DeKalb Schools (DCSD) sought updated stakeholder input on preferences for returning to school in a traditional or hybrid setting or remaining in distance/remote learning. DCSD also requested feedback relative to precautionary measures, transportation, and fall sports/activities.
Respondent data was aggregated to provide summaries. The survey window was open from September 8-18, 2020.
Points of Interest
In accordance with the Formula To Calculate Moving To Hybrid, the Cases Per 100K (Last 2 Weeks) has been trending back up as reported by the Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report. Over the last few months, there have been a handful of days below 100 Cases Per 100K. I don’t see how the students in DeKalb Schools ever see the inside of a classroom again until the formula changes or a vaccine for COVID-19 comes out.
DCSD wanted to get newer stakeholder input to update it’s previous survey from June School Re-Opening Survey Results .
Key Findings (According To DeKalb Schools)
The following results indicate the current level of stakeholder comfort for returning to school.
Traditional Learning Model
Distance/Remote Learning Model
Hybrid Learning Model
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
The Dekalb Superintendent had to make a hard call!! No one, not even her has ever had to deal with this type of situation. The fact is that no matter what decision the Superintendent makes, there are going to be people who don’t agree. It is IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone in an non-Covid situation. So, people just need to man up and deal with the hand that we have been dealt the best way possible. As the saying goes: It is what it is!!
@DSW2Contributor – I honestly don’t know who Oster is but drinking small amounts of alcohol while pregnant is beneficial. Americans are about the only nationality that frowns upon it. Did me no harm, hic..
@Anyone who understands how learning works, I was asking a genuine question and I appreciate the answer. Not every student can excel at project-based learning, and I’m having a hard time envisioning first graders doing their own research, writing their reports, and dropping them off to be judged in terms of mastery of the subject. I can imagine AP high schoolers researching CAD software and wireframes and engineering a working prototype of an electric skateboard, but just how did they get to that point when school attendance is not required, when testing is not allowed, when quantity of work cannot be used to determine proficiency, and when grading is discouraged? I’m also not sure how San Diego’s school system can determine mastery when the board states (in draft guidance, to be fair) that “mastery shall not be influenced by behavior or factors that directly measure students’ knowledge and skills in the content area.” The board’s ideas are half-baked and maybe a later draft will fix the nonsensical notion that mastery will be entirely determined by haphazard means, perhaps a roll of the dice or a random-grade generator designed by a project-based learner, all of which should cut down the amount of time SoCal teachers need to spend on those pesky, proficiency-based learning activities. When will DCSD adopt a similar philosophy to combat the scourge of disproportionate grading in our fair county? I’m positive that day is coming based on at least 5 of the board’s members being fully baked.
@Concerned Citizen
Mastery or Standards Based Grading is a widely used grading system in lieu of the tradition 100 point grading scale. Have you looked into this aside from the article you posted? I assure you there are teachers in Dekalb who use this grading system and have converted their grades to fit Dekalb’s grade book. Students are still provided grades and held accountable but it looks different than the grades we are used to.
The philosophy behind mastery based grading is that students should be assessed based on their understanding and mastery of content. The traditional grading system assess students on content to some extent but it also assesses them on their behavior of completing and turning in assignments which does not necessarily correlate to their mastery.
For example:
Student A and Student B both earn an 80% on an exam.
Student A turned in all their class work and homework so their overall grade in the class is 90%.
Student B did not turn in all of their assignments so their overall grade is 75%.
Both students showed that they mastered 80% of the material with the B they earned on the exam.
If the goal of a course is to teach content standards, is it equitable that the grades would differ even though both students have shown the same level of mastery? Let’s say student B comes from a single-family household and missed school to help take care of a sick sibling, therefore missing classwork assignments, should their attendance impact their academic grade even though they showed mastery of the content?
