The Frederick County Teachers Association (FCTA) issued a vote of no confidence against Frederick County Public School Superintendent Terry Alban and the Frederick County Board of Education on Monday.
The union's lack of faith in the school system's leader came after the school system decided to push forward with a hybrid learning model beginning on Feb. 16, with teachers returning to buildings on Jan. 27.
According to a statement published by the FCTA union, the vote of no confidence came about due to the school system's decision to require teachers to return before health and safety measures have been met and before vaccinations of educators has begun.
"This is putting educators and our students at much higher risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 than is necessary," the statement said.
Missy Dirks, president of FCTA, said educators across the county were shocked by the school system's decision to move forward given where the metrics are.
Frederick County reported 15,113 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday with 67 new cases added within the last 24 hours. There were 231 confirmed deaths and the positivity rate was 7.6 percent. As of Monday, just 6 percent of the county's population had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Less than 1 percent had received their second dose.
When the metrics are compared against a chart for reopening schools that was published last summer by the Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland State Department of Education, the chart suggests the school system should remain in a virtual environment. The model says if the positivity rate is higher than 5 percent and there are more than 15 cases per 100,000, school systems should have limited or no in-person programming.
However, Alban previously told the News-Post that the charts were only meant to serve as a guide.
“[The chart] was not intended to be a hard and fast rule about opening schools. So while we continue to use the metrics as part of our decision making, we have also been able to look at what was happening in our schools as shown on the dashboard," she said.
When asked to provide comment about the vote of no confidence against her, Alban deferred to the Frederick County Board of Education, which issued a statement Monday evening calling the move by FCTA "truly unfortunate."
"A majority of the board agrees with Dr. Alban’s plan to implement the hybrid model as soon as possible. In addition, the FCPS plan complies with the deadline established by the governor and Maryland State Department of Education," said the board's statement.
Last week, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called on all schools in the state to reopen in some form by March 1.
The Board of Education statement also pointed to Alban's decision to delay the hybrid model for two weeks at the start of the new year.
"She wasn’t comfortable with the various metrics combined with caution involving a possible post-holiday spike. These examples demonstrate the superintendent’s dedication to balancing the academic needs of the students with the health and safety of staff and students," the statement said. "The board voted to entrust Dr. Alban the authority to make decisions regarding the implementation of the hybrid model of instruction. She has managed the process in accordance with the motion."
Following the board's statement, board member Liz Barrett wrote on Twitter that the statement issued was not circulated for review with board members.
"I object to this continued lack of transparency that hurts public trust and ultimately our kids," Barrett wrote.
Board President Jay Mason declined to comment on Barrett's remarks.
Dirks said following the hybrid model announcement, the representative assembly of FCTA—which is the highest governing body of the organization—called a special meeting Friday evening, which lasted five hours.
A vote of no confidence against Alban was passed with an overwhelming majority, according to Dirks.
“[The vote] represents how serious members ... feel about the health and safety measures not being followed and not having a settled [Memorandum of Understanding], so they don’t know how quarantine is going to happen, how leave is going to take place and some of the other health and safety measures for hybrid,” she said.
FCTA is currently in negotiations with FCPS to settle on a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a hybrid learning model. Since the start of the pandemic, several MOUs have been enacted to adapt to the changing operations of the school system and the requirements for teachers.
But all MOUs must be voted on by the Frederick County Board of Education. The board's next meeting is Wednesday, and it is unclear whether an agreement will be ready for members to vote on.
"FCPS’ delay in the agreement of an MOU, coupled with their announcement, is creating a high degree of confusion and lack of clarity among educators that should be rectified so that they can make appropriate plans for themselves and their families," said the FCTA statement. "Working with FCTA to resolve all outstanding issues before educators are required to return to buildings is not a high burden to meet."
With the vote of no confidence, FCTA is calling on the Board of Education to settle on an MOU as well as provide "scientific transparency in their decision making ... driven by an expedited vaccination process that provides widespread immunity."
