The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Do you think public schools in Contra Costa County will open for any in-person education during the 2020-2021 school year?
Talk about it….
55 comments
Berean High School in the Creek is in session. Find out how they are doing.
They are private school with limited enrollment and they got a waiver.
Most of the private schools are doing some sort of in-person/hybrid method.
Almost all have had at least one outbreak where school needed to go virtual.
I don’t know how limited they are the parking lot is as full as usual.
JJ
Evidence that almost all have had at least one outbreak that caused them to go virtual? Further evidence that the outbreak was caused by activities at the school and not from an outside source?
Berean has not had to go virtual due to an out break. They are on a hybrid system and our family has been very happy with the two days in person and two days via zoom. The parking lot is not full with students, however, it may appear full at times due to parents of outside soccer teams who park there, as well as community members who use the field as well.
No outbreak at Berean Christian yet. Many Catholic schools open as well. There’s no guarantee they or any gathered community can completely avoid a small outbreak in the long run but Berean and other open schools have good and reasonable campus safety protocols and daily screening in place. No waiver required–Berean started the year live virtual (7 periods/day live instruction following a normal high school day) then were allowed to begin hybrid (approx. half the students on campus daily while the other half attends from home live, alternating days) by mid-October when county infection rates declined to whatever color tier was required for high schools to open. County and state are NOT requiring schools that were already open when December surge started to close. I am connected with many private schools in the county that have in-person instruction. I have not heard of a single outbreak* at any or them, or at any private or public daycare facilities (*outbreak defined as several connected positive cases of COVID with evidence they were likely spread at the school or daycare, not just an occasional person connected with the school or daycare having a positive test result, and then they stay home). This is true across the country and the world. You won’t find evidence that school or daycare settings are large spreaders of COVID.
Schools that are open are successfully running in-person programs with minimal risk. All the medical experts seem to agree there is no reason public districts cannot open safely as well. This prolonged closure has been devastating to so many students and families. We will reap what we sow in the long run with this generation of students, with the mental health consequences and lack of academic preparedness for the next level.
I wish a critical mass of MDUSD teachers would rise up against their fear-mongering union leaders.
Concordville is absolutely correct. It’s all “follow the science” until it says to reopen schools. Then it’s “follow the union.”
Ha Ha Ha. No.
Nope. It’s beginning to be optimistic to think it will roll out for the fall either.
Of course not. Our Supreme Leader/Dictator Newsom has not approved it yet.
Also – teachers union are at half mast with schools being closed.
Who cares, it’s a lost cause.
322. March 22nd.
Let those who are awake put it together.
lol
I will have moved out of this socialist utopia* before MDUSD schools reopen. Giving those teachers priority for vaccinations in just another nail in the coffin holding honesty and integrity.
* Claycord policy prevent use of the actual word I would have inserted here.
Answering a ? with a ?: Will the Newsom recall occur by then?
Schools should return fall of 2021 half way of the school year have schools shouldn’t be open almost towards end of school year
@ Debika
I’m sorry but what in the hell are you trying to say?
I think she’s trying to say she is an mdusd teacher and an alcoholic. She is riding that gravy train. Up all night, drink all day!
“We understand that the public may not fully understand the bargaining process and pace, but this is a necessary process.” A.Clark, sup extraordinaire.
In other words, they’ll tell us when they’re ready to open the schools.
My guess, 2022 fall.
Maybe if Galvin Newsom is recalled?
Once the recall is certified (after March 17] the new election must happen within 60-80 days. If Californians are dumb enough to keep him in office, the schools will stay closed as he works toward bankrupting the citizens. Then he will introduce federally funded “guaranteed income for all” which of course will be at poverty level.
If we end up with a new Governor who is not a socialist owned by the unions, education has a better chance of resuming.
Yes, but you have to be tough. Either return to the classroom in spring or you lose your job. You can reapply for fall. Staff the classrooms with those who return and with non-teachers. Why do we have to lecture school officials that they should be putting kids first?
Non teachers? I believe the term is “babysitters”
Teachers should not be allowed to “negotiate” a return to the classroom. They either show up for work, or apply at Starbucks.
No re-hires! If they are fired for cause, the District should never employ them again, for anything.
De La Salle is a private school and has be doing hybrid since October without having to go back to distance learning. Great effort to keep everything clean and everyone safe!
Your school could do that too, how much are willing to pay?