Obviously it is important to teach students about responsibility, time management, accountability, and consequences and this happens with standards based grading but it is not directly tied to their grade. By the way, 45% of Dekalb’s grade book is based off of classwork. If you do all your classwork, you can fail every summative assessment and pass the class. If you pass every summative assessment but don’t do classwork, you can fail the class. Is the goal to to have students be compliant and do work or to learn content?
Here is an article that explains more how bias impacts the traditional grading system:
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52813/how-teachers-are-changing-grading-practices-with-an-eye-on-equity
Super made right call
Cases up to 123 today
Good call, Super.
Cases up to 123 today
@Young Teach, that was an interesting read and I agree that changes need to be made to the grading system, especially the 0–100 scale. I was happy to see that the real purpose of “mastery” was discussed: “The decreases in D’s and F’s were clustered among Latinx, African-American, low-income, and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Meanwhile the decrease in A’s mostly affected white students. ‘It reflects how the current system has been benefiting and punishing certain students disproportionately,’ Feldman said.”
“Mastery” is a way to get to “equity,” which as applied to public education means an equal distribution of grades by race/ethnicity as if only race/ethnicity matters in learning. Students (and learning) are much more complex than that.
I keep seeing parents complaining about their students with IEPs are only getting 2 hours of instruction a day 4 days a week… gen Ed teachers are working a lot more than this with students. What has been the response of the IEP teachers and administrators???
I suspect DeKalb County teachers agree with the following notion (from https://reason.com/2020/10/20/fairfax-teachers-union-schools-closed-vaccine/): “The metric for Safe Reopening should be 14 days of zero community spread.” But also “all-virtual education until a scientifically proven vaccine or highly effective treatment is available.”
As the writer of the article states, “one can easily imagine this demand extending well beyond next fall.”
@Young Teach I believe that grading students based on mastery of the subject matter and not on their behavior and turning in completed assignments on time and accurate the first time does a profound disservice to our students. In my mind the reason we educate children is to help equip them for life as adults in our society. As an adult, which will be more important for our students, being able to show that they have mastered pre-calculus or knowing the importance of meeting deadlines and doing things correctly the first time?
There are very few jobs where completing your assignments late or not at all is acceptable. There are very few jobs where we get a second chance to submit our work. Doing things right the first time is incredibly important. If anything these traits are more important than mastering the subject matter.
@IEP
Parents should refer to their distant learning plan (DLP) that was developed the first few month of school. This outlines the service times that the student will receive while virtual as well as any adjustments that were made to accommodations/modifications (some of my students are actually getting more now). Each child’s service times, services, and accommodations/modifications are unique to them so it could be valid for a sped teacher to only teach a student 2 hours a day. I’m the resource teacher for my school and teach multiple grade levels. Given the hours of virtual learning (less than a typical f2f day) as well as other factors (grade level schedules, individual iep goals, working around other services, etc), it may be impossible for sped teachers to teach longer than what the DLP states. Personally, I’m live 4-5 hours a day. Unfortunately, people generally only see a fraction of a sped teachers day and assume we’re not working. Again, every situation is different. If parents have questions regarding their child’s IEP services while virtual OR if general Ed teachers have questions in regards to IEP services for their students while virtual, they should contact their student’s case manager for any clarification.
Henry County schools will allow high-schoolers back face-to-face 5 days a week starting on Monday. This is their last phase of re-entry. They have 36% of their students currently in F2F instruction while allowing others to remain virtual.
It’s current cases/100k (last 2 weeks) is 133. Dekalb’s is 120.
My thoughts and prayers are with those teachers and students laying it all on the line in the name of education.
Wednesday morning, Mayor Marty Walsh announced that Boston schools would switch to all remote learning effective Thursday after the city saw a 5.7 percent COVID-19 positive rate. In the month of October, there have been 10 total positive COVID-19 cases among students and teachers in Boston Public Schools.
“It was a difficult decision because I was at the opening day of school on October 1,” Mayor Walsh said in a Wednesday night school committee meeting. “We saw many students who are very happy to be back at school,” Walsh said. “But the numbers made the decision straightforward.”
