jeffreymo
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Post by jeffreymo on Aug 7, 2020 10:13:29 GMT -5
Our kids go to Catholic school. Right now, we have the option of 100% in-person or 100% virtual - no hybrid or blended option.
The virtual experience we had in the spring was better than the public school experience from what we’ve heard from our neighbors. Not sure if it justified the full tuition expense though.
We’re choosing the 100% in-person experience. All children K-12 will be required by the state to wear masks. The children will stay in their home room for the most part and avoid transitions. Lunch will be in the classrooms. They are encouraging parent drop-off rather than bus to avoid being around different age groups. We’ve canceled their after-school care as an extra precaution and to save $ since both of us have been told by our employers that WFH is definite through the end of 2020 and likely beyond.
If the in-person experience is taken off the table we’re going to think long and hard about switching to public school for this year. They could still take catechism one evening a week via zoom.
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azucena
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Post by azucena on Aug 7, 2020 10:31:22 GMT -5
I'm going offline for a good long while. I need to walk away and stop reading so many details to preserve my mental health. I took a sleeping pill last night and continued to cry in my sleep. I also deleted FB so it's not just you guys. I'll be back when things calm down.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 7, 2020 10:36:29 GMT -5
Hope you feel better soon, azucena.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Aug 7, 2020 10:40:44 GMT -5
Please check in when you come back, just to say that you are back. This is worrisome behavior.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 7, 2020 11:41:10 GMT -5
Was waiting to hear Cuomo's decision regarding schools before posting. Everyone has been watching all week for it, just put the tv on at 11:30 (his usual press conference time), and he apparently phoned it in. Schools are good to open, our numbers are low enough, etc. Yeah, we knew that. Only new requirements by the governor are that school districts have to hold remote information sessions for parents (3, or 5 for city of Bflo) and at least one for teachers/staff, and districts have to explain their plans for testing and tracing. Umm, what? When did school districts turn into healthcare providers or county health departments? Our region has been testing extensively, but things have slowed down recently due to lack of supplies to process the tests. Expecting schools to take charge of their own testing and tracking is not a plan, especially at this late date. As long as our district's plan is approved (when does that come out) we are doing half the kids M/T, other half Th/F, everyone remote the other days. We have to request bussing, no more flexible options for that. Masks are already mandated by the state, so no change there. You can opt for fully online, by Aug 14. Deadline to opt for homeschooling was Aug 1 (before plans were released ). Can't figure out lunches - there's language about lunch in classrooms, but that only makes sense in the ES/MS, not in my DS5's HS. There's also language about using every other seat, not opposite seats at lunch tables - the lunch tables are ROUND, with fixed seats. Won't work.
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oped
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Post by oped on Aug 7, 2020 11:51:31 GMT -5
Just FYI homeschooling deadlines are generally for those refilling (and here no one is hard and fast) new homeschoolers can declare any time. I’m NY you do need to give 2 weeks notice.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Aug 7, 2020 13:08:42 GMT -5
Some more details of Cuomo's presser/NY's school re-opening are available here. It should be part of their unpaywalled coverage.
My overall sense of the plan is that it is not nearly as risky either to the public or to the politician as some of the other school reopenings being implemented. He's cleverly retained his thread to prohibit in-person schooling if positivity rates rise and this forces schools to have a distance-only option at the ready. If the school have to maintain that option at the ready, there is little cost and much upside to offering it as an option from the get-go. Parents who opt for it will be happier, and this will take bodies out of schools, and provide some option for the most vulnerable teachers.
My own governor has done something similar and my state also currently has relatively low numbers of new cases almost everywhere.
I don't know if this is good planning or extremely cynical planning. A big part of the plan seems to be to be just a little bit better or open a little later than everyone else and be able to switch seamlessly if a disaster strikes in another state.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Aug 7, 2020 13:40:21 GMT -5
Is anyone else looking at the disagreement between Cuomo and de Blasio over what regional positivity rate should trigger a blanket shutdown of in-person schooling and wishing that you knew more about who was currently being tested and why? It seems to me that if enough of those tests are mandated by the state (i.e. those connected to nursing homes and prisons) or employers who want extra assurances and have a low likelihood of being positive, some pretty hellacious community spread wouldn't raise the positivity rates high enough to trigger gubernatorial or mayoral action.
