I would be horrified if @ultimom’s principal were over my kid. Doesn’t sound like he or she intends to do anything, other than ensure everyone has an equally miserable time as the lowest common denominator and learns as little as possible in the name of equity.
With all the continued updates on closings etc (which I understand and support) our hometown university is looking more advantageous.
Never would have thought I’d be saying that 6 months ago. Dream was to have S go OOS. Now…not so much. And one can always try to transfer later.
Still wishing we could wake up from this nightmare.
@scoop85- totally agree!?
D2 Sports also cancels.
Division II’s seven fall 2020 championships are canceled, the Division II Presidents Council decided Wednesday due to the operational, logistical and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
YOu are on fire today with all of the news!
I agree. But maybe he/she is just very stressed out, as the email message did not come across very well to me.
So upthread, one of the posters brought up an interesting idea - for sure K-5, maybe K-8 should be in school, hire “tutors/monitors” for the classroom and the teachers teach from home if they are not able to come in for their own health reasons. Flip the paradigm. Most of the custodians work when students are not there.
We need creative out of the box thinking - old union work rules etc - just not flexible. This pandemic has really shown us (as another poster said) how much needs to be upended.
In reality, if schools closed, no need to keep paying custodians right? At least not the same number you had before. So same custodian that principal is worried about may well be laid off.
Anyway, what a conundrum… maybe I am naive, but I am thankful so many smart, diligent, talented people working in research and other fields to help us try to overcome this virus. Maybe there will be a vaccine.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/08/pollack-emphasizes-science-behind-reactivation-decision
Cornell reaffirms their decision to bring all students back, arguing it will result in less infections than keeping students online would.
Our public school district in Central Massachusetts is going remote to start the school year. I thought we would have hybrid but our buildings are not ready for social distancing and busing costs were cited as a few of the reasons why. Wondering what other public school districts in the northeast are doing? Our district has 7000 students.
From my understanding, the type of test is about the way a sample is processed. Which bodily fluid is used, or how the sample is collected, doesn’t tell you the type of test. So, you could take a sample (deep nasal, shallow nasal, or spit) and process the material in two basic ways:
- A nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), such as PCR or LAMP.
- An antigen test, such as Quidel’s Sofia SARS Antigen, BD’s Veritor, or Michael Mina’s paper strips (not FDA approved).
The antigen tests (2) are often called “rapid antigen tests” or “point of care tests” but that can be confusing because NAAT tests (1) can also be rapid, and they can also be processed at the point of care—in a machine, rather than being sent to a lab (like Abbott ID now).
Broad Institute is currently using an NAAT test (1). They developed it and call i t: CRSP SARS-CoV-2 Real-time Reverse Transcriptase (RT)-PCR Diagnostic Assay. Processing it requires tubes, kits, reagents, primers, probes, instruments, trained techs etc. All materials needed are listed in this document: https://www.fda.gov/media/139858/download Samples must be prepared exactly right and sent to Broad.
I do not think they have FDA approval or equipment/training to use any other kind of test.
I’m with @homerdog in that I’m rooting for colleges to do well with kids on campus and f2f classes, even though my college kid will not be on campus. I hope Broad is able to keep up testing twice a week—although the modeling study in JAMA said testing every two days would be necessary to avoid outbreak: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/study-test-college-students-for-coronavirus-every-two-days-67787/amp
I simply don’t see a way to safely open schools other than frequent testing, so I hope some schools pull it off.
Our school committee meets tomorrow to decide, we are South Shore of Boston. I know the superintendent is recommending hybrid, fingers crossed we can at least do that.
@RosePetal35 Amherst faculty should not really be upset with those restrictions. After all the students have so many restrictions put in place to prevent spread, its practical to expect the entire community including staff to have to follow a set of rules.
Well at least Nyc and ny state addressed the virus and now has one of the lowest transmission rates in the country. If any state has a stigma, I would think it’s the states who were/are deniers and have inadequate plans to address the situation. I would think a lot of folks would feel safer Covid wise in NY vs FL, GA, TX, etc.
Smith allowed selection of move-in slots on Friday 7/24. There was an email update 7/29 specific to the move-in process. There was a Zoom webinar put on by the Office of Disability Services on 8/3 which presumed students would be on-campus. So if anyone is hoping that assigned move-in times and regular contact means your college isn’t going to change its mind, Smith’s example is not one that should be reassuring to you.
Smith was also one of the Broad schools, planning to test twice a week all term. More capacity for everyone else, I guess?
Today maybe but not 5 months ago. NY shouldn’t get a pass.
Our local HS hasn’t been able to get any of the computers they ordered for students so they could go online this fall. Students can use their own computers. I’m curious if they’ll get them at all.
Our S21 is leaning towards doing online this fall. Our HS has given them choices. He wants to go 1st period for TV production. They do the morning news. Then come home and finish online.
In NJ the school district loves when kids go to private school, we fund our schools by property taxes so it does not matter if they go public or private , the school gets it’s share regardless and in my town that share if over 80% of my tax bill. if everyone sent their kids to public school we would need more teachers and class rooms.
As noted, K-12 funding varies by state.
@allyphoe While they did send out a 7/29 email, I read through it, and it doesn’t appear to offer any specific details on move-in (other than the generic “reviewing guidance” and “must quarantine” statements. Nor does it reference in any of the emails sent out to the community any specific details on selection of move-in slots. I presumed that, since there were no emails offering specific details on move-in in the “Letters to the Community”, they hadn’t sent out that info yet. Could you link me?
Also, the Office of Disability Services probably wouldn’t find out about any changes much sooner than when the general population would find out. D, on the other hand, is in direct contact with the Director of Res Life, who I am sure is in the loop, and is proceeding with CA training as usual. Also, time for move-in is very close; it starts on August 15.
Also, Amherst is still giving students approval to arrive on dates other than the ones given; one of D’s friends just got approved for an alternate move-in date 30 minutes ago. If they change their minds now, it will be the quickest decision reversal prior to move-in yet.
@RosePetal35 - good luck with the college that does not let a kid leave when a parent is there to take them home, the PR nightmare would huge. Please I would think the college would like the room for the next kid, I do find it a little weird the my sons school and others want you to bring a to go bag and bring hand cleaner , tissues,… I would like to think the school would clean and stock the “convid” Suites with that stuff.