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/10/21/special-needs-students-boston-schools-remote-learning-teachers-union/
Wow, 10 cases out of more than 54,000 students during the month of October makes “the decision straightforward” to close schools. 10/54000 = 0.0001851852 or 0.0% if you want to express the product as a percentage to the first decimal place. If 0.0% is a “straightforward” number to close schools, then DCSD is right to continue with virtual classes. Our grade-schoolers will be Zooming through college at this rate … of 0.0001851852.
^ @Concerned Citizen –
You are looking backwards. You are arguing that since the infection rate in October was X, schools should open in November.
School district leaders and public health officials need to be looking forward. Mrs. Watson-Harris and her peers need to be estimating what the infection rate and other public health measures will be in December and using those determinations to decide whether or not schools should open in November.
^^^@Common Sense Isn’t
From the AJC:
—————————————————————————————————-
About 15,000 students or 36% of the [Henry County] district’s population have opted to return to brick-and-mortar buildings, school leaders said. The district has an overall student body count of 43,000.
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/henry-leaders-approve-five-day-in-person-high-school-classes/SMXV552UZFEMBB5764P3LNYGZY/
—————————————————————————————————-
Henry County’s 36% is the lowest return to school rate I’ve seen for any metro area district. 36% is even lower than the 42% that APS got with its survey that was designed to keep the return to school rate as low as possible.
@DSW2Contributor are you insinuating that surveys can be created to skew the results? Why would anyone want to do that? If APS is so sinister as to trying to drum out a desired result, would DCSD do the same?
Assuming parents are the decisions makers in their children’s educational choices (and as minors they are), Dekalb’s “32%” that are “comfortable” with traditional learning would be lower than the 36% in Henry County.
I just wanted to point out the the parent of a 17 year old that lives off Panola Road west of Snapfinger can choose to enroll their child in traditional school.
The parent of a 5 year old that lives off Panola Road east of Snapfinger doesn’t have that choice.
@DSW2Contributor, I am actually looking forward, forward to that day when we’re finally below a 0.0% chance of a COVID-19 case in schools so that teachers, administrators, and board members will agree to return students to classrooms. When do you estimate that day will come? My guess is cuando las vacas vuelen.
NPR does not mention 0.0% in this story (https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/925794511/were-the-risks-of-reopening-schools-exaggerated): “Despite widespread concerns, two new international studies show no consistent relationship between in-person K-12 schooling and the spread of the coronavirus. And a third study from the United States shows no elevated risk to childcare workers who stayed on the job.
Combined with anecdotal reports from a number of U.S. states where schools are open, as well as a crowdsourced dashboard of around 2,000 U.S. schools, some medical experts are saying it’s time to shift the discussion from the risks of opening K-12 schools to the risks of keeping them closed.”
How sad and pathetic, looking out my window at 2pm, watching school-age kids, “middle school age”, riding bikes and playing, when they should be “virtually learning.”
Cases are accelerating to the upside nationally. I suspect that by Thanksgiving-Xmas, we will be setting new highs in many categories.
Another day, another article showing how STUPID dekalb’s decision not to reopen is.
“Months into the school year, school reopenings across the United States remain a patchwork of plans: in-person, remote and hybrid; masked and not; socially distanced and not. But amid this jumble, one clear pattern is emerging.
So far, schools do not seem to be stoking community transmission of the coronavirus, according to data emerging from random testing in the United States and Britain. Elementary schools especially seem to seed remarkably few infections.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/health/coronavirus-schools-children.html?surface=home-discovery-vi-prg&fellback=false&req_id=451871943&algo=identity&imp_id=766452196&action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage
Another Day=
Another diatribe
Dekalb’s per 100000 cases will be over 130 within days.
I guess I should have said “hours” and not days.
133 per 100,000 just reported today.