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irishpad
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Post by irishpad on Aug 7, 2020 13:58:21 GMT -5
Our kids go to Catholic school. Right now, we have the option of 100% in-person or 100% virtual - no hybrid or blended option. The virtual experience we had in the spring was better than the public school experience from what we’ve heard from our neighbors. Not sure if it justified the full tuition expense though.We’re choosing the 100% in-person experience. All children K-12 will be required by the state to wear masks. The children will stay in their home room for the most part and avoid transitions. Lunch will be in the classrooms. They are encouraging parent drop-off rather than bus to avoid being around different age groups. We’ve canceled their after-school care as an extra precaution and to save $ since both of us have been told by our employers that WFH is definite through the end of 2020 and likely beyond. If the in-person experience is taken off the table we’re going to think long and hard about switching to public school for this year. They could still take catechism one evening a week via zoom. I totally understand that the school experience using virtual is not up to par with in-person. The struggle from our end is that we still need to pay our teachers a just salary (we maintain 80% of the public school salary) and that money doesn't just magically appear. So a bit of sacrifice on both ends of the financial equation. Our state provides busing for private school students and we greatly appreciate that (started in the 60's) However, we too are encouraging drop off for this year. We are planning to invest some of the CARES act money into a system where parents can take the temps of their children while at home, and it goes to an app that tells the school they are either good (green) or high temp (red) Because of HiPAA it doesn't give the actual temp to the school. The reasons for using this system are two fold: Children's temps go up and down with travel, car to building, especially during our cold winters, and secondly to avoid crowding as children arrive at the school.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 14:04:44 GMT -5
Is anyone else looking at the disagreement between Cuomo and de Blasio over what regional positivity rate should trigger a blanket shutdown of in-person schooling and wishing that you knew more about who was currently being tested and why? It seems to me that if enough of those tests are mandated by the state (i.e. those connected to nursing homes and prisons) or employers who want extra assurances and have a low likelihood of being positive, some pretty hellacious community spread wouldn't raise the positivity rates high enough to trigger gubernatorial or mayoral action. CNN has been reporting that testing nationally has been dropping due to limited availability. My area still has a 14-day delay for results and you can't get tested without symptoms and having a "qualified" contact with someone proven to be positive. In other words, most people can't get tested if they wanted. So, how does anyone ever get tested in association with schooling?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 7, 2020 14:07:31 GMT -5
Is anyone else looking at the disagreement between Cuomo and de Blasio over what regional positivity rate should trigger a blanket shutdown of in-person schooling and wishing that you knew more about who was currently being tested and why? It seems to me that if enough of those tests are mandated by the state (i.e. those connected to nursing homes and prisons) or employers who want extra assurances and have a low likelihood of being positive, some pretty hellacious community spread wouldn't raise the positivity rates high enough to trigger gubernatorial or mayoral action. CNN has been reporting that testing nationally has been dropping due to limited availability. My area still has a 14-day delay for results and you can't get tested without symptoms and having a "qualified" contact with someone proven to be positive. In other words, most people can't get tested if they wanted. So, how does anyone ever get tested in association with schooling? Maybe invite Trump to the school. It seems people around Trump get tested hourly and get results quickly.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 7, 2020 14:11:37 GMT -5
Our kids go to Catholic school. Right now, we have the option of 100% in-person or 100% virtual - no hybrid or blended option. The virtual experience we had in the spring was better than the public school experience from what we’ve heard from our neighbors. Not sure if it justified the full tuition expense though.We’re choosing the 100% in-person experience. All children K-12 will be required by the state to wear masks. The children will stay in their home room for the most part and avoid transitions. Lunch will be in the classrooms. They are encouraging parent drop-off rather than bus to avoid being around different age groups. We’ve canceled their after-school care as an extra precaution and to save $ since both of us have been told by our employers that WFH is definite through the end of 2020 and likely beyond. If the in-person experience is taken off the table we’re going to think long and hard about switching to public school for this year. They could still take catechism one evening a week via zoom. I totally understand that the school experience using virtual is not up to par with in-person. The struggle from our end is that we still need to pay our teachers a just salary (we maintain 80% of the public school salary) and that money doesn't just magically appear. So a bit of sacrifice on both ends of the financial equation. Our state provides busing for private school students and we greatly appreciate that (started in the 60's) However, we too are encouraging drop off for this year. We are planning to invest some of the CARES act money into a system where parents can take the temps of their children while at home, and it goes to an app that tells the school they are either good (green) or high temp (red) Because of HiPAA it doesn't give the actual temp to the school. The reasons for using this system are two fold: Children's temps go up and down with travel, car to building, especially during our cold winters, and secondly to avoid crowding as children arrive at the school. This was something I hadn't considered, until I took my boys for an eye checkup. They are very cautious, and check temps in the entry before you can enter the building. My temp was ok, but the boys' were a bit high from the warm car ride. After a few minutes they came down to ok levels, but we had to wait...