@kirkwood – it’s not about “how much are you willing to pay” – it’s about getting the job done in the most efficient and safe way possible. The teachers union and MDUSD are so bloated with politics that they are unable to come up with a plan for reopening. They have had 10 months to get their act together and have failed miserably. There are numerous public schools in California that have opened with no issues. I am tired of people saying that private schools have money and they are able to open because of this money. Reality is private schools live within their budget and know how to get the job done.
The point I was making was that DLS is owned and operated by the Catholic Church which which has a different financial structure than the MDUSD.
I do see your point, I was commenting about the examples chosen.
@Kirkwood- I understand. Thank you
Maybe if there were not so many overpaid management jobs? And maybe if they stopped misusing funds? They get SO MUCH money. They could have a solution, but they choose not to. This is a power play by the union.
I think they should stay closed for this school year and do whatever it takes to open normally in August
At this point I agree, and I have been the biggest supporter to open NOW. But, you know they will keep pushing it back. We won’t open all next year either because the union only cares about money and power, not the poor kids.
Yesterday I drove by a PH High School and saw kids practicing baseball, cheerleading and football…literally too many kids to count. It was refreshing to see so many kids being allowed to be kids…So much energy. I wonder if they had non athletes trying out for those sports just to get out of the house and socialize. Hopefully they can all get back into the classroom soon.
No, I’m getting very pessimistic about anything ever opening up again. I think the socialist movement in this country is going to keep us all locked down forever. It’s actually beginning to worry me. There’s no more freedom. (yet oddly the more they’ve locked us down the worse the pandemic is getting) California may have it all wrong. My niece just came back from a Florida trip to Disney World everything’s open there, and as long as you wearing a mask, you’re fine. And their covid rate is lower than California!
It all depends if people take this seriously and do what is needed to reduce the spread and ICU capacity issues or not.
The gov’t is not dictating anything, the gov’t is simply responding to people not taking this seriously and doing what it can do to help stop the spread.
This is all in the hands of the people – if they want to save businesses, and reopen schools – stop playing games – if not we can’t have those nice things.
Rob –
you are wrong on so many levels
ICU capacity was arbitrary. Dr’s who have spoken out on this have been severly punished. Hospitals don’t have signifcant excess capacity in ICU’s – its expensive, and like it or not, they are a business. So they forecast and work around the model to balance the cost of overstock vs understock.
The government is dictating. They are responding to Newsom and the DNC. With so many folks asking, demanding, begging, and screaming for relaxations on lockdown protocol (or outright abolishment…there is a spectrum on the dissenting side) you would think the local govt officials would “respond” and actually work with the public. Listen to crazy Karen Mitchoff…she has said on record, that her decisions are not based on public sentiment.You can disagree, and thats fine. At best – I’ll chalk this one as a difference of opinion.
Your last statement proves you have willfully given up your liberty. If the people don’t due as their told then “we can’t have nice things”. The government should fear its citizens, not the other way around.
Closures should be based on EVIDENCE of risk levels! Last spring we didn’t know what we know now. It was prudent to close schools then until we knew more. Now we know by observing data from all over the world that there are ways that SCHOOLS can be safely open for in-person instruction with reasonable safety protocols in place.
There are probably some other businesses and gatherings that should continue to be closed or restricted for now, but SCHOOLS are NOT one of them. We don’t have to guess any more. Families who have high risk factors (Medical issues, elderly grandparents in the home) may opt to continue having their students at 100% distance learning, but the majority of families could safely send their kids to some level of in-person instruction with minimal risk to the student or their families. There is ample and increasing EVIDENCE this is true.
Concordville is correct – look up AlasdairMunro, a pediatrics researcher whose job it is to review all of the studies on kids and Covid. Look up Prof. Emily Oster’s database. Schools can be opened safely, and it isn’t rocket science.
Seriously Rob,
But the Mall, Target, Walmart and Costco can all be packed with hundreds and thousands of people but our schools can’t open because people aren’t taking this “seriously.” I see masks everywhere! People biking, hiking, walking, skate boarding all wearing masks. So many people are even wearing masks in there car!! People like you however can totally stay home but our children shouldn’t have to suffer because of our useless governor. We have the most deaths and most cases so clearly, whatever Gavin think’s he is doing, clearly is not working. You can teach safely and responsibly. Other states are wide open, there schools are open and they don’t HAVE to wear masks and somehow are doing just fine. (According to my friends who live in that state).
Nice post raiderette. Rob seems to be out of touch. And a bit lost. Glad to hear there are some sane minds around.