@Alison, I live in Gwinnett and the kids are outside playing a lot here too. Why is that a bad thing?
She was being sarcastic, duh
^^^^@3rd Wave is here – “Dekalb’s per 100000 cases will be over 130 within days.”
And just two days after your post, Dekalb’s 2-week average is up to 140 cases per 100K, Clayton’s is up to 145 and Fulton’s is up to 149.
Yet even with these “incredibly” high numbers, schools are able to open, teachers and students are safe and sound. Well, except for DeKalb of course.
Safe and sound
You’re only that way because schools are virtuously doing virtual. Thank goodness for that because we’re heading back to 4000 cases daily in Georgia soon.
Flu Season, and family holiday gatherings truly could drive another shut-down. Easily. Stocking up on TP now.
safe and sound
you sound like your president….Trump and you shamelessly mocking the number of cases
Alison Mercer,
How many people have died of the Flu in 2020? It’s a miracle.
@rounding the corner
I think you mean everyone’s president. What are you going to do if he wins again?
@Demographics: Trump is “everybody’s president” LMAO. This is the man who tried to withhold aid from CA, who constantly refers to “Democrat run” states and cities as if they are not part of the UNITED states.
Thankfully, he only has a 13 in 100 chance of winning and we’ll only have to think about him until January 2021. The better question is: what are YOU going to do when he loses and decency, compassion, and morality return to the White House.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/
Today’s AJC:
“Fulton schools administrators say return to in-person learning has gone well”
“Nearly two weeks after all Fulton County public school students were invited to physically return to brick-and-mortar classrooms, administrators say things have gone well — and they’ve learned a lot about teaching in the age of coronavirus.”
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/fulton-schools-administrators-say-return-to-in-person-learning-has-gone-well/KJOXJTGHMFEKBBUXTXLK4A7SWY/
And usually, the first two weeks are the worst.
But go ahead and think I’m a Trump supporter. I’m actually just a parent who wants my kids educated.
From the same AJC article
“Jones said Thursday that most teachers feel it is now safe to physically return to classrooms.”
Late with the TOD drop
Are They Allowed To Do That?
Is the DeKalb School system allowed to operate a “Digital Learning Program?” In other words “Is DCSD accredited by Cognia (formerly AdvancED-SACS) to do Digital/Remote/Distance ‘Learning’?”
Are they? If we have learned anything since the Spring Of Our Discontent it is that Digital Learning requires a different pedagogy, a different infrastructure, different learning resources and more importantly different teacher skills and capabilities. We’ve also learned that DCSD, while hardly capable of running a brick and mortar program even with an enormously bloated budget, is fantastically incapable of a digital transformation. They lack leadership, core knowledge and key capabilities throughout.
What are concerned parents to do? If they are familiar with Bryan Caplan’s premise that education is mostly signalling then they should be terrified at the prospect of their child being “credentialed” by an unaccredited program. As many of their children’s educators are pointing out this digital transformation is not a simple flip of the switch. Thankfully, for at least some parents, it is a simple flip of the switch: from DeKalb Public schools to programs, Digital or F2F, that are accredited.
Parents with students in DeKalb Public are unarguably facing the prospect of their children never returning to classroom in a brick and mortar setting. If your children’s education is going to be delivered to the den, shouldn’t it at least be from a capable, accredited organization like one of the many Virtual Academies that know what they’re doing? And can prove it.
https://theotherdunwoody.blogspot.com/2020/10/are-they-allowed-to-do-that.html
^^^ Yeah….. Fulton County is doing such a great job that they have to close Hembree Springs Elementary School for 3 days:
https://twitter.com/FultonCoSchools/status/1320842552170344449
Fulton County has only been open for 9 school days and they have had to close 3 schools during that time…. it’s going great alright.