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 7, 2020 14:15:02 GMT -5
Is anyone else looking at the disagreement between Cuomo and de Blasio over what regional positivity rate should trigger a blanket shutdown of in-person schooling and wishing that you knew more about who was currently being tested and why? It seems to me that if enough of those tests are mandated by the state (i.e. those connected to nursing homes and prisons) or employers who want extra assurances and have a low likelihood of being positive, some pretty hellacious community spread wouldn't raise the positivity rates high enough to trigger gubernatorial or mayoral action. It might be better to have a dual triggering system......like if local testing rates rise above 5% Positive AND hospitalizations go above X, then schools shut down. I also heard that priority testing is for those mostly via hospitals from the backlog. Awhile ago, pooled testing was discussed. I wonder what the results of that were? My gut feeling is that the percent positive testing is too high for it to become a viable method of screening lots of people quickly, so that’s why it is no longer being discussed.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 15:01:26 GMT -5
Priority testing, and testing at all in some areas, is for rich people, athletes, government workers, and those in the hospital - probably in that order.
I don't even know how schools would go about doing any testing? Or, not rich parents who couldn't afford to pay for it out-of-pocket?
It's a cluster.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 15:17:21 GMT -5
Priority testing, and testing at all in some areas, is for rich people, athletes, government workers, and those in the hospital - probably in that order. I don't even know how schools would go about doing any testing? Or, not rich parents who couldn't afford to pay for it out-of-pocket? It's a cluster. Isn't all testing free per the CARES act?
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Aug 7, 2020 17:50:22 GMT -5
Right now the plan is for the girls to do vitural. I gave the 14 yearold a choice and she choose vitural. She has homeschooled the past 2 years due to anxiety but wanted to try highschool this year. I think she will be fine. The issue is going to be the 9 yearold, and since DH has a job and I don't know yet if I will be working from home or not (my district is vitrual) it will be interesting. Right now the options are 1) have the 14 yearold in charge while we are at work and let them stay home. 2) If I have to go in they or maybe just the youngest may be able to come and work in my classroom while I vitural teach. 3) They go to my aunt to work during the day. Right now we are leaning towards leaving the 14 yearold in charge. We also live in a town house and have our neighbors at home during the day, while she works night she will be there if there is an emergency.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 7, 2020 18:07:46 GMT -5
I totally understand that the school experience using virtual is not up to par with in-person. The struggle from our end is that we still need to pay our teachers a just salary (we maintain 80% of the public school salary) and that money doesn't just magically appear. So a bit of sacrifice on both ends of the financial equation. Our state provides busing for private school students and we greatly appreciate that (started in the 60's) However, we too are encouraging drop off for this year. We are planning to invest some of the CARES act money into a system where parents can take the temps of their children while at home, and it goes to an app that tells the school they are either good (green) or high temp (red) Because of HiPAA it doesn't give the actual temp to the school. The reasons for using this system are two fold: Children's temps go up and down with travel, car to building, especially during our cold winters, and secondly to avoid crowding as children arrive at the school. This was something I hadn't considered, until I took my boys for an eye checkup. They are very cautious, and check temps in the entry before you can enter the building. My temp was ok, but the boys' were a bit high from the warm car ride. After a few minutes they came down to ok levels, but we had to wait... As all you know, I live in the center of hell, weather wise (summer only). We went to a place, we were outside in 110 heat off and on for a few hours, and then went into a building where they had the scanner that takes your temp. It was the end of the day and there weren't many people there, so no one was monitoring it. My son clocked in at 102.5 degrees. Before we started the excursion, he was perfectly normal. I don't know how they take temperatures in this city without letting people stand in the AC for a bit. And not sure if you can stand directly in front of a vent and cold blast your face and trick the scanner - but it seems like you could.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 18:31:34 GMT -5
