With Seattle Public Schools opening for full-time in-person learning one week from Wednesday, families with questions about health/safety issues are invited to an online “town hall’ tomorrow. At 4:30 pm Tuesday, district leaders plan a community Q&A session. You can participate via Microsoft Teams, or watch live on platforms including YouTube – the links are here. You can read about school health/safety protocols and other new-school-year plans here.
Do we know if Schmitz park transitional school has laid out drop off and pick up driving plans to the parents for our already overcrowded narrow street?? Spokane/50th and 51st?
Just curious – without the politics or snarky comments – who is feeling fully confident returning their under 12 child (non-vaccinated) to a full capacity school vs. finding alternate means for education?
We are remaining remote until our child can get vaccinated. . .
Mine is 12 and vaccinated and we’re still doing remote this year. Schools in other parts of the country that started this month are already having some shut downs. We do have a higher vaccination rate here, so maybe we’ll make it without having to shut down – but I just thought it would be less stressful to make our own decisions rather than waiting and wondering what the virus or the school district will do next. Just adding also that I think Seattle schools are doing a really great job, they have some good ideas and put a lot of safety measurers in place.
My wife and I are Sealth teachers with preschoolers at home. We share your nerves. I take some comfort in the high vaccination rate and mask wearing in W. Seattle. I hope that you believe that your child’s teacher and school staff care deeply about their health and well-being. But I think there will be cases and outbreaks through the winter. Hopefully our community will do what needs to be done to protect the vulnerable. We are weathering the same storm, lashed together by ropes that I believe will stay. The wind and waves are real and you are right to be concerned. We are as well.
Of course there’s risk but, after a year of the alternative, “waiting it out” seems like a never ending proposition. We know the preventive measures that work and can see the school implementing protocols that help us feel safer. Plus, I expect schools to be the first to administer the vaccine to kids when it gets approved which makes it advantageous to already be in school Ultimately, going back to in-person school is better for our kid’s well being (and ours!). Social activities in a protected environment and dynamic learning will be more fulfilling than remote learning in isolation.
You expect schools to administer vaccines? When was the last time you stepped into a school? 1970s?
What? They already have:
https://westseattleblog.com/2021/05/vaccination-clinics-start-tomorrow-at-seattle-public-schools/
I want there to be a vaccine for 5-11s asap. But I also feel fairly comfortable going back to school. I am an Elementary teacher. I think school staff did a pretty good job keeping kids safe in the Spring, kids did well with wearing masks, and our community has done a great job doing their part by getting vaccinated. Hopefully even more will continue to get vaccinated now that the FDA has officially approved the vaccine and more employers are mandating it. Lunchtime is my only concern, but many schools are doing their best to make lunchtime outside which will make it safer.
I’m a teacher too and our district has not communicated out the safety plan to parents or staff. Website has zero info on COVID protocols and robo calls mention nothing about masks or safety. There is no remote option for our district. As a vaccinated teacher in a k-5 school I am very worried about Covid and the implications it will have. I fear the day a student or family member dies because of the rush to get back to “normal”. At least Seattle is offering some info to parents which goes a long way.
Some other options might be having your kids come home for lunch, especially older kids and kids that live close by could do that. Or they might do a half day, either in the morning before lunch or the afternoon. At this point I think it’s just about picking whatever’s going to be the least stressful.
I was on the call earlier this evening and I feel it could’ve addressed more questions that were brought to the table. It was very short (this coming from someone who’s been doing Teams meetings all year and HATES them lol). There’s a lot to cover. I know. It’s not all going to get resolved via one or two Teams meetings. And I’m in SPS’s corner – especially the teachers. We should be so thankful for what the teachers have put into this entire fiasco not only for our own children but for themselves as well. Let’s set some more time aside for the upcoming onslaught that is the upcoming school year and dig into specifics. One topic I’m a little more concerned about immediately – the First Student situation. Aaaaaaannnnnd GO!
Hello,I am a parent that needed continued online education for my kid, who is vulnerable to Covid, like thousands of others.I called some of the schools that SPS suggested in the communication that they were dropping us.
The SPS communication comments on “Low enrollment.” So I wonder what the number is.Yes, the number, because you know that forcing people to go to school will increase the number of infections and deaths.So what was the tolerable number of dead kids that they used to drop us ??My number is zero; they should have an option, even if it were one student.What is the number? And what are they planning to say when a kid dies because of dropped online education?????-Thanks
I am dreading sending my elementary kids back to school in person. The District has given us no choice and little information. The last Town Hall was mostly fluff and they didn’t answer any difficult questions. Our school has had 1 virtual meeting with parents and only allotted 100 participants (our school has 678 students!) and blamed that on the PTA not upgrading Zoom. Our school was dead-set on having kids eat inside the classroom until so many parents demanded outdoor lunch and now they are frantically trying to obtain the tents offered by the district and until they arrive (because school starts TOMORROW) kids will be eating “picnic style.” No clue how many kids it will take getting sick before they shut down but my feeling is that they won’t go remote – seems like kids will just get sick, infect others, quarantine, then back to school. Hopefully no children fall seriously ill or worse with this ridiculous experiment.
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