More details about how “fine” Fulton County Schools are doing from WSB-TV /Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik:
https://twitter.com/MPetchenikWSB/status/1320903566291312642
3rd Wave is here….or is it old data being dumped from September into October like what happened last week? You have to wonder why this is still happening 8 months in. Everyone including our county is working from bad data and to say we’re not is just flat out wrong. Cases from September are gone by October.
A great resource for those that don’t want to rely on mass media outlets
https://www.covid-georgia.com/
Bad Data
Guess you read same data as Trump does. Covid is a hoax, right?
https://youtu.be/7x-biB_JrcU
Published on Oct 27, 2020
The latest numbers from the CDC reveal hospitals have been counting patients who died from serious preexisting conditions as COVID-19 deaths. One America’s Pearson Sharp has more, as the CDC counts over 51-thousand patients who actually died from heart attacks, as opposed to the coronavirus.
——————-
Why wasn’t this type of data manipulation done for H1N1? If it was done Dekalb would have been shut down and still shut down as would the country.
Please do not expect anyone with half a brain to take any story from OAN seriously.
SMH,
Google search CDC Revises Death Rate, how many times does the CDC have to report on their mistakes before people take it serious? Let me guess 11/4 by your slanted POV? If this was copied from CNN/MSNBC/ Fox News would you believe it more?
“ROME, Ga. – A surge in coronavirus quarantines is causing Rome City Schools to go completely virtual for at least two weeks starting Wednesday. Officials said they will clean affected areas meanwhile…..More than 600 students, faculty, and staff have either tested positive or possibly been exposed to someone with the coronavirus, prompting their quarantine, the school district announced Tuesday. All 6,400 students in the district will transition midweek to online instruction through at least Nov. 6, as long as the number of quarantines and cases have subsided by the end of the 10 days.”
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/rome-city-schools-go-virtual-as-covid-19-quarentines-surge
^^ Snopes.com – “Did the CDC Significantly ‘Readjust COVID-19 Death Numbers’?”
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cdc-death-figures/
I’m shocked Rome City Schools lasted as long as they did doing face to face. What were they thinking? They’re going back in two weeks? How dumb is that? They’ll be closing again before Thanksgiving.
How many of us are going to lose power tonight? Much of DeKalb is in the predicted widespread area. What is DeKalb’s plan if teachers and/0r students can’t log on in the morning? Anyone? Of course DeKalb has no plan, in an area of the state that routinely gets hit with tropical storms.
Wouldn’t it be nice if teachers were able to be at schools so we might have a decent change at school tomorrow and Friday?
Wouldn’t it be nice if DeKalb would say we will postpone next Wednesday’s “meetings” and hold classes then to make sure we stay on track?
Wouldn’t it just be nice for DeKalb to have a clue for once?
So virtual is supposed to be for when we have inclement weather, yet tomorrow we are going to cancel virtual?
And no thoughts to using Wednesday’s to make the days up?
Isn’t anyone in charge of this joke of a system??
152 per 100,000
It would be interesting to see an analysis of the growth of the virus in counties that are in-school versus virtual. It seems anecdotally that transmission may be less in counties whose schools are in traditional format.
Bill
Here’s an anecdotal fact for you….Dekalb’s case per 100,ooo has increase by 50% over the last two weeks.
Anecdotal.
Here’s an anecdotal fact for you…Dekalb’s case per 100,000 has decreased 275% over the last three months.
See how great it is to use percentages?
Common nonsense
What do you and Trump have in common?
Mendacity
fact we were at 96 cases a couple of weeks ago…we’re at 152 today..What percentage is that?
Virtual classes aren’t canceled tomorrow- just the in-person PSAT.
Clearly f2f reading instruction didn’t work for you…
@Meddlesome, I’m a proud Democrat but don’t know why that even matters. I was pointing out that by taking a different snapshot in time, I can “show” whatever I want to via percentages. Clearly you didn’t pick up on that.
Yes, 152/96 = 158%, or a 58% INCREASE over the last two weeks.
