Email sent to families from district:
Dear MMSD Families, Due to the increased incidence of COVID-19 in our community, and after intense discussion with local health experts, the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is pausing our return from winter break at all grade levels, including MSCR programming. As a result, there will be no instruction until Thursday, January 6. As part of this pause, Thursday's return to instruction will be virtual, as we continue to plan for our intended transition from winter break back to in-person learning. However, all MMSD staff will return to their work spaces, schedule, and routines on Monday, January 3. During this time, staff will be working on adapting and developing their plans centered on our students’ academic and social-emotional needs, as well as their current reality. Recently, the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 has fueled a steep upward trajectory in positive Dane County cases. Currently, total case counts are doubling at the alarming rate of every two days. Local and national health experts are forecasting COVID-19 case counts will continue to climb, peaking in mid-to-late January. This increase in cases will further amplify critical staff shortages locally and nationwide. There are no "easy" decisions relative to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognize this decision will have a significant impact on all of our families, especially single parents and essential workers. However, we will continue to leverage our resources to support our families, while working to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Throughout the pandemic, our layered safety strategy has been highly effective in mitigating spread and keeping our schools safe. The pause will allow us to reset, and better monitor current conditions as well as secure additional resources for safety mitigation. This change will also help us to address critical staff shortages due to COVID-19, and ensure our return to in-person learning is sustainable. We are committed to providing you with the latest information as soon as we are able, and you can expect an update on our return next Thursday, January 6. In addition, food services and MSCR staff will be communicating more information on meal and childcare options in the upcoming days. If students left their chromebooks and accessories at school, they will receive communication from building administrators about how to pick up devices. All students involved in co-curriculars are recommended to be tested
... keep reading on reddit ➡My school has just informed us that they've received over 60 requests for devices. We only have 15 devices to loan out.
This numbers does not include grade 9s, all of whom were offered a device in September.
They managed to slim down the list based on other factors. The final 15 were chosen by lottery.
My school is making a request to the board and hoping we will get more devices. If schools don't resume in-person learning then it will be problematic. We're wrapping up the semester and that means culminating activities. It's not a coincidence that many of our struggling students are the same ones who don't have access to technology.
We are two years into the pandemic yet somehow we are worse off when it comes to tech. People don't understand that tech is a consumable. They will break down. Accidents will happen. We're dealing with teenagers and sometimes things come back broken or outright don't come back at all.
My friend who teaches at another high school told me a similar situation. She has grade 12 students trying to finish their English course with just a cell phone. If anyone is wondering what's the big deal, you can try writing an essay on a phone yourself and see how that works out for you. For extra difficulty, use a phone with a cracked or shattered screen.
I just want people to understand this so they don't think everything is sunshine and rainbows when it comes to secondary virtual learning. I much rather be teaching in-person (obviously in a safe workplace). We can't pivot on a dime especially when we don't even have enough resources to do so.
I thought for sure my district would never go virtual again, but our staffing is SO bad as it is (Omnicron hasn’t even hit yet) I have to cover every single day for classes. We also have several positions of people leaving/ sabbatical that are never going to be filled. In other words, my school is screwed if teachers start getting sick. Just curious, what do you think will happen at your schools?
We have virtual learning this week due to staff shortages (because of rising COVID cases). Teachers were instructed by our superintendent to report to the building during our normal contract hours. There was also some soft language about staying home and monitoring symptoms if we feel unwell.
Today, my symptoms are "I can teach from home and I don't feel like going in." So I'm not. I'll go tomorrow.
Ya'll, I think this is my breaking point. Scrambling to put something together then trying to teach while looking after my 3 year old who's daycare is closed due to snow. I gave them some BS work and put them into breakout rooms but this is too much. If you see that a teacher went postal because they were denied their snow day, that's me.
https://www.macleans.ca/society/the-cruel-ridiculous-reality-of-virtual-learning/
This piece does a great job communicating the moment-to-moment reality for parents who are dealing with this.
Due to Omicron, most private schools like Syracuse, Duke, and Yale have made the decision to delay the start of their Spring semester. Since we’re a public school it’s probably going to be harder to see this happen, but how many of y’all are worried anyways? I know I am.
Edit: I did not intend for arguments to start in the comments which is why I was hesitant on posting this in the first place, but I appreciate your input either way
LA School Officials Are Investigating Edgenuity Contract (buzzfeednews.com)
Edgenuity is apparently rebranding as "Imagine Learning", a smaller Utah outfit it acquired recently. And the lead-in for the article regards LAUSD, but other school districts have complaints about the platform as well. There's also the stated situation of using the platform in tandem with teachers having to manage classes they weren't originally specialized in.