Priority testing, and testing at all in some areas, is for rich people, athletes, government workers, and those in the hospital - probably in that order. I don't even know how schools would go about doing any testing? Or, not rich parents who couldn't afford to pay for it out-of-pocket? It's a cluster. Isn't all testing free per the CARES act? "Qualified" medical tests are free - if you have been in direct contact and your physician believes you must have one and you have Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance and it is done in-network. You can't just go down and say you are going to college and need a free test and get one. And, as far as I have seen, none of the schools are stocking up on non-existent tests?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 18:34:39 GMT -5
"Self-pay rates. Twelve hospitals listed the exact discounted rate or price of COVID-19 diagnostic tests for self-pay individuals, which ranged between $36 to $180 per test. A number of additional hospitals indicated on their websites that uninsured or self-pay individuals who didn’t qualify for governmental programs such as Medicaid could receive free or discounted care through hospital financial assistance programs. Patients receiving discounts would be charged for a portion of the listed price (e.g. 75% or 50% of the list price), though finding the exact amount of the discount can be challenging and often entails contacting the hospital to apply for discounted care. Related costs. Aside from the cost of a diagnostic test itself, hospitals also bill for specimen collection and the office visit itself, whether in-person or through telemedicine. In most cases, the total cost of care for a test and its related services was not easily distinguishable on hospital websites. However, 13 hospitals clearly posted the list price for specimen collection, which ranged from $18- $200. One hospital listed three different charges based on where the specimen was collected – in a skilled nursing facility, at home, or an outpatient setting. Many hospitals require patients to receive provider referral for testing, or require patients to meet CDC guidelines for symptoms before they can receive a test. For self-pay individuals, the cost of screening as well as testing may add up. For instance, one hospital’s price estimator tool demonstrated that the price of COVID-19 screening would be $77 before discounts, and $31 after applying a 60% discount for qualifying self-pay individuals. Such charges in addition to the cost of a diagnostic test and specimen collection can be financially burdensome or prohibitive for uninsured or self-pay patients, especially given the current labor market and high rates of unemployment." www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-test-prices-and-payment-policy/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 19:01:26 GMT -5
My son just walked in off the street and asked for a test and we weren't charged. He was worried he'd have to pay a copay on the spot and they told him it was 100% covered.
The colleges around here that are requiring testing are doing the testing themselves.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 19:06:39 GMT -5
My son just walked in off the street and asked for a test and we weren't charged. He was worried he'd have to pay a copay on the spot and they told him it was 100% covered. The colleges around here that are requiring testing are doing the testing themselves. Too bad for sick Oregonians and those in other states that it's now taking so long for results that the tests are rendered useless while others can get walk-in testing.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 19:14:53 GMT -5
"Self-pay rates. Twelve hospitals listed the exact discounted rate or price of COVID-19 diagnostic tests for self-pay individuals, which ranged between $36 to $180 per test. <snip> Related costs. Aside from the cost of a diagnostic test itself, hospitals also bill for specimen collection and the office visit itself, whether in-person or through telemedicine. In most cases, the total cost of care for a test and its related services was not easily distinguishable on hospital websites. However, 13 hospitals clearly posted the list price for specimen collection, which ranged from $18- $200. One hospital listed three different charges based on where the specimen was collected – in a skilled nursing facility, at home, or an outpatient setting. Ack. Healthcare pricing drives me up a wall. Here's the option I'd consider- blood test, $149 all-in, your choice of a LabCorp or Quest Lab office. They say it takes 3-5 business days but add the weasel words that it may take longer. And of course if you're testing multiple family members it's not cheap. requestatest.com/coronavirus-covid-19-igg-antibody-blood-testI had that option last week when I got my usual bloodwork but figured I wouldn't do anything different from what I'm doing now regardless of the result.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 19:17:21 GMT -5
My son just walked in off the street and asked for a test and we weren't charged. He was worried he'd have to pay a copay on the spot and they told him it was 100% covered. The colleges around here that are requiring testing are doing the testing themselves. Too bad for sick Oregonians and those in other states that it's now taking so long for results that the tests are rendered useless while others can get walk-in testing. So, you're upset people can't just walk in and get a test and when I tell you we did you're upset about that too?