Also, cases per 100k in late July were ~418. 418/152 = 275% DECREASE since July.
If you’re still confused, focus a little more on that M word that ends with -ATH.
“More than two dozen schools in the Cobb County School District are reporting coronavirus cases.
As of Friday, 25 elementary and five middle schools reported that each has fewer than 10 cases of COVID-19 confirmed by the Cobb & Douglas Public Health Department, according to the Cobb County School District’s website. The health department has confirmed 443 cases of COVID-19 in the district since July 1.”
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/30-cobb-schools-now-reporting-covid-19-cases/X3RIIJRORVFF7LKKHWW4Q7SQQE/
Sadly, I think we will see 200 cases per 100,000 before we see 150 again in Dekalb.
Dcsd virtual learning is not accredited
https://theotherdunwoody.blogspot.com/2020/11/you-got-to-be-good-lookin.html
^^ Fulton is up to 172 cases/100K and Dekalb is up to 165 cases/100K as of yesterday afternoon (Monday, November 2.)
I was not sure where to post this. This was on WSB last night. The former superintendent candidate is filing a discrimination lawsuit against the DCSS.
https://www.wsbtv.com/video/?id=47b3390f-50f6-4186-ba38-b162364719a5
Many of our children had no school on Thursday or Friday. Today for whatever reason is a half day. Tomorrow is another in the long line of Wednesdays where the students get nothing.
If this were a normal year, the central office would be screaming to make up the lost days from the tropical storm. We have built in days (Wednesdays) that could be used for this purpose.
Yet DeKalb does nothing. Our students are suffering, our students aren’t learning what they need to. Why does no one give a damn?
Interesting… Gwinnett and Marietta schools are recruiting Substitutes. Dekalb refuses to use most Subs unless they are former certified teachers, even though All Subs must hold a Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline.
Today, there are over 200 Dekalb teacher openings due to resignations and retirements. Who is teaching the kids??? Dekalb only pays Subs $95 per day. Gwinnett is $110. Marietta is paying $135/day. Gwinnett and Marietta are using Subs at this time. So, Dekalb’s Substitute pay is the lowest. Dekalb has lost a big chunk of their hard-to-find Subs, and Dekalb has failed to tap into this valuable (and dwindling) great resource. Just Dumb.
.
Stan, I’m sorry your wife lost District 1. So no Republicans on school board and no Republican commissioners.
Covid update: Fulton is up to 182 cases/100K and Dekalb is up to 193 cases/100K as of today, Wednesday, November 4.
I am sorry your wife lost. I remember when she was on the DCSD Board of Ed. Do you think she will return?
Not sure where the future will take us.
Like I said…
virtual vector | October 31, 2020 at 5:41 PM |
Sadly, I think we will see 200 cases per 100,000 before we see 150 again in Dekalb
201 today
Dr. Beasley and Clayton County Schools are staying with virtual learning until January:
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/clayton-countys-beasley-to-talk-remote-learning-through-end-of-year/JXT2FEA7CNBPRHW2GODXIVCTSQ/
As of today, the Cases per 100K (last 2 weeks) rates are: Dekalb 198, Clayton 186, and Fulton 171.
And another outbreak in a Fulton County school:
——————————————————————–
Fulton County Schools has announced that North Springs High School would move classes online Monday and Tuesday because of a small COVID-19 outbreak.
There were three or more students/staff were confirmed to have the virus at the high school in Sandy Springs, the district posted on Facebook just before 5 p.m. Friday.
After consulting with the Fulton County Board of Health, the district said the two days will give officials enough time to do contact tracing. People who need to “quarantine for longer will be notified directly,” the district added.