Just finished an admin meeting with higher ups fir the school board… we are pivoting to virtual learning for the New Year.
Technology will be distributed January 4th and there will be an adjustment day for teachers and students. Technology is already being collected and signed out to students at school.
Just a heads up to prepare.
There has been no official announcement made by the board(s) or region… I am just letting you know what I’ve heard and my sources.
Kid: I can’t get it to work because I’m on an iPad.
Teacher: That’s not my problem.
What it says in the original post. What do you think?
The entire world is a COVID mess right now and these breeders are so fed up that they need to sit their kids down to teach them daily when the government decided to switch to virtual learning. They want their crotch goblins to still go to school when COVID cases are most likely in the 100k right now because they just can’t deal with them at home while working full time! So they are boycotting online learning by telling their semen demons to just skip virtual learning all together! Wow…. I guess these gremlins will stay at kindergarten level of education forever and become a social burden in the future. What kind of a role model are these breeders setting? Thank god I am child free and so damn proud of it!
everyone i know has been in-person learning, except for quarantines, for the past year. this includes my cousins who live across the nation. is there anyone still on full virtual learning?
edit: how tf do you all handle this wtf. i was virtual for in total only a few months.
I have been out of school for a long time and do not have children, but even I understand this is awful. This is on the same level as sending children home with more school work to do. Children deserve better than this.
Even the child that was interviewed said they just weren't going to tell younger children about how fun snow days used to be, so that the younger children don't know what they're missing. Destroying the joy in a child is just wrong, and so is breaking them for the work world like that.
Edit- while I have your attention, i need to know- are children still allowed to take sick days from school? Or are they expected to remote in when they are unable to in-person?
I see (and sympathize ) with many teachers who are concerned about a transition to virtual learning. I know transitioning is a crazy amount of work.
I am a full time virtual teacher, by choice. My students all chose virtual learning as their mode of instruction before the school year started. My students aren’t suffering from learning loss. We are getting it done! Building a classroom community…check, building relationships with students…check, learning the content…check.
While this doesn’t work for every teacher or every student, it can work and is a valuable opportunity for my students. It has renewed my love for teaching, provided me with much needed professional challenges, and resulted in increased job satisfaction when my kids show mastery of skills and content. Virtual learning isn’t always bad!
My district went virtual again and I want to know what I can do to help make virtual learning better for y'all. I can't turn on my camera for personal reasons but what are other ways to make it better? I am a sophomore if it matters.
I understand that WWU has already made the decision to proceed with face to face classes but as we all know, everything is fluid at this moment which means subject to change. The last thing the university wants to do is lose money which is generated by students being directly on campus but I’ve always theorized that the extra week that was given was going to be practically ineffective. It’s not even to the administration’s fault and in theory it makes sense but a portion of students would most likely just see that extra week as an extended vacation until they ultimately had to return on the 9th/10th from wherever they’re coming from. I theorized a spike in cases would happen and then out of caution, the university would go strictly virtual once again. I’m scared that might become a reality.
Already within the first few days of this quarter, cases have surpassed all of Fall quarter. I imagine those numbers aren’t even the iceberg because most students weren’t on campus that first week. Two counters for this, the numbers just reflect an increase in testing and the recent variants, particularly Omicron, aren’t as deadly compared to the Coronavirus. I hear that but I also think it’s also about optics. WWU is doing a lot to provide testing and promote public health aid to combat the spread but I’m sure if a giant wave of the student population is sick and are infected with a virus, they would be prompt to take a measure to reflect that they take students health seriously, even if in reality we may think they don’t. Also, UW going virtual till the end of January also makes me ponder considering WWU’s propensity to follow u dub’s lead. I hope I’m wrong.
My kid was just sent home with a Chromebook and a message from his teacher saying due to an “abundance of caution”, Chromebooks will be sent home with kids daily.
I talked to somebody that said CCSD is grossly short staffed due to COVID quarantine. They’re now considering a short term (~2 weeks) virtual learning again.
Anybody else heard anything like this from a reliable source?
I’m shocked that we’re expecting thousands of students to flood into our school buildings tomorrow with the current omicron wave. My guess is that most districts will make the shift within 7-10 days. Why not just do it now? Save everyone the stress, reduce the spread of Covid that you ABSOLUTELY KNOW is going to start tomorrow.
Ugh.
There are rumors in my school district but nothing has been confirmed.
