I think the colleges only take certain numbers from each school is a myth. If a school has a bright senior class who do exceptionally well they aren’t going to not take kids who are qualified because they’ve already taken X from that school. I’ve heard several AO discuss this. I think this is a myth people perpetuate.
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Do you mean that teachers won’t go back until they are vaccinated? What about the ones who refuse to get vaccinated? And of course, the kids won’t be vaccinated either.
In our local school districts, the teachers have to teach in person unless they have an at-risk condition. Our public HS is doing weekly saliva testing for staff and students, so that provides another layer of protection beyond distancing, masking, and capacity reductions. At this HS, this policy is not ‘strikable’, even then there are some teachers who aren’t happy and there have been several early retirements and unpaid leaves.
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Can you elaborate some?
Are you saying that they won’t go back in person under any circumstances (ie only remote)?
Or will they return if they (teachers) get vaccinated?
And/or return if they and students both get vaccinated?
Sorry. Just trying to clarify. 
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Areas are already using resources at their disposal to bring teachers back. Such as pulling their teaching certificates or not paying them. Our gov has discussed it. So while the teachers union may try, I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the teachers.
Also, students are already leaving public schools in droves here for private schools. I know the applications for private high school were 3x as high. So instead of 1,000 they got 3,000. Parents are basically saying they don’t want to deal with the red tape and politics anymore in several locations.
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(I have a S23 but follow this to see what colleges are chosen and why, etc).
I work for a Jesuit. We have been on campus since summer. We have in person classes this semester as well.
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Chicago Public schools are having some of these problems, and is threatening to not pay teachers who don’t show up for work and also removing their access to all systems and software. The teachers actually might strike tomorrow (it’s unclear if it would be a ‘legal’ strike)
I know this statement will be controversial but IMO doing one’s job remotely precludes one from being considered an essential employee. Essential employees take some level of risk, to me that’s its definition.
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Hate to get political but here in California, the union owns the legislature. It’s virtually impossible to fire a teacher here. Even the molesters caught red-handed can’t be fired quickly. So the governor has prioritized them.
However, San Francisco for one has already openly made a bunch of other demands including having an extremely low case count. Locally our school board is asleep at the wheel and recently passed a policy no D or F grades will be given. Some parents are extremely upset at this point. Even for the upper middle class private schools are unaffordable due to our extremely high cost of living.
The sad part is we have the best weather in the country so should have been doing outdoor instruction at least for high risk kids early on. People just hoped it wouldn’t drag on like this. They do have small pods for special needs children.
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every single expert has said that the variants are covered by the vaccine. Pfizer is looking at a booster but it’s very preliminary and it’s “just in case”. People need to be listening to science. I heard this morning on The Daily podcast that it’s estimated that 1/3 of the country has had Covid. That, in addition to vaccines in the next three-four months, should really push cases much lower.
I know - we are in a race against the new variant. But not because it’s more deadly but because it might spread faster (which, btw, is also not completely confirmed). Seems like we will know more about that in the next few months.
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Thx. One wonders what it will take for some teachers to get back to the classroom. It’s most likely that covid is here to stay for our lifetimes…meaning it will always be circulating even with vaccines available, some people will get it and some will die.
Many many school districts can’t afford the tech needed to teach remotely, and the ones who can are finding lower grades across the board due to zoom fatigue (among other things).
Clearly kids are suffering and are bearing the brunt of this prolonged inability of adults to get their **** together. At this point we are at 3 semesters of interrupted instruction.
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I mean my sons have been going hybrid since last fall in private schools, but our county hasn’t brought back anyone. I know some of my friends with kids with IEPs their kids are REALLY struggling without intervention, but our school system refuses to bring them back in any way. They just can’t learn remotely because their needs are too specialized. Plus the block schedule many schools have moved to is difficult for kids because it’s a longer period of time they need to sit and pay attention.
The kids in our county public schools or free and reduced meal plans in the first quarter had a 33-40% failure rate compared to around 3-5% the same time last year. ONE THIRD.