——————————————————————–
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/covid-19-forces-a-fulton-high-school-online-early-next-week/D6ZW7HHYPVG3BBI5GVISI3ZJ7E/
Atlanta Public Schools superintendent tests positive for COVID-19:
https://www.cbs46.com/news/atlanta-public-schools-superintendent-tests-positive-for-covid-19/article_43a22616-2085-11eb-9cc8-7353374cf668.html
@DSW2 –
We all realize you are trying to use your “news” to say that schools shouldn’t reopen. However, all of your articles simply point to schools successfully managing the virus. Yes, one or two people are going to get it. Yes, there may be a cluster here where you have to go online again for a few days. THIS IS TO BE EXPECTED.
But thanks for the articles. If this is the worst (and it is) it just proves even more how inept DeKalb is and how they are hurting their students for no reason. DeKalb should have provided the choice of going in person months ago.
Expected, next please |
Sorry your candidate lost the presidential election. By the way, how are students in DeKalb being hurt? Are they not receiving an education? In addition, students are either engaged or not. It doesn’t matter if it is virtual or in person. The delivery method doesn’t matter. A student is either engaged or disengaged. This is true if they are in front of a computer or in a classroom.
@Nightmare
You’re an idiot. I voted for Biden. And how are kids being hurt? By receiving half assed (even for DeKalb) education. 30 minutes twice a week is NOT an education. And it doesn’t compare to having five days in person for 45 minutes or more. Obviously you have no clue when you say the delivery doesn’t matter.
Next time, try to think. I know it’s got to be hard for you, but give it a shot.
It’s great the national “nightmare” is ending.
If only the DeKalb school nightmare would also end – with real school five days a week with the option for in person.
Expected next please
Obviously, you missed my point. I meant delivery doesn’t matter to a disengaged student or to an engaged student. They’re interested students and the inverse of that in all classrooms. So if you’re an engaged student you’ll pay attention and if your disinterested you won’t. Regardless how the lesson is delivered.
Dekalb is up to 203 cases/100K as of yesterday, Sunday, November 8, just as virtual vector predicted:
———————————————————————————
virtual vector | October 31, 2020 at 5:41 PM |
Sadly, I think we will see 200 cases per 100,000 before we see 150 again in Dekalb
———————————————————————————
Today Dekalb is up to 214 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
And today Dekalb is up to 229 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
Statewide average is 222 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
Thankfully, the Superintendent didn’t listen to those face-to-face fanatics and used logic and caution….Looks like 300 before 100
@super is super –
The Super is an idiot. All these other counties got months of school in, safely, before they even had to consider closing. If they go virtual, it’s a TEMPORARY thing for them, not this lazy-minded permanent solution like with dekalb.
Remind me where teachers and students are dropping like flies, where there’s blood on the administrators hands? Exactly.
Super is an Idiot
You’re the idiot!!! Well see how temporary the virtual is in January and February when cases will be double from where they are now.
@ Easy –
Yeah, we’ll see how this is in January and February when DeKalb is still sitting on their collective brains and our kids brains are atrophying. Look it up, you dumb ass.
No one cares about the kids
You sound angry. Face facts. Dekalb, wisely soill be virtual this entire year….except it D.A.
Today Dekalb is up to 234 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
Statewide average is 230 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
@Trump needs a job –
Are you happy about the lack of education in three metro counties while others continue finding a way to teach the kids? That’s what this boils down to. Not politics, not “protecting” teachers. It boils down to the kids. So if you’re happy about that, you’re a dumb ass too.
Today Dekalb is up to 242 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
No one cares about the kids |
It’s about saving lives and protecting the health of teachers, staff, and students. That supersedes everything. But you, behind the safety of your computer and your misinformation, can’t see this. Guess the incredible rise of cases nationwide does not concern you. Get off your soapbox and do something constructive. D.A.
Today Dekalb is up to 250 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
The Statewide Average is up to 236 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
@DSW2 –
Yet schools (except DeKalb) have successfully reopened and are having in-person classes while DeKalb students are left behind.