The ideal situation, many FCTA members say, would be to delay the hybrid model until a majority of teachers are able to get vaccinated. Maryland has placed K-12 educators in vaccination group 1B, which was supposed to begin last week in Frederick County. However, due to limited supply of the vaccine, the county is currently only vaccinating individuals in group 1A and those over the age of 75.
Dirks said nobody wants to get back into the classroom more than teachers, but they want to do it safely.
"If we can delay by a short period of time in order to get vaccines and get the MOU in place, then we can have a sustainable return to in-person," Dirks said. “We’re hoping that the Board of Education and Dr. Alban will see how grave the concern and widespread the concern is and take action to protect the health and safety of their staff.”
When asked if teachers can be expected to return to buildings on Wednesday, Dirks said FCTA is not calling for any illegal job action and that the public can expect teachers to continue to do their jobs and engage with students virtually.
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that the Frederick County Teachers Association voiced no confidence in both Superintendent Terry Alban and the Board of Education as a body.
(112) comments
This study was just published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR), a publication of the CDC.
COVID-19 Cases and Transmission in 17 K–12 Schools — Wood County, Wisconsin, August 31–November 29, 2020
Early Release / January 26, 2021 / 70
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7004e3.htm?s_cid=mm7004e3_e&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM47411&ACSTrackingLabel=MMWR%20Early%20Release%20-%20Vol.%2070%2C%20January%2026%2C%202021&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM47411
JAMA and Israeli papers out today also, same message. Not much risk to the community from schools.
Great study that involved 3,440 or so students in a rural setting. How do you apply that to MoCo with 144,000 students, Fairfax with 188,000 students or even Frederick with some 44,000 students in a suburban or urban setting??? Come on man, apples to organges.
I merely posted a paper posted in MMWR hay. We're not talking about MoCo or Fairfax Co, we're talking about FredCo here. What is the difference between a classroom full of students in a rural classroom versus a classroom full of students in a suburban setting, versus a classroom full of students in an urban setting? They're all classrooms full of students, and therefore apples to apples. The classroom is the normalizing point of the study, and the interactions between students is the same, regardless of their location. Do you know what MMWR is? As Jim Hartley stated above, JAMA has a similar study in a different location, with the same findings. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2775875. Classroom spread infection seems to be far less than community spread.
BTW, I support not opening schools until all teachers have the opportunity to be vaccinated, but staying closed indefinitely is detrimental to students, as pointed out in the JAMA article. If this is to be a data-driven decision, one must look at the data.
Most NYC schools have been open this school year. I can’t think of a more dense school district than there. If protocols are followed transmission is minimal, more and more evidence of this is coming in.
That is true, but in the other hand the virus has run rampant in NYC since the beginning. NYC has to be reaching some level of immunity that is slowing the spread
Same thoughts I had. Trigger happy posting this stuff
LOL, like you know anything about this Plumbum. What is it about the study design, analysis, or conclusion that you dispute? Is the CDC, the première disease control agency in the world? Cobbler, stick to your last.
Our two children attend St John Regional Catholic School in Frederick with 550 other students from pre-k to 8th grade. School started in September and there have been two cases of COVID in the school since September. The people quarantined for two weeks, returned to school and it is fine. The kids stay in the same class room all day and the teachers rotate between classrooms. There is the option to do virtual learning, for which about 10% of the family opt. Works great, students mask up all day. With a very diverse student body, 60% of the families receive financial aid so it is not a school for the affluent. It is a welcoming and open school teaching God's Word to all students. Going to school is not dangerous.
My son teaches in Utah (a very red state) where they are sending teachers back without vaccines. He teaches special ed with low SES middle school students and the COVID rate in his county has been higher than anywhere else in the state. I wish he still worked in Frederick where the union fights for teachers!
I don't envy anyone making these decisions. If I was in Alban's place, I would probably decide to wait until teachers and other staff get vaccinated. And I would want a quick testing system in place for the students and staff.
