I’ve heard stories of some schools that have strict Covid policies and testing whereby students are not allowed in other dorms, etc., but the RA’s are telling them, I’ll look the other way, do what you want. How do you deal with/fix that issue?
So this post is for parents of young children and having a education pod at home. If you hired someone to help out please let them do their job!!
So my daughter starts today with 3 -5 year olds as an “Educational Pod Facilitator” . She coined this term. She just graduated and is not a teacher but has dealt with children since 9 and even worked with autistic children for a few years in a theater camp setting. She’s really , really good (says the proud parent). All parents work and these kids are best friends and have been together all summer.
This morning at 3:00am , yes this morning at 3:00am she got one of the kids instructions on how to log on and use their software etc. This will apply to 2 kids at the same school. The third one didn’t have really any instructions yet and she is hoping the parents will have it . She has asked for it for a few weeks now…
So 3 kids, 3 different teachers ,2 different schools. All 5 year olds.
One parent emailed it in all CAPS hoping that they wouldn’t give their kids too much homework !!! Really, this DID happen.
There is a morning meeting with parents/teachers/ kids. My daughter has told all the parents that after the morning meeting that schools starts and they have to leave…LOL…
Then she finds out that the host house dad works from home and wants to help…agh…
She told him that once “school” starts if she really doesn’t need help that he “has to go to work” …LOL…
She already has a get to know you activity and has something special for them at the end of the day.
She is being paid extremely well and has told the parents that even if today doesn’t go perfectly that it is ok. They are kindergartners and they will be fine.
So the one video of the teachers actually ends her introduction video with the exact same message…My daughter is planning to play that short segment for the parents…LOL…
Only 2,300 tests over the past 14 days. Seems kind of low for a school that size.
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Didn’t they expect that spike? If not why? Why were they not prepared to deal? Looks like Colgate had a plan for cases and them buckling down and staying the course shows that they did. I could say the same for Notre Dame which has been on campus a few weeks longer than many and so far their plan is working. I doubt that either of these schools is dealing with anything they did not predict and plan for.
Nursing class at Penn State Hershey quarantined for positive COVID-19 cases
The SUNY dashboard lists 1 student and 1 employee fatality from COVID in the last 2 weeks. Anyone know anything about that?
Which SUNY?
Gettysburg was obviously expecting cases, but what happened is that initially they had clusters linked to very specific events. During the spike, they had cases of community spread.
Also, despite suspensions of many students and a virtual town hall trying to rally students to follow the honor code, that very night there were parties and students in a bar in town.
They determined that they were going to quickly run out of space for quarantining and isolation, had students and parents whining to the media of how quarantining was unfair and mental torture( after two days) , so they pulled the plug.
Really such a shame because it only takes a small number to wreck it for all. I’m really hoping the freshmen can make it work on campus.
Interesting that none of the positive cases were freshmen.
I agree and could be one reason there is supposed to be a graduate assistant strike today. They have been testing since March so maybe they have some logarithm down???
I am kinda surprised that the university medical system on campus doesn’t have their own test. I was actually expecting one since they are one of the best medical system out there. But it seems that the cases they are detecting are mild or mostly asymptomatic at this point. I am curious if their ratings will go up after this weekend. but on the ground it seems starting at week 2 of kids on campus that they are still wearing masks, etc.
I completely agree with your points and some interesting facts that I was not aware of. My initial point was in response to someone that small colleges can do this and big can not. I used Gettysburg (and Dickenson) only as an example to point out that is not true. I do have a problem with that generalization because I think there and big and small that can do. I have a freshman in a dorm that is doing everything that is required to control the virus on his campus (yes a big campus) but he reports of most (not all) following guidelines. I hoping with you that the freshman can make it work.
Like it or not, it seems as if large public universities are heading towards herd immunity…
I have a relative that works at UMASS Amherst who mentioned he was notified that UMASS labs will be conducting their own testing on campus soon. (much like NEU and BU). They will hope to accomplish speed and effectiveness. This sounds like a positive development to take control of planning for winter/spring. https://www.gazettenet.com/UMassTesting-hg-090520-36088172
So, a question. Some schools like UofSC already have a lot of positives - over 5% of students since Aug 1, and likely a higher percent if you counted offsite testing. And I’m sure today’s numbers will increase.
At what point will colleges need to have 2 sets of rules, one for those still susceptible to infection and one for those who have had it. (Let’s ignore the reinfection potential for now - the few anecdotal cases don’t seem to be a major trend.) For example, two of S19’s roommates have had it and feel like they can go out more now. What if someone tried to organize a Party for People Who Already Had It? Maybe even just a mask-free study group? Assuming you really limited attendance that way, it wouldn’t present a health hazard.
I guess this is a question that society as a whole will need to deal with - the Covid Certificate if you will.
^^ I think the problem with that line of thinking is that we still don’t know how much immunity is actually conveyed by having past infections and antibodies. Reinfection has been reported to be possible. I’ve heard speculation that it’s possible symptoms can re-manifest in a similar way to viruses like herpes – who knows. We just don’t know enough, I think, that can make it safe to say those who have been previously infected can go party like its 1999.
Yeah, @SammoJ , they are having enough problems with adherence to and enforcement of the rules now when the rules are the same for everyone, I don’t think they can open that door even a tiny crack.
Son is a freshman at Georgia Tech. He moved in August 8th. Semi-jokingly the over/under on sending everyone home was Labor Day but son wanted to give it a go.
Overall I think they’re doing as well as can be expected. The fraternities didn’t follow the script and cases went up. A few weeks ago the quarantine hotel filled up (very nice from what I hear) but they didn’t shut-down. They rearranged and filled some empty housing. Cases are on the decline. It was about that time our thoughts changed and realized they’re going to do what they can to finish the semester with in-person instruction on some level. I hope they succeed.
It’s been a little bumpy, especially with the food but overall I know my son would rather be there than home. Even meeting once a week in-person for his classes is better than online for him.
@mom270 You may want to check out Furman - our daughter loved it when we toured (fortunate enough to tour in winter, pre-Covid). They have a low positivity rate and responded quickly to an issue off campus.
@kpopmomrunner Not sure, they put them all up together. https://www.suny.edu/covid19-tracker/
The University of Miami is led by an infectious disease expert—