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oped
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Post by oped on Aug 7, 2020 19:22:15 GMT -5
My daughter had to have her doc order her test. I don’t know what it will cost?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 19:47:16 GMT -5
Too bad for sick Oregonians and those in other states that it's now taking so long for results that the tests are rendered useless while others can get walk-in testing. So, you're upset people can't just walk in and get a test and when I tell you we did you're upset about that too? No, I have no issue at all that you can walk in and have a test or that people can pay out of pocket for one. To safely open schools requires adequate testing. In SOME areas of the country, you can't even get a test unless you are sick and have been exposed to someone with a positive COVID test. That means in many places, you can't get tested at all or it's too expensive for many people.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 7, 2020 19:50:00 GMT -5
They advertised free testing here. Not sure the specifics on that, or the turn around time. If we actually had national leadership on this, it wouldn't be so uneven across the states.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Aug 7, 2020 19:50:52 GMT -5
This country never learns. It reminds me of people who were thinking they could travel by the holidays... At this rate, we still won't be able to travel in 2021... [ I Think it depends on your risk level, one of our friends has done more traveling the past 5 months than he has before in his life (he is 39). Thanks to hazard pay and other circumstances he has seen his income triple so he has decided to make the most of it : bought a new Jeep, went to Florida and Vegas, went to Rehoboth beach every weekend for the past month except the weekend he went camping. Off course he is single, his kids are grown or close to ti (1 in college and 1 senior in high school and both living with his ex wife (that is where we messed up, if we had kids at 23-25 just when we got married the youngest would be ~12 now). Anyway this to say not everyone is staying home, cutting traveling and being safe. He swears he is being sick, wearing a mask and washing his hands but compared to all the things my family and I are going without to be safe ... he seems to be reckless from where we standing. And he is not the only one I know. My older brother in Philly just came back from vacationing in Mexico with his son and just posted about planning his next trip next month and who wanted to tag along? He is Looking at locations that does not require you to quarantine once you get there ...
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Aug 7, 2020 20:04:58 GMT -5
As for us, from the get go we elected online because my mother in law which is my daughter primary caregiver is in her late 60’s and my wife has a heart condition so both high risk.
The school at first had a in person option but that was canceled last week leaving some parents scrambling last minute... the only concern we have is how we get our daughter to focus and pay attention to a computer from 8 AM to 3:00 PM.
They do have lunch / quiet time from 12 PM - 2:30 PM... I don’t know why they tackled that last class from 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM... just make from 8:00 AM To 12 PM and call it quits then... I saw the schedule for K to 6th grade And I feel bad for the parents.
The front desk lady at my primary dr said she has resigned herself to accept that her younger kids may have to redo this grade. She is a single mom and she has to work, she cannot be home and supervise them. The older ones she has more faith in...
We did online summer school to see how Carlie would do and: - we had to send grandma to school to, so Grandma is also learning with Carlie. - move the computer outside of her bedroom to the dinning room , less distraction - need a reward system to keep her motivated; current stars and chocolate.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2020 20:14:15 GMT -5
Testing for schools seems kind of pointless unless you can do it every morning with instant results...at least a couple times a week like University of Illinois is doing. Otherwise it's just a snapshot. Infected people without enough viral load yet will test negative, and then be contagious the next day. Students that were negative could get infected walking out of the test center. People who previously had covid can test positive for months after symptoms are gone and they're no longer contagious.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Aug 7, 2020 20:20:41 GMT -5
Testing for schools seems kind of pointless unless you can do it every morning with instant results...at least a couple times a week like University of Illinois is doing. Otherwise it's just a snapshot. Infected people without enough viral load yet will test negative, and then be contagious the next day. Students that were negative could get infected walking out of the test center. People who previously had covid can test positive for months after symptoms are gone and they're no longer contagious. Yep testing emphasis seems pointless
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