@threecents
That seems reasonable to me. I don't know why we don't have any reasonable people in the FCBOE. We don't ask people to be put into leadership roles who have no leadership qualities and yet we seem to keep getting them. We ask our leaders to do the hard things and accept what comes along with them. Where is our FCBOE leadership? Why can't they do the right thing even though it is hard?
Spoiler alert: Bruce Willis from "The Sixth Sense".[smile]
Of course we acquiesce to our lead commenter.😉
My son goes to school in Washington County and I'm literally listening to his gym teacher talk about how he just got the vaccine. WCPS is allocating vaccines to inoculate their staff so they can return safely. My wife is a teacher for FCPS and has heard nothing about getting a vaccine. It sounds like FCPS isn't nearly as prepared as other counties yet they want to rush teachers back. I can see why the FCTA passed a vote of no confidence.
Teachers are in the 1B Group which are now eligible for the vaccine. Has she applied for an appointment at the County Health Dept.?
I am not a teacher but know people who are. I think it should be stipulated that they are working as hard, if not harder, teaching remotely than they would be in person. So to claim that they are somehow skating by at the moment and that this push is due to laziness is just not true.
Where is our school Board? I thought they knew better than to open schools in midst of thousands of infections and deaths each day. I guess we voted the wrong people in.
@yogib
[thumbup][thumbup][thumbup]
[thumbup]
Get out of the weeds on mask types. Kids will not and likely can not maintain social distancing. Their masks will be off and on repeatedly. The governor and school officials are overcome with parents complaints and want to appease them. There's an imaginary idea that kids will return to what they left. It will be nothing like what they're used to and parents won't like that either.
None of the vaccines are currently approved under their respective EUAs for pediatric use (in children under 16 years of age). Such use will not happen until pediatric clinical trials are completed (which in itself have ethical concerns). If the expectation becomes that school will not resume until everyone is vaccinated, we may be waiting years until FDA approves such use. BTW, an EUA is not full FDA approval. It is for emergencies where the perceived benefits outweigh the perceived risks. Once all adults have the opportunity for vaccination, schools should reopen.
I support school's reopening as long as the super, the central office personnel, and the members of the the BOE are out in schools supervising class changes, lunch shifts, bus duty, restrooms, etc.
I agree!
I agree it is a risk, but these children have been out of school too long.
Nope...wrong answer
👎👎👎
Vodalone - why are school districts that opened in NC and elsewhere for in-person instruction now having to shut down?
Every answer could be wrong.
Better to be out of school than to be bringing home the virus and killing grandparents other vulnerable relatives
I think most of us do not need to expose grandparents or vulnerable relatives. I have none in this state, and if I did, I would just refrain from us visiting them. People that can't/won't avoid that have the option to stay virtual, simple as that. Stop punishing the majority of people for a minority of problem cases. I think less than 10% of the state has been infected, last I checked. It's been a year.
Many grand parents are raising their grand children today. Not all grand parents live afar. Many aunts and uncles are raising their nieces and nephews today.
Please try to relate to 2021
Even parents are vulnerable relatives. The thing is that this spreads exponentially. Everyone who gets it can infect others, and they can infect others, and so on, so that has to be considered. I am not saying I have the answers - just that there is no good answer yet.
If there are people in a situation where they have to be around older or vulnerable family members they can opt for all virtual. Very simple and fair.
And then teachers have to figure out how to provide lessons both in person and on line at the same time. Great idea ( sarcasm here )!
Hayduke - They're big boys and girls, I'm sure they can figure it out. It's not that complicated.
I think a hybrid system, as Voda suggests, may be the best solution right now, and teachers should be able to opt out of teaching in person - until they are vaccinated.
Vodalone - are you an educator? If not, how can you say it is not that hard?
Hay, in a hybrid system, one teacher does not have to teach both offerings. One teacher can teach in-class, while another teaches online. It just requires rethinking how we approach education. It also could provide a valid comparison between in-school and online education practices and learning. Just a thought...
gab - think you may be mistaken. I know teachers in a hybrid system where they have 1/2 class on Monday in school while other 1/2 class is online. That indeed requires teachers to prepare an in-class lesson and and online lesson in many, not all, cases.
hay, you didn't read my statement carefully. It MAY be that way now, but does it HAVE to be that way? No. Why can't one teacher take in-class teaching, and another take online, thus minimizing the risk to the teacher unwilling to return to the classroom? Like I said, it just requires rethinking on how teachers deliver the product (educating their students). It also allows a valid comparison of in-class vs. online learning if the same curriculum is followed. Wouldn't you agree?