I don’t think they will return to in person teaching this year as the teachers union is too powerful…perhaps we start considering them on strike and deal with them like Reagan did to the air traffic controllers in 1981!
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/reagan-fires-11359-air-traffic-controllers
The only thing that will work is disbanding them. Hiring anyone at this point to teach and going from there.
Doubt it. Not until we get off punishment because of the bad behavior of some. If some would follow the rules and do what’s right, not just being selfish, we’d have been over this 9-10 mths ago.
We would not have been over this “9-10 months ago.” The lockdown didn’t even start until 10 months ago. Don’t be ridiculous.
I really hope they do. It is terrible that kids have been out for a year. “Flatten the curve” turned into “find the cure” and the students are suffering greatly. But I don’t think they will open until the get enough political pressure to do so. I hope teachers want to go back. For my family, if we do not have firm plans soon we will be heading to private school.
The county, the board of supervisors, mayors, anyone and everyone should be telling MDUSD how much they want schools to reopen and how important it is for all of our society to have students back in the classroom, even a hybrid schedule. My kids are really struggling and they need to go back or have actual plans to do so
I want them to open. They should open. The union and mdusd need to do their jobs. We pay them through our taxes. If they are doing their job, we should be able to REMOVE them. You want the vaccine – then get in the classroom today. You don’t feel comfortable in the classroom, find a new job. You chose to be a teacher, so teach. The union and the district need to put the kids first and get over their themselves.
I am ready to pull the kids, but will let them finish the ‘school year’. I will fight for my children, cause obviously the teachers and the district DO NOT CARE. If they did, they would have a plan .. but they do not. If they did care, we would be open like the other states. The evidence is that the union, the district and our board don’t care except for themselves. They should be ashamed, but that would imply they have a conscious, which I doubt today.
Agree 100%!!!!
Any attempt at opening the schools will be a waste of time before the Fall. Hopefully by then the state will have vaccinated those that want it, but suspect our Dear Leader will find some other crisis to keep us down. Hey maybe Fire Season or a really big earthquake.
Again the unions own newscum
Just like pelosi
De slacker is not important enough
And the weiner is of no concern to unions
as they have no interest in forcing themselves on little children
Not until they get more money like a 10% raise with limited class sizes and days and paid vacation and that’s for this year
So yeah until newscum bends to Biden and Hillary and asks for fed money to appease the states unions
The childlren will suffer a socialist sanctuary communist lack of concern for them
Hey just like China well at least there is that voters
You have entrenched the childlren into China indoctrination and idiocy
Great work dem voters
I would bet on no in-person school for the district until fall, based on their attitude and progress so far. But possibly they will do some half-baked hybrid thing right at the end to save face, if the pressure is growing. If the vaccine pace speeds up and hospitalizations are dwindling fast by April, they might actually feel some effective pressure. Maybe. But I would put my money on the other outcome
Most of our school buildings are old and the ventilation isn’t the greatest. I know the MDUSD is trying their best to navigate the situation, but returning to school after the spring break would most likely be the soonest. That said, I hope they wait till the fall. Let’s get the vaccine to everyone. I know I’ll feel a bit safer once that happens.
As for recalling Gavin….that’s way too SoCal for me.
the unions own gavin
#RecallGavinNewsom
https://recallgavin2020.com/
When the hell are senior citizen homes going to be allowed to have activities for their residents again instead of warehousing them doing the Cuomo ” let them die” strategy. It is criminal what the state is allowing to happen to our senior citiens.
This is theft from tax payers. The state has to make up the revenue from the COVID HOAX shut downs. Who better to rob then homeowners and children?
Look here to see how many millions of dollars public schools will be given for covid relief.
https://edsource.org/2020/covid-relief-by-district-in-california/645613
Private schools on the other hand have opened with only tuition and donations and have NOT experienced outbreaks as one reader mentioned. Where is the data to support that statement? An outbreak would be kids spreading it to multiple kids in their class. Kids ARE getting covid from home (likely from a social bubble hang out) and then going to school but It is NOT spreading to others in the class. The county is scrutinizing every move these schools make. Temps taken at the car, social distancing, masks, reduced on-campus population, segregated outdoor areas, and a simultaneous distance learning program (for those that want to/need to stay home) WORK. For the $18 million MDUSD is getting–surely they can come up with SOME TYPE, ANY TYPE of on-campus plan. Their unwillingness to do so in mind boggling.
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