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07.01.20, 01:17 AM General Topics
75 replies
Has anyone heard specifics from their private school? We are new for HS and have heard little to nothing. I'm curious what the plans are. We are at an all girls. [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 07.01.20, 01:17 AM Flag
 

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Our school sends weekly email updates. Their architect and maintenance team surveyed the school and with distancing requirements, they already know that they can not fit all kids. So even in the best case scenario there will be a hybrid system where kids will rotate in. They already said they will not convert outdoor spaces for classrooms. They discussed how lunch might work. No parents and caregivers are allowed inside school. They seem to be trying hard to help the kids "meet" each other with Zoom calls. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:37 AM Flag
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Oh no...we are new so haven't been included on any emails or updates. Really upsetting. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:40 AM Flag
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we are a new family too and have been included in the emails [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:44 AM Flag
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really!? I will email our school tomorrow. Absolutely have heard nothing. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:47 AM Flag
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Teachers union has said they flatly refuse to teach in person until vaccine. But privates are not UFT [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:48 AM Flag
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what is uft? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:49 AM Flag
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United Federation Teachers [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:56 AM Flag
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This is just not true. What do you have to gain from lying about this, on a post that isn't even about public schools? The union has set conditions for the safety measures needed for a return to school, and a vaccine is not one of them. https://www.uft.org/news/opinion/teachers-will-return-fall-if [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 11:23 AM Flag
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Maybe the emails are going to dh? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:55 PM Flag
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same here. My new school has VERY small class size, so I'm hoping they can make it work. But so far all we've heard is that they've purchased masks, cleaning supplies, etc. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:47 AM Flag
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SS TT no firm decision yet they are still working on three scenarios- all remote, all in person, all hybrid [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:46 AM Flag
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^^ sorry, meant to reply to OP [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:47 AM Flag
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So lots of communication from your school or not? Daughter going to SS TT and literally, not one email. Have a buddy family but they are overseas so have met briefly one time. Have no idea what's going on. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:52 AM Flag
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Which school? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:53 PM Flag
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we are at a k-8 catholic. Know nothing at all from them. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:12 AM Flag
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Meant to reply to OP. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:12 AM Flag
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Which K-8 catholic? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:53 PM Flag
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Is this a private school? Why won't they convert outdoor spaces? That seems inefficient. Zoom socializing stinks. It will be hybrid. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:54 PM Flag
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Which school is this? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 03:26 PM Flag
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Which school is this? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:52 PM Flag
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My DD TT said that they are likely to be remote for the entire 2020 2021 school year. They hope there is a vaccine by August 2021 so they can return to school. Many families have moved away from Manhattan so remote works for them. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:45 AM Flag
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+1 [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:45 AM Flag
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what!? Are you kidding me!! Next year remote. All year. I can't imagine that would happen. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:48 AM Flag
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Teachers do not want to get virus. why R u surprised? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:56 AM Flag
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Because I work and can't continue like it has been. Kids need friends and interactions. Because the schools haven't said anything including no school. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:59 AM Flag
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Is this Trinity? I hope ours can provide a hybrid model. There are absolutely no guarantees that there will be a vaccine in a year. I think schools need to plan accordingly. Use some of the endowment money to rent extra space, etc... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:04 AM Flag
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THIS. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:56 PM Flag
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And what if there's no vaccine in 2021? How long will you suckers pay $50k for Zoom? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:12 AM Flag
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One more year only for us. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:16 AM Flag
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I can see why a TT school where many families are in country houses, have SAHMs and all have sufficient access to technology, would stay remote. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:35 AM Flag
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No way. We are in a TT school and everyone wants to go back. Even with what you describe above, people do not want to be remote schooling their own children all day and people think kids need the interaction. I think it's very disappointing that a school with resources (which all the TT schools have) would make this decision. I'm not sure this is real. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 12:05 PM Flag
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Those SAHM don't want to stay remote. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:56 PM Flag
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All of the schools have kids on FA. So, they are just expected to zoom from city apts? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 08:13 PM Flag
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Gasp. People will see that they live in a CITY APARTMENT?? Sorry, I agree Zoom school isn't ideal, but I don't really see what your point is here. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 09:15 PM Flag
