. Two of my kids go to in-person schooling two to three days a week, one of the better blended models. My other child’s school has a well-developed virtual-learning program.
Yet I’m drowning.
We have alarms set all over the house, but we miss at least one virtual class a week. There is always a missing Zoom password or a Google Classroom that isn’t working. And the remote days are mostly busywork anyway.
We try to give the kids outdoor time, and time with their friends, so there’s a lot of “You take him to soccer!” met with “No, I’ve got a call — you take him to soccer!” We are always late for soccer.
Our sons go to the same school, but one starts 20 minutes later than the other and finishes 15 minutes earlier. It isn’t enough time to get home and back again, so every in-person day, one of us ends up spending 35 minutes standing outside the school building with a 4-year-old, forcing him to keep his mask on and not get too close to others.
It’s like putting socks on a rooster.
My husband and I somehow still like each other after spending every day of the last seven months together, but we aren’t immune from yelling, “I have to work!” at each other when the stress gets to be too much.
“Go easy on yourself,” people tell me. But I can’t. Being a parent means protecting and caring for your children. I see them floundering, and it doesn’t make it better that it’s happening to all the kids around us, too.
We considered distant private schools for our youngest. But we decided against it, after all. For one thing, three kids at three different schools might kill me. For another, at age 4, social interaction matters the most. We want him to have friends in his neighborhood, to walk the few blocks to his school together with his brother.
Beyond that, we have no faith that Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t close private schools as cruelly, arbitrarily and irrationally as they close public ones.
And that’s exactly what happened last week, when Hizzoner asked the state to close schools, both public and private, in ZIP codes with slightly elevated COVID-19 positive rates, starting Wednesday. Cuomo, who takes a sadist’s pleasure in putting the mayor in his place, responded by ordering schools closed Tuesday.
New York City schools are open — but not yet all that functional
Cuomo also introduced a very complicated color-coding system for neighborhood closures that mostly aligned with the mayor’s ZIP codes. Schools in the red and orange zones would be closed for 14 days, while the yellows could remain open if they hadn’t been closed earlier. Or something. It’s all insanely convoluted.
Parents are aghast. The schools hadn’t had cases, yet our leaders were punishing the kids because the neighborhood has an elevated positive rate. Never mind that positive cases don’t necessarily translate to hospitalizations, deaths or overwhelmed health systems — what lockdowns are supposed to tame.
I know I’m not the only parent thinking about pausing my career indefinitely because our schools are such a disaster. What will it mean for the productivity of an already-hurting city if a large number of people need to stop working to educate their kids?
Countries around the world led with school reopenings, and the rest of their economies followed. Even when they ponder new lockdowns, other countries exclude schools. The virus, after all, poses a minuscule risk to children, who also transmit it at a much lower rate than do adults.
In September, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “schools should be the very last bit of society that we want to close down again.”
Not us. Our hapless leaders close schools first and figure out why later. Kids are adrift. Parents are faced with unthinkable choices. It’s breaking us.
As COVID-19 situations go, mine is relatively blessed. My job has always been work-from-home. My husband has been working from home since March and is a huge help. My kids are mostly well-behaved and competent. Two of my kids go to in-person schooling two to three days a week, one of the better blended models. My other child’s school has a well-developed virtual-learning program.
Yet I’m drowning.
We have alarms set all over the house, but we miss at least one virtual class a week. There is always a missing Zoom password or a Google Classroom that isn’t working. And the remote days are mostly busywork anyway.
We try to give the kids outdoor time, and time with their friends, so there’s a lot of “You take him to soccer!” met with “No, I’ve got a call — you take him to soccer!” We are always late for soccer.
Our sons go to the same school, but one starts 20 minutes later than the other and finishes 15 minutes earlier. It isn’t enough time to get home and back again, so every in-person day, one of us ends up spending 35 minutes standing outside the school building with a 4-year-old, forcing him to keep his mask on and not get too close to others.
It’s like putting socks on a rooster.
My husband and I somehow still like each other after spending every day of the last seven months together, but we aren’t immune from yelling, “I have to work!” at each other when the stress gets to be too much.
“Go easy on yourself,” people tell me. But I can’t. Being a parent means protecting and caring for your children. I see them floundering, and it doesn’t make it better that it’s happening to all the kids around us, too.
We considered distant private schools for our youngest. But we decided against it, after all. For one thing, three kids at three different schools might kill me. For another, at age 4, social interaction matters the most. We want him to have friends in his neighborhood, to walk the few blocks to his school together with his brother.
Beyond that, we have no faith that Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t close private schools as cruelly, arbitrarily and irrationally as they close public ones.
And that’s exactly what happened last week, when Hizzoner asked the state to close schools, both public and private, in ZIP codes with slightly elevated COVID-19 positive rates, starting Wednesday. Cuomo, who takes a sadist’s pleasure in putting the mayor in his place, responded by ordering schools closed Tuesday.
New York City schools are open — but not yet all that functional
Cuomo also introduced a very complicated color-coding system for neighborhood closures that mostly aligned with the mayor’s ZIP codes. Schools in the red and orange zones would be closed for 14 days, while the yellows could remain open if they hadn’t been closed earlier. Or something. It’s all insanely convoluted.
Parents are aghast. The schools hadn’t had cases, yet our leaders were punishing the kids because the neighborhood has an elevated positive rate. Never mind that positive cases don’t necessarily translate to hospitalizations, deaths or overwhelmed health systems — what lockdowns are supposed to tame.