My son takes hybrid classes at Hood. A certain number of students are allowed in the classroom, so that social distancing can be achieved. It is first come - first served. The rest watch the class on line. I think most students opt to watch online, and they don't even have to watch live, as a lot of the classes are recorded. Of course college classes are not the same as public school classes, so it is not so simple as that. And lab classes cannot be done that way.
In theory maybe, but what do you do when you have four sections that rotate thru two teachers ? Hire additional staff? Many ES have one teacher for PE, Arts, Specials, and some language classes - how do they do that? All sounds simple but there are lots of logistics that make it difficult.
I should have clearly stated that I am talking about K-12 three, and I believe that is what this thread is about. FCPS has no responsibilities for colleges and universities. My youngest is at UMD, and is taking classes online, with labs in person, and has to drive to College Park because he doesn't want the risk of a dorm to infect his parents. Middle son is at Hood also, and is in the same boat as your son.
hay, what do you do? You rethink how the material is being taught. Does anyone really think that PE is an essential class to be taught virtually? In emergency situations, such as our current situation, you revert to the core, the basics, and make sure the students do not fall behind in those. I jump between Zoom meetings all the time. In the case of middle and high school students, do you think that students cannot attend one class on their schedule and then jump to another class? How much class changing do elementary students do? Like I said, maybe it's time to think outside the box. Just because "it's always been done this way" does not mean "we will always do it this way". Times change, and the approach to solving problems must change with the situation.
I sure hope you are not one of our wonderful Frederick County farmers raising pigs, cows or other livestock.
"I agree it is a risk, but my pigs have been nice and warm too long, so let's leave them out overnight in yonder field..."
Too long for what?
I totally agree. If they conti he to stay home (not learning) under virtual learning the school system is doing a GREAT disservice to this group of kids! They can never catch up. WV schools are doing ,back to school and it seems to be working fine. If the union continues there will be less teachers needed and maybe they will be known as producing the least educated children in history.
Have faith, kids are resilient, @Nurse.
Plus, good parents are up to the challenge of raising their kids and educating them. I am. Bad parents dump kids on schools and then make excuses.
Step up or step aside, buttercup parents!
HappySeller2014 I agree with you. You seem to have a different attitude from one you had when you were posting in regards to another letter. Interesting.
I think they should have opened in the fall when the numbers were better and be closed now. I understand that was a difficult decision in the summer so not assigning blame for not opening then... but now is definitely not the time to open.
Online public school classes is just getting children ready to go to an online college. According to BestColleges see: https://www.bestcollegesonline.org/faq/how-many-students-take-online-college-courses/ "Today, millions of college students study online and more than one-quarter of all higher education students will take at least one online course." So maybe online public school isn't that bad.
There's no reason to have teachers and students in the classroom so soon when in another month or two all teachers can get vaccinated and be safe. We have waited this long, we can wait two months more. Make time up in the summer.
👍👍👍
At this pace and vaccine availability I highly doubt all teachers and staff will be vaccinated. Even then look at Fairfax Co. Teachers got pushed to front of the line for vaccines but are refusing to teach in person until all kids are vaccinated. There will ALWAYS be a reason not to take the first step, but at some point we have to weigh the risks and move forward.
Their demand is not reasonable since the EUA is not for pediatric use.
I agree, but it's one of their demands. Not fair to keep changing the goal posts so they can keep teaching virtually.
Absolutely
I understand the vaccine is not a cure all. It doesn't keep you safe from other strains popping up just like the flu.
By the way, what happen to the flu statistics, yep, flu is almost bill now! Hum, kind of strange.