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Weird, Brearley has said the opposite. Which school? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:30 PM Flag
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What did Brearley say? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:54 PM Flag
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Likely in person. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.02.20, 01:14 AM Flag
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Which school is this? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:53 PM Flag
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Fake. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.02.20, 01:15 AM Flag
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maybe can we list what you've heard from a specific school? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:54 AM Flag
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Yes, please name the school! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 06:07 PM Flag
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Brooklyn private floating several possible models, most likely will be full in-person for younger kids and hybrid for grades 6+. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:56 AM Flag
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that would be great. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:59 AM Flag
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I agree, even though one of my kids is older and it would suck for them. However I also think this model isn’t likely to last through the whole school year, perhaps until thanksgiving, then they’ll be remote again for a while, sadly. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:34 AM Flag
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If the rest of the country would just wear masks and social distance, then we wouldn't have to go remote again! So annoying. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:57 PM Flag
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We're at the same school. The plan makes a lot of sense, but I worry because of the overall numbers in NYC it's not going to happen. Lots of faculty kids at the school so it may be easier for a lot of them to go back. I don't know how the teachers with kids are doing it -- must be so incredibly hard. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.02.20, 01:41 AM Flag
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DC is starting K at TT. We were told in school, young grades prioritized. School has enough space for everybody. Obviously everything is tentative but that's the plan [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:05 AM Flag
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We have a 1st grader at a k-8 and that's thr plan for his school too. Daughter starying 9th. Will ask school to add us to emails tomorrow. So odd they havent. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:11 AM Flag
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I really don't understand why younger kids are prioritized. Okay, I get that they can't take instruction well online for long periods and can't be left home alone, but they are also less able to socially distance, keep from touching their faces, etc. Middle and high school age kids shouldn't be left home alone and taught virtually as a substitute if it isn't working for them, and it isn't working for so many of them. I have younger and older kids and feel like the older ones suffered with remote learning more. I know I am not in the minority either. I wish the schools would at least consider offering daycare for younger kids offsite, if school cannot be offered or more space cannot be secured, so that middle and high school kids can have some in person discussion, science labs, studio art, college counseling, social interaction, etc in person also. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 03:44 AM Flag
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I agree. I have both ages too and my oldernis becoming more introverted and basically, looked up her work online and did thr minimum needed. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 09:41 AM Flag
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Mine was like this but became increasingly anxious also. A close friend's DC retreated a lot and hid a dangerous substance use disorder, and two kids we know developed eating disorders in response to weight gain, possibly in response to sports cancellations and gyms being closed. Social media has allowed some friendships to be maintained, but it has also amplified so many issues! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 05:05 PM Flag
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I agree. Each age group has it's own issues. I think the schools know they are unlikely to lose high school students, but lower school families may just pack up and move out of the city if there is only remote school. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 01:59 PM Flag
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Well, if this is a main reason, the school has a ton of faith that the students will launch well and do well at college and beyond. I know kids from several coveted NYC prep schools who have dropped out of colleges already or are burned out before they even arrive. It's not like remote learning from home was some fun, relaxing gap semester experience.. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 05:07 PM Flag
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OR- Iagree, I'm just trying to make sense of this. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 06:28 PM Flag
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Another way to view it is this. Families that are full pay and connected have a fair enough shot of getting into great schools no matter what and really don't need the connections private schools provide. It comes down to the experience. If kids feel passed over or feel their needs aren't met throughout this time, who knows. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 07:58 PM Flag
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^ there should be incentive to keep these students as engaged as possible now. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 08:59 PM Flag
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OR - I’m all for opening schools for everybody (I have a rising kindergartener) and I get it it’s not ideal for MS and HS. But I think those grades can tolerate some alternative form - alternate days, am/pm shifts, different location (is empty office building). You can’t do that with k-3. That said I think schools can be prioritized over everything else. I can go on without bar restaurant and nail salon. But the kids need to get back ASAP for academic social mental and other reasons. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:01 PM Flag
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PP here, and I agree that schools will ideally be accessible to all students. Mostly there needs to be creative ways to approach school reopening, just as business reopenings needed various approaches. I just don't think it's right to prioritize younger vs older students. Kids in HS, for example, are losing motivation and feel uncertain about the future, so if privates think about their longer term goals, I hope they consider how students will navigate college and beyond. So many we know are feeling lost about how to apply to college, whether they will truly be ready since they aren't learning well online, and what they want from the future. Others can say these kids aren't resilient or gritty enough, but it's really tough for them to watch their friends need to relocate, know that parents have become unemployed, or know that family members or friends' family members have died. Younger kids have a longer time to catch up on any lost skills that in person school provides. Teens we know have little perspective to rely on, so parents/grandparents telling them about wartime interruption or past plagues just make the world sound unstable. My DCs attend a school that has a separate campus for younger and older kids, and I haven't heard that the younger kids will be taking over the campuses, but doing something like that, or equivalently taking priority over the school site, wouldn't make any sense to me. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 04:50 PM Flag