Maybe we could learn from Europe where schools are open and restaurants and pubs are closed – https://www.npr.org/2020/11/13/934153674/lessons-from-europe-where-cases-are-rising-but-schools-are-open?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20201116&instance_id=24145&nl=the-morning®i_id=133223125&segment_id=44585&te=1&user_id=9c13deee3ec31f671331b713aa6d1ce5
In Texas, the state education department will withhold funds from counties that do not have some type of F2F choice available.
I wonder if Georgia could do that so those that want a choice could have it.
Teachers should have a choice as well.
It’s not that difficult to make this option available. Dekalb does NOT have the protocols in place to open F2F, hybrid etc. that’s why they are being so obtuse.
If Biden says in January that ALL school systems are required to open in some form or fashion on February 1st, Dekalb will not be ready. Even though they say they have a plan in progress, they are not ready.
Just wait and see!
^ In Texas, prison inmates are being paid $2/hour to move and stack the bodies of Covid-19 victims in refrigerated trucks because the morgues are overflowing with bodies.
The British tabloid “The Sun” published pictures of it:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13220099/prisoners-stacking-bodies-covid-19-coronavirus-morgue-texas/
“Texas currently has the largest coronavirus outbreak of any state, and last week became the first to register over one million cases since the start of the pandemic.”
Today Dekalb is up to 263 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
I’m thinking Dekalb is going to surpass 400 before we get back down to 100.
@DSW2Contributor, how important will that case/100k metric be when the county’s funding is at risk and you’re potentially out of a job?
Common Sense Isn’t
Your moniker sums up your thought process. De-funding for education will never happen. Remember, your president just got beat…
@Dsw2
Yet schools (except DeKalb) have successfully reopened and are having in-person classes while DeKalb students are left behind.
Stan, Can you report how many students have left DCSS by school? And is there a way to see failing grades per school? Rumors are flying around that enrollment has dropped by more than 200 kids per school, and the number of kids failing various subjects across the board is staggering. I am looking for trends. Where are the kids who have left (are they in one area of DeKalb)? Are there pockets of kids who are failing, or is it everywhere across the county? Will DeKalb switch to pass/fail instead of grades? Think about how many kids will be lost and never re-engage or catch up – the negative consequences of online school could last years and even lifetimes. On the flip side, kids and families who have moved out are already catching up and will be fine. If you’re thinking this is being overly dramatic, zoom into some classes and see for yourself. It’s not working. There are many wonderful teachers doing a great job, and there are many wonderful students committed to learning. But I wish everyone would stop kidding themselves. It is not working for most kids. There is another rumor next semester will stay online, but the county will go back to normal school day hours. Because online school is going so well. Right.
Hello @Daddio. Good questions.
Enrollment I have the FTE enrollment numbers here. You can compare each school year over year. I haven’t done a full analysis, but enrollment is down 5% across the district. Enrollment is really down at schools like Oak Grove ES.
http://factchecker.stanjester.com/enrollment-and-capacity/
Grades – The administration promised a MAP testing results analysis presentation to the public in December. I’m hoping the MAP results will drive the conversation about what the plan is next semester.
Cases per 100k (last 2 weeks) – Back in June, the DOE recommended using the “Cases per 100k (last 2 weeks)” to determine whether or not to go back to school in person. The CDC and DOE have since changed their recommendations, but the administration is sticking with that formula.
http://factchecker.stanjester.com/2020/09/11891/
Survey Results – The most recent survey indicates that people county wide have reservations about going back to school, especially the employees.
http://factchecker.stanjester.com/2020/10/11931/
Pass/Fail – I haven’t heard anything about the administration considering going to pass/fail.
Hi Stan! Where can we find the updated teacher salary scale with our step raise starting January 2021? We haven’t received any information about this. If you could post it, that would be great. Thanks Stan.
Today Dekalb is up to 264 cases/100K (last two weeks.)
Also I learned today that there is a twitter account tracking school personnel lost to Covid-19:
https://twitter.com/LostToCovid
Yesterday Dekalb was up to 278 cases/100K (last two weeks.)