[jbock13]

Come on guys. You know the virus only spikes in key Republican leaning swing states!

[olldflame]

Harvard has announced that classes for the entire 2000-21 academic year will be on line, with NO REDUCTION IN TUITION.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams ... 543322bdd5

40% (mostly FR) will be "invited" to live on campus, but there will be no live classes. I have mixed feelings on this. It's stupid crazy virtue signalling and totally unnecessary. On the other hand, I actually think the students will be better off. A virus is somewhat less likely to spread. Not Covid. Identity politics and Marxism.

[Jonathan Carone]

The more I’ve read about schools and whah to do this fall, it seems it’s more to protect teachers and faculty than it is to protect students.

[olldflame]

The more I’ve read about schools and whah to do this fall, it seems it’s more to protect teachers and faculty than it is to protect students.

That's a straw man argument. It is not only possible to do that while holding class, it is simple. Even without changes, the normal distance between the students and teacher in a lecture setting is well beyond a safe social distance. To be extra safe, move it back a bit farther and have the STUDENTS wear masks. Virtually impossible for the virus to spread to a teacher under those circumstances.

[Jonathan Carone]

I wasn’t talking just colleges.

[olldflame]

I wasn’t talking just colleges.

OK, I guess I assumed that since the discussion was about Harvard. Elementary schools present some additional problems, but IMHO they can be resolved. Grant leave to teachers who are high risk or allow them to teach remotely while the students are in school. A lot of the closer interractions to assist students with their work could be done by a younger aide (which is how it is a lot of the time anyway).

[thepostman]

I'd imagine that a lot of school districts will be going to a hybrid system where students aren't in school all at the same time. Lunch in the class rooms as opposed to a large cafeteria. Stuff like that.

The American Association of Pediatrics put out some good, pretty thorough guidance that goes into greater detail than the CDC guidance and should be a document that helps guide some school districts.

https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019- ... n-schools/

[soccer7]

The guidelines so far:
-10 students in a classroom
-Lunch in the classroom
-No rotations from class to class
-students are not allowed to leave there personal space.
-Buses will have one student per seat with one empty seat between them.
-Students will be split into two groups one group will come two days the other group two days and there will be a day of deep sanitation.
-There will be a temperature check as students and staff enter the building each day.
-Attendance is optional but if you do no attend work will be completed online.
-No word on yet but I feel it will be required.

[olldflame]

The guidelines so far:
-10 students in a classroom
-Lunch in the classroom
-No rotations from class to class
-students are not allowed to leave there personal space.
-Buses will have one student per seat with one empty seat between them.
-Students will be split into two groups one group will come two days the other group two days and there will be a day of deep sanitation.
-There will be a temperature check as students and staff enter the building each day.
-Attendance is optional but if you do no attend work will be completed online.
-No word on yet but I feel it will be required.

Where?

[soccer7]

Ten students to a room, the busses, checking temps, and lunches in the classroom I’ve been told are statewide. The others I know are going to be in Roanoke City and Rockbridge County. I’ve heard from several other teachers in the area that are saying the same for their localities.

[soccer7]

The other for these areas are the optional attendance.

[TH Spangler]

This kind of stuff doesn't do much for getting people on the same page.

https://postimg.cc/G4hTTrVN

[Jonathan Carone]

That’s been proven to be fake.

[Purple Haize]

Appomatox is going 1/2 the students Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is distance learning and disinfecting the other half of students on Thursday and Friday. Any student may opt out of attending live and they will be accommodated online. That’s a crap ton of more work for teachers
The social distancing guidelines are obviously written by people who have never actually been in a school that isn’t some huge urban campus of 5k students. Athletics are what make a joke of all this. Only one piece of equipment per athlete, no sharing. So forget about passing a ball or kicking one. However, check out all the kids playing travel baseball and softball. Are you telling me that a pitcher is just throwing to a backstop ? And then the ball is disinfected and thrown back to the pitcher where it is disinfected again? Then if the ball is hit, does it have to be disinfected before it’s thrown ? I mean if you read the rules, that’s what has to happen. But we know it’s not.
This whole process has become quite the joke at this point

[thepostman]

This kind of stuff doesn't do much for getting people on the same page.

https://postimg.cc/G4hTTrVN

Come on man, that doesn't even look real.

[thepostman]

Appomatox is going 1/2 the students Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is distance learning and disinfecting the other half of students on Thursday and Friday. Any student may opt out of attending live and they will be accommodated online. That’s a crap ton of more work for teachers
The social distancing guidelines are obviously written by people who have never actually been in a school that isn’t some huge urban campus of 5k students. Athletics are what make a joke of all this. Only one piece of equipment per athlete, no sharing. So forget about passing a ball or kicking one. However, check out all the kids playing travel baseball and softball. Are you telling me that a pitcher is just throwing to a backstop ? And then the ball is disinfected and thrown back to the pitcher where it is disinfected again? Then if the ball is hit, does it have to be disinfected before it’s thrown ? I mean if you read the rules, that’s what has to happen. But we know it’s not.
This whole process has become quite the joke at this point

If you go to the link I shared from the AAP, it really includes a lot more common sense ideas for school systems to look at implementing.