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THIS. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 05:00 PM Flag
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I am very alarmed by the attitude of many bright students who feel anxious about going forward. Kids are considering leaving their universities in freshman year, trying to take a gap year to ride this out at home (with nothing to do!), and HS juniors and seniors seem less interested in going at all. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 05:49 PM Flag
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Younger kids need so much support, and it's not an issue of who has it harder as a parent or teacher or who is more important, but I do think the way people are viewing risk and reward need consideration. Let's say you want to have kids in person in a class and believe social distancing, hand washing, and PPE are essential in ensuring safety for all. Both older and younger kids will touch things, rely on various modes of transportation, and have risks from home/commute/outside/others. Younger kids require more supervision and different ratios to ensure safety measures on campus, because they are still learning about body awareness and space, still grab, bump into things, and ask for adult help bc they need it, plus can be a bit impulsive. It would make more sense to penalize an older student who cannot follow hygiene rules, but younger kids might be better served w reminders and redirection depending on developmental stage. Younger kids learn as much from unstructured play time/recess, PE, art class, lunch time as instructional times. Can they really gauge relative velocity well? No, so how would free play and games look? Older kids need to interact and socialize but can do so in a contained class while having a discussion. It's a bit like daycare ratios. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 06:06 PM Flag
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My kids school also has a high school campus that is separate and it will actually be easier in some respects to distance the kids in lower school per CDC guidelines then the high school kids. First off, the lower school as a consistent lower student to teach ratio then the upper school. No lower school class has a higher ratio then 8:1 (2 teachers and 16 kids), but some of the high school classes are as high as 22:1. Then there is the fact that the LS kids don't actually NEED extra rooms like the art or music rooms. They can easily turn those spaces into extra classrooms. But if the point of HS kids going to school is so they can use the chem lab or the art studio, then those "extra" rooms can't be repurposed to social distance. And lower school classes stay together all day so you can have the same group of 7-8 kids together all day in one classroom with no direct contact with other students. HS students all have their own unique schedules and move around the building much more. Our school is hoping to have LS kids in every day but they will stay in their classroom and the classes will take turns on the playground after cleanings between each class. MS and HS kids come in every other day and would have a little more freedom to move around the building to classrooms set up for specific subjects. So the LS kids might be going to school everyday, but they won't be using the HS campus or having priority, it is just that the older and younger kids have different needs. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 06:17 PM Flag
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These are great points. I do think parents of LS students will want the art, music, and movement rooms to be open though, unless those can be moved to each classroom. I wonder if there is a way for kids to have a more stable "classroom" even in MS or US/high school. Sometimes I try to imagine if a course can be taught simultaneously for regular and honors, but differentiated by additional assignments, different tests, or different online work. The core lectures and discussion would not be differentiated, which might have added benefits in terms of diverse perspectives and highlighting different types/scales of intelligence. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 06:40 PM Flag
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I think the issue in private schools is not so much regular vs honors. My dc had to choose from 6 English classes and 4 science classes for next year. Then, math is leveled and they offer 6 or 7 languages... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 07:49 PM Flag
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Given the pandemic, I think it's justifiable to assign one of several top choices for English or science if simplifying schedules promotes more in person instruction or reduces risk of infection. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 08:56 PM Flag
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PP - On the LS rooms, sure, we would all like school to be as normal as possible, but I think this is something most people can live with. The school plans on the specials teachers going to each class to teach, so the kids would still have art, but just in their classroom. I went to a private school in a flyover. My school demolished and rebuilt one of our buildings one year so all of our "specials" classes had to be moved into the classrooms. For example, the art teacher had her "art cart" which she rolled in to each class with supplies. It was fine. I barely remember it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:11 PM Flag
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This can be risky if someone becomes infected though. The entire classroom needs a deep clean, and everyone in class is likely at risk of infection. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 08:57 PM Flag
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Which school is this? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:54 PM Flag
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Why are comments being removed? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:34 AM Flag
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I saw some removed earlier but now they're back. Weird. Is there a mod algorithm that's going rogue? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 11:03 AM Flag
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They all came back. Very weird. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.02.20, 02:02 AM Flag
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Can people please name their schools? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 02:51 PM Flag
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This. Why would someone be secretive? There is zero chance you'd be outed by naming the school. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.01.20, 10:31 PM Flag
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exactly. Should we just list schools and see what people have heard? Even if just "back full time", "back parttime:? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.02.20, 02:03 AM Flag
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yES PLEASE! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 07.02.20, 12:34 PM Flag
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