Their solution to this problem? Have less assessments, getting credit for anything turned in no matter how incomplete it may be, being able to drop classes. Basically whatever it takes to disguise the problem instead of addressing it. It is disgusting to me how disposable these kids are truly. Schools have basically accepted the divide between the kids is widening but refuse to find a way to bring them back. I feel like those two groups should be prioritized for the benefit for the kids. Just my opinion, but it breaks my heart honestly to think of the damage this is doing to widen the divide or the regressions of kids with IEPs without access to their interventions.
We had considered public magnet programs for my youngest, but after the way I’ve seen the county botch this entire thing, there is no way we’d consider it for him.
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I should also state unequivocally teachers are doing an amazing job under ■■■■■■ circumstances. It isn’t their fault and they have all of my respect. I know this has been so hard on them too.
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100% agree with this! My district is a real sh*t show right now with teachers and admin not wanting to open or come back. We are one of the only districts in the area not open at all, while everyone else is open to some degree. I work in a school that is in person and it is going well. To me, if you are working from home remotely as a teacher, you should not be getting the vaccine before an 80 year old who can’t get it. My district is now working to get vaccines for all teachers and staff but many people feel that if they’re doing that then it absolutely has to be contingent with them coming back in person.
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I agree with what you’ve said. I also know here the county teachers are all being prioritized (who are teaching fully remote, no one has returned) over the non-public school teachers who have already been teaching. The teachers who are in the buildings now should be the top priority. Instead they are basically fending for themselves.
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@Homerdog when is the deadline for requesting a gap year typically?
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I believe it’s usually before May 1. As plans changed last year, though many schools allowed gap requests almost all the way up until the start of class in the fall. But, it’s not all schools that did that. Some schools did not allow gaps at all or didn’t allow them for Covid reasons. Might be worth checking what the policies were for the frontrunners on your list.
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I’m getting mine today, so thankful! But I had to find it on my own and was up at midnight on the Walgreens site last week in order to get it. I was lucky this past weekend and was able to get my parents in at a WalMart for tomorrow along with their caregiver. But it has been crazy. I go in person to my school 4 days/week, so am thrilled but also thrilled that for my kids both their parents will have gotten it. Unfortunately, both their step-parents are in the very last group. 
My husband is a healthy 62 year old. Hoping with the increased ordering by the government of vaccines and JNJ soon to be ready with theirs, that the hunger games for getting one, or as us older folks refer to it as when we would try to get concert tickets will soon be behind us.
But someone really needs to help the older people who are either not tech savy, or just not quick enough to navigate. I helped my parent’s 87 year old friend get a spot last night by also staying up until midnight and nabbing one.
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I’m so happy you have gotten a vaccine. I have been corresponding with my state delegate on how confusing it is, especially for seniors, to have to navigate so many different sites. Here there is the county, then each individual site (hospitals, giant, walgreens, etc). It’s a total cluster. I am trying to find one for my in-laws but I need a whole day to devote to even figuring out where I need to target.
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I think after healthcare workers, first responders, and communal living (nursing homes, assisted living) age based tiers is quite frankly the easiest way to do it. Generally the older you are the more likely you are to have co-morbidities and as such more likely to have adverse events. Plus it is a SUPER easy way to check. I think my county has just ridiculously over complicated things and it will cause a lot of problems and inequities downstream.
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I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about any potential fertility risks for our college age kids getting the vaccine? I know these kids would do just about anything for freedom, but I am hoping to get some peace of mind on that front.
I emailed our local health department and offered to volunteer/help seniors get signed up. Haven’t heard back.
I’ve been thinking about the fact that once spouse and I are vaccinated we will have peace of mind about our own health but will still need to be vigilant with masks etc bc could pick up virus still and be a carrier and infect our kids. Youngest is <16 so won’t be able to get vaccinated for quite a while. I’m hoping for some clarity soon from CDC on that question.
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