One thing I keep thinking about the liability factor. If the unlikely scenario happens in which there is a COVID outbreak happens at a school the school systems will be sued and probably win. There is no doubt in my mind that is something weighing on the minds of school officials.

[Purple Haize]

Appomatox is going 1/2 the students Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is distance learning and disinfecting the other half of students on Thursday and Friday. Any student may opt out of attending live and they will be accommodated online. That’s a crap ton of more work for teachers
The social distancing guidelines are obviously written by people who have never actually been in a school that isn’t some huge urban campus of 5k students. Athletics are what make a joke of all this. Only one piece of equipment per athlete, no sharing. So forget about passing a ball or kicking one. However, check out all the kids playing travel baseball and softball. Are you telling me that a pitcher is just throwing to a backstop ? And then the ball is disinfected and thrown back to the pitcher where it is disinfected again? Then if the ball is hit, does it have to be disinfected before it’s thrown ? I mean if you read the rules, that’s what has to happen. But we know it’s not.
This whole process has become quite the joke at this point

If you go to the link I shared from the AAP, it really includes a lot more common sense ideas for school systems to look at implementing.

One thing I keep thinking about the liability factor. If the unlikely scenario happens in which there is a COVID outbreak happens at a school the school systems will be sued and probably win. There is no doubt in my mind that is something weighing on the minds of school officials.

Oh I’ve seen the link. I’ve also seen reality. We have another situation of things that look great in a vacuum but are completely unworkable in real life. I’ve seen the plans put out by school districts. They are a joke. This whole thing has become a joke
You hit the nail on the head. It’s no longer about “Flattening The Curve” or “Stopping the Spread” it’s about “Covering Your jerk”. Schools and businesses want to remove all chances of even being held remotely liable. Kid goes to school and visit is his aunt a week later who comes down with pneumonia a week and a half later.....school is getting sued. If you can find anyway to tie any behavior to any respiratory problem, you are going to get sued. THAT is what this whole thing has come down to now

[thepostman]

So you don't think the stuff laid out by the AAP was reasonable? It was a whole lot more reasonable and in depth than the generic crap put out by the CDC.

I have 2 elementary aged kids so I am very much rooted in reality and the reality is the stuff the CDC put out for schools was completely pointless and not feasible.

You are sounding like the grumpy one tonight. You ok man?

[alabama24]

Ten students to a room, the busses, checking temps, and lunches in the classroom I’ve been told are statewide.

Told by whom? What age groups? The state (Virginia) suggested guidelines were just updated today to allow for 3 feet distancing instead of 6.

[alabama24]

Appomatox is going 1/2 the students Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is distance learning and disinfecting the other half of students on Thursday and Friday. Any student may opt out of attending live and they will be accommodated online.

Here is the Cliff Notes version of Bedford County Schools, to the best of my understanding and memory:

1. K-3 will meet at the Elementary Schools M-F. It will be a "full day," but may be shortened from previous years. Kids will be kept in one room. No masks, IIRC.

2. 4-6th Grade will meet at the Middle School facilities, M-F. It will also be "full day." I believe there may be some rotation of teachers, with kids staying in one room. No masks, IIRC.

3. 7-12th grade will be on an A-B rotation, all meeting at the High School. The details of what the "A-B" rotation have not been made public yet. Students will have a significant "online" learning presence. There will be some sort of "home room teacher / mentor" and possibly scheduling of visits to specialized teachers. I believe masks will be worn.

4. Online only will be an option.

5. Parents are STRONGLY encouraged to drive their kids.

FWIW - I will have children in each of the first three situations.

[alabama24]

Lynchburg Schools just released their current plans. They will start in late August under a "Phase 2" scenario, and move to a "Phase 3" one on September 8. In both scenarios students will only go to school 2 days a week (K-12).

This will be devastating to many families who do not have the support system in place. Either the parent(s) stay home and not work, they are under employed, or the kids stay home alone.

I don't think there are any "good" solutions.

https://www.lcsedu.net/sites/default/fi ... BqkLFfy4wk

[FlamesHighontheTide]

I read an article on Monday from a website called "The Federalist"(a conservative but no where near as biased as FoxNews, they call themselves free-thinkers who are conservative in their views) and in this article it said that the CDC may soon declare that COVID is no longer an epidemic due to 10 straight weeks of serious decline in COVID related deaths.

This above is nothing related to Lynchburg school systems decision, but I found it to be encouraging. I know we are seeing a spike in cases nation wide, but some of the numbers have been skewed to doubling up or counting false positives in the confirmed cases.

[JK37]

The CDC guidelines ARE a joke. But that’s nothing new.

Scientists and disease specialists want zero human contact forever. Business leaders want completely open yesterday. And in yet another arena we have the extremes on each end of the spectrum stealing the focus away from the reasonable middle.

[thepostman]

There were 34,000 deaths in 2018-19 in the United States and for 2019-20 the estimates on the high end to be 62k

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/pr ... imates.htm

For COVID-19 there have been approximately 135k deaths

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

So without going too far off topic since we have a dedicated thread on this, where are you getting your flu numbers @cruzan_flame13 ?

[cruzan_flame13]

I'm looking at this:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

I wonder where JHU is getting their data from? Hmmm