I know I’m not the only parent thinking about pausing my career indefinitely because our schools are such a disaster. What will it mean for the productivity of an already-hurting city if a large number of people need to stop working to educate their kids?
Countries around the world led with school reopenings, and the rest of their economies followed. Even when they ponder new lockdowns, other countries exclude schools. The virus, after all, poses a minuscule risk to children, who also transmit it at a much lower rate than do adults.
In September, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “schools should be the very last bit of society that we want to close down again.”
Not us. Our hapless leaders close schools first and figure out why later. Kids are adrift. Parents are faced with unthinkable choices. It’s breaking us.
Attachments
I still can get over how selfish so many people are are demanding kids should suffer and be damaged by this online / distance half learning... so they can "feel" protected.
You don't have to "feel" protected... you can isolate yourself or your parents if you are worried.
At least more and more doctors and health care professionals are starting to speak up about the damage being done.
You don't have to "feel" protected... you can isolate yourself or your parents if you are worried.
At least more and more doctors and health care professionals are starting to speak up about the damage being done.
Did anybody children experience anything like the below video upon their return back to school...anything similar ???
Mine did not and no kids had a mental breakdown but I do know two parents that did not allow their child to return back to school. Thus, they are home schooling and using a private online tutor because their child has an underlying medical condition.
Yet, my kids are pssst the sports may be cancelled this winter (hockey).
I think the video is hilarious
wrbtrader
Mine did not and no kids had a mental breakdown but I do know two parents that did not allow their child to return back to school. Thus, they are home schooling and using a private online tutor because their child has an underlying medical condition.
Yet, my kids are pssst the sports may be cancelled this winter (hockey).
I think the video is hilarious
wrbtrader
Our schools are facing budget cuts here in Tampa and the teachers and some parents are up in arms. Really. What the hell did they expect with enrollment down some 7,000 students? Their own fault. The teachers union and the media pushed all the fear for a virus that barely affects kids at all, and they got what they wanted - parents became afraid and decided to either home school, send their kids to private school or do virtual learning.
Result? Less teachers needed. Should have thought about the stupidity when you were fighting the state to stay closed. Sorry. Reap what you sow. Its economics.
Hillsborough Schools Set To Announce Cost-Cutting Measures
By Laurie Davison Hillsborough County
PUBLISHED 5:59 AM ET Oct. 07, 2020
TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County School Superintendent Addison Davis plans to release his cost-cutting plan to school board members at the end of the week.
The board also approved taking out a multi-million dollar tax anticipation note to make sure it can meet next month's payroll, even if there's a lack of funding.
Financial advisers fear the district's cash reserves could dwindle in November.
Whether the money's needed or not, Superintendent Addison Davis said this helps make sure staff will be paid.
"This is really to protect all of our employees in the organization," he said. "This is to make certain that every two weeks we're holding up our end of the bargain and showing them value for their hard work every single day."
However, Davis said the money will not be used to make up for budget deficits that have the district looking at cuts.
"What this does is act as a bridge to get us through the coming months," he said.
Board member Steve Cona said he hopes this is a one-time deal.
"We have to make some difficult decisions to get our budget in line where we are not having to take out a TAN (Tax Anticipation Note) loan every November because we can't meet payroll. This is just not a good place to be," he said.
Several teachers also attended the board meeting to voice their concerns about potential job cuts.
"There are a lot of problems in this district but it's not the teacher's fault including the money we are being paid," said Hiedi Glick.
Superintendent Davis told the board his team is working to adjust spending to get the district to a better spot financially while protecting as many jobs as possible.
He said he's expecting an audit soon from the Council for Great City Schools.
That information will be used to help build a financial plan for the future.
Result? Less teachers needed. Should have thought about the stupidity when you were fighting the state to stay closed. Sorry. Reap what you sow. Its economics.
Hillsborough Schools Set To Announce Cost-Cutting Measures
By Laurie Davison Hillsborough County
PUBLISHED 5:59 AM ET Oct. 07, 2020
TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County School Superintendent Addison Davis plans to release his cost-cutting plan to school board members at the end of the week.
The board also approved taking out a multi-million dollar tax anticipation note to make sure it can meet next month's payroll, even if there's a lack of funding.
Financial advisers fear the district's cash reserves could dwindle in November.
Whether the money's needed or not, Superintendent Addison Davis said this helps make sure staff will be paid.
"This is really to protect all of our employees in the organization," he said. "This is to make certain that every two weeks we're holding up our end of the bargain and showing them value for their hard work every single day."
However, Davis said the money will not be used to make up for budget deficits that have the district looking at cuts.
"What this does is act as a bridge to get us through the coming months," he said.
Board member Steve Cona said he hopes this is a one-time deal.
"We have to make some difficult decisions to get our budget in line where we are not having to take out a TAN (Tax Anticipation Note) loan every November because we can't meet payroll. This is just not a good place to be," he said.
Several teachers also attended the board meeting to voice their concerns about potential job cuts.
"There are a lot of problems in this district but it's not the teacher's fault including the money we are being paid," said Hiedi Glick.
Superintendent Davis told the board his team is working to adjust spending to get the district to a better spot financially while protecting as many jobs as possible.
He said he's expecting an audit soon from the Council for Great City Schools.
That information will be used to help build a financial plan for the future.
Were private schools in the Tampa area picking up 7000 students & holding on-premise classes, or did parents just home-school these kids?