Nurseellie, the vaccine is still effective on those variants of SARS-CoV-2. They are not different enough yet do be distinguished as a new strain, and the antibodies generated by the vaccine still recognize their intended epitopes.
@gabrielshorn2013
[thumbup][thumbup][thumbup]
Well since the flu is less contagious than Covid, and we are taking unprecedented measures to stop the spread it would make sense other contagious disease numbers would also decrease.
Hah! Go to school over the Summer? Teachers union will not allow that for sure.
Good. They are right. Get them vaccinated. Or let the Administrators lead the classes, if they are so certain this makes sense. Good teachers leave Frederick all the time and go down south to MoCo for better money. Want to accelerate that trend? Idiocy like this will do it.
Of course FCTA did.
And of course, the Frederick County Board of Education just released a statement of support for Alban. Because they hired her. Just like they approved that monstrosity of a downtown FCPS administration building while the county has been overrun by portables.
Vaccine distribution a crazy mess, but yes, let's bring on hybrid learning. Hilarious.
When you are taking a beach head in the military, you soften up the landing zone with aircraft and naval vessel bombardment well before the landing commences. And then you still often take casualties.
But here, FCPS just moving ahead. Teachers cannot get innoculated. Children are often asymptomatic carriers, who always go home to mom and dad and grandma and grandpa nightly. It sure is gonna be fun on cramped school buses again soon.
The stench of the decisionmaking rot can be noticed from Urbana to Middletown to Emmitsburg to Libertytown tonight.
@HappySeller2014
Exactly! What people don't take into account is that Alban is the ONLY employee of the FCBOE. They hired her and they take full responsibility and accountability for her decisions. They put her out in front because they are cowards who are not willing to take responsibility for their cowardice. Dr. Alban is meant to be a lightning rod. All anger should be rightfully directed at the FCBOE. They are pushing for schools to reopen with just a few months left in the year. It is utterly stupid as the entire county/state/country is moving in the wrong direction as far as infections. We have lost > 400,000 people in this country and yet we want to rush towards failure.
Exactly @NMParent.
When does it end?
Teachers are government workers. They don't care if they ever go back to work. Here's the problem.. Now that President Trump is gone... President Biden wants all the schools opened in the next 100 Days. Kind of backfired for Teachers Union don't you think?
Not really because 100 days from now, teachers should have been vaccinated.
That's now Biden's responsibility too .., dropping the ball over and over again. And before you say he inherited a mess, he shouldn't have offered a commitment before understanding the problem. Politicians are all vile, evil dogs who will say anything to get elected, stay elected and move their agendas forward ... and that is both sides.
Big - why don't you wait the 100 days and see what has transpired before making statements??? Might save you from looking silly.
Fyremam, it's "wear's a mask", not " where's a mask". What kind of teachers did you have?
Simple mistake but apparently teachers that didn’t want to work.
Nonsense fyreman! Teachers are frustrated not being in the classroom and work harder trying to do their best virtually. However, they also know schools are poorly ventilated, they have few tools to ensure kids properly mask up, are worried about bringing the virus home to their children, spouse grandparents, etc. Your personal animosity toward educators is clouding your judgement.
So we now need to tear down all the schools and increase budget to build new ones? I have an opinion which I will hold close on whether teachers are really aching to get back in the classroom ... what I will say, I keep hearing about how they are scared to go back but I see a ton of teachers all the time at bars, breweries, Walmart, etc. that don't seem too scared to be in those "dangerous" environments.
Again Big Easy, are they wearing their sweatshirts that say 'I am a teacher"?? Come on and quit making stuff up.
Good. I'm Glad. I was going to suggest that they do a no confidence vote on Alban
I get the teachers and staff want the vaccine before in person learning resumes, but could just be an excuse. Look at what’s happening in Fairfax Co., teachers got pushed to front of the vaccine line but still don’t want to teach in person. Seems they’ll always be an excuse not to get back to normal.
Simply not true Vodafone- not enough vaccines yet for all teachers, not all have received second dose and they haven’t met the 12 day period to allow immunity to build. They want to delay for this reason - your biased and uninformed reply is less than helpful
Wrong Hayduke. Excerpt from article below.
“The union says that all students must also be vaccinated. Never mind that no current vaccine has been approved for use on children under the age of 14. Adams also wants 14 days of zero community spread. Neither of these goals is likely to occur this calendar year. The excuses pile up faster than the half-inch of snow that typically shuts down school operations.”
Yes it’s an opinion piece, but it’s referencing actual Fairfax Co. Teachers union demands. Do some simple research before commenting. 🙄
Correct regarding the vaccine for kids, vodalone. None of the current Emergency Use Authorizations for the CoViD vaccine include minors under 16. That excludes most of the school-age population. Kids aren't getting the vaccine until pediatric clinical trials are done, and full approval (not a simple EUA) from FDA is granted, which could take years. The Fairfax teachers union is not being reasonable.
Well, vodalone. You look silly when you tell me to do some simple research but you DO NOT take your own advice. I took my comment from the following article: https://wjla.com/news/local/vaccine-shortage-could-delay-some-fcps-staff-from-getting-first-dose This may have changed and they may be EXPLORING other options but that was not the official stance when I wrote my comment. Don't be so quick to judge.
Hay, here is the story vodalone is referring to:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/25/fairfax-county-should-open-schools-or-stop-vaccinating-teachers/
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2021/01/fairfax-co-parent-group-pushes-for-5-in-class-learning-days/
That union's demands, as stated in the story(ies) are not reasonable, nor obtainable in the near future.
Hayduke - What does a vaccine shortage have to do with the teachers union saying they won't go back to teaching until kids are vaccinated? The point is there will always be an excuse not to take the first step in getting back to in-person learning. Other essential employees have no choice but to work during the pandemic, should be no different for teachers especially if they're being offered a vaccine first.
Everyone where’s a mask, problem solved. I see many teachers out in public like at restaurants and stores wearing a mask with no problems or the fear of getting COVID. If you can do it on the weekend and evenings you can do it during the day in the classrooms.
That would be great if masks were 100% effective, but they aren't )-:
Masks aren't 100% effective. However, I did work elections and the masks and plexiglass worked while having 10K voters pass through. None of us got ill. Something about that worked. However, the same voters weren't hanging out inside for several hours each day, either.
I don't know where you were set up for voting but there was not any plexiglass and you didn't have to deal with kids so you can not compare that with being in school teaching kids
@WalkTheTown
That's part of the challenge. One of the factors in risk is length of exposure. It is the best statistical method we have to ascertain your risk. That is a function of length of time of exposure and distance, but the easiest rule of thumb is just time. From the general variant it takes about 15 minutes to collect enough virus when close to a carrier in order to get infected. Schools are a place where kids routinely have to sit together for hours on end. All it will take is one infected person to be sitting around their peers all day masked or maskless and the risk of infection skyrockets.
WTT, Thank you for your service, but that is apples and oranges. Voting was a one-day controlled system with adults. Also, now we have the UK strain in Maryland, and it is more contagious.
[thumbup]
"The effectiveness of masks can range “from 0 to 80 percent, depending on material composition, number of layers and layering bonding,” said Dale Pfriem, president of Protective Equipment Consulting Services and a member of the standards development working group addressing mask guidelines."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/health/covid-masks-effectiveness.html
Yep...when you see a moron with a cowboy bandanna turn and go the other way. They are useless.
Nope, wrong answer. Doctor Fed Up GregF. They are effective, but the least effective.
"Researchers then repeated the experiment using four different types of face masks, all non-medical-grade masks that are available to the general public. These were the results, listed from most effective to least effective:
Stitched double-layered cotton mask: The emulated respiratory jet traveled 2.5 inches on average.
Store-bought cone-style mask: 8 inches
Folded cotton handkerchief (aka a no-sew mask): 1 foot, 3 inches
Bandana: 3 feet, 7 inches
No covering: 8 feet"
https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/non-medical-face-masks-effective-respiratory-droplets-study-47589465#:~:text=Bandanas,%20neck%20gaiters,%20homemade%20cloth%20face%20masks,%20and,form%20of%20non-medical-grade%20mask%20is%20the%20most%20effective.
Correct bosco, and this brings up another point. The consumer grade masks do not stop particulate projection, they simply slow it down and limit its range. We are still emiting a vapor trail of our breath, which may contain infectious viral particles. Wearing a mask is simply not enough. You have to also avoid crowds and maintain a 6 foot personal space barrier. That is why I mention Costco and Walmart. Even though everyone is masked, people don't seem to understand that you also need that personal 6 foot minimum distance.
I saw N95 masks at Home Depot over the weekend, those offer the best protection. $80 for a 20 pack is ridiculous though, if they made them more affordable people would mask up.
Thanks, gabe. A blend of science and logic. We have stayed virus free by following both. We have socialized with friends - outdoors and distanced until the weather got too cold. When required, I wear a "cowboy" bandana since the behind-the-ears masks interfere with my hearing aids.
My wife uses these to avoid problems with her hearing aid. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087PZ1CCT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I want to get the kids back in class as soon as we can, but wearing a mask is not the only issue. If it were, state workers would be back in their offices in full-force, as well, but they're not, nor are many offices in the private sector filled to capacity. Additionally, a significant part of teaching involves facial expressions which are difficult to discern with a mask on. I think getting back to school without spreading covid will be easier with students < 12yo but students 12 and up tend to have more social interactions during school and after school that make them riskier for propagation. An active covid infection affects students the least, but it can affect adult teachers more adversely. I think elementary and middle schools will be easier to restart, but high schools will be more difficult.
Do you take it upon yourself to ask those with whom you are obviously dining and shopping if they are teachers? The last time I was out, I don't remember seeing anyone wearing anything that positively identified them as an FCPS employee. How do you have the wisdom to discern what someone does for a living? I bet that 's a fun party trick.
No I don’t do magic, but I see a lot that I know and are teachers.
Since you seem to have it all figured out, I bet the county school could put your wisdom and insight to good use as a substitute. Sign up now, before all the spots are take.
Louisianagirl, I will not deal with anyone else kids, I raised and put my both of mine through school. Maybe some parent should step up to the plate
Fyreman - since your kids are done with school perhaps you should leave the decisions to those who currently work or have kids in schools. Your two cents are not needed.
Giggity, You may not do magic, but it sounds like you believe in magic.
What if the person writing that is actually a teacher their self? No magic needed.
Keep in mind that whether we have kids in school or not, our tax dollars are paying for this. So everyone who pays taxes should have their say in what happens. Happy to stop posting here if I can stop paying taxes.
Ahh...the old "I pay your salary" argument. How original.
Do you presume to tell all professionals how to do their job? Do you tell your doctor and dentist that your insurance premiums pay their salary?
Of course you don't, because that would be elitist and rude. Oh wait, never mind.
"Everyone where’s a mask, problem solved."
Kinda get the feeling that is one of the reasons the numbers are as bad as they are right now.
Sure Fyreman - everyone obery the speed limit signs - problem solved. everyone treat each other like they want to be treated - problem solved. everyone get vaccinated - problem solved. everyone stop doing stupid stuff - problem solved. Come on man!
Sure Fyreman - everyone obery the speed limit signs - problem solved. everyone treat each other like they want to be treated - problem solved. everyone get vaccinated - problem solved. everyone stop doing stupid stuff - problem solved. Come on man!
D'oh!
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it clean. No vulgar, racist, sexist or sexually-oriented language.
Engage ideas. This forum is for the exchange of ideas, not personal attacks or ad hominem criticisms.
TURN OFF CAPS LOCK.
Be civil. Don't threaten. Don't lie. Don't bait. Don't degrade others.
No trolling. Stay on topic.
No spamming. This is not the place to sell miracle cures.
No deceptive names. Apparently misleading usernames are not allowed.
Say it once. No repetitive posts, please.
Help us. Use the 'Report' link for abusive posts.