First day of students is tomorrow. Mandatory masks, but full classes with minimal (if any) distancing, and they are using cafeterias for lunch as normal.

How long until in-person instruction has to be suspended in my district due to outbreaks? #cosoteachers

@voltronic
I don't know where you are, or what the vaccination rate is where you teach, but we're heading into week 4 of the same situation you describe, and students keep getting Covid, I keep getting letters about it, but they haven't shut down school.

I don't know if they will.

@janallmac
Well I wonder if your local health board has moved the goalposts like mine has. They have said students who were in the area around one who was infected do not need to quarantine as long as they were wearing a mask, no matter how close they were.

@janallmac
They were incredibly specific about what constituted "close contact" last year, and now it's just ridiculous.

@voltronic
"Close contact" for us, I believe, is defined as within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes.

I'm not sure they're taking masks into account.

I can say that masking seems to have an impact; per capita (not total cases) we seem to be having fewer cases than counties without mask mandates.

There's still a lot of transmission, though.

@janallmac
That was our definition last year, and they are still using it for all staff. For students, they are making a huge exception. It's especially bad for the youngest kids who have not had vaccines.

@voltronic @janallmac there are going to be some seriously pissed off parents when kids to young to be vaccinated are put in these situations, then contract it and bring it home to their families.

This makes no sense to me.

What happened to "science"

@Bemet_Or @voltronic @janallmac

it's all "science fiction" to them....

@Bemet_Or​
What do you mean, WHEN kids too young to be vaccinated are put in these situations??? That's happening NOW, all over the place. Full classrooms, full activities, only 3ft distancing and that only happens "when possible". Sure they have to wear masks, but they are not "well-fitting" and are mostly single-layer cloth from what I'm seeing. Some parents are still giving their kids masks with the exhalation valve!

@killagator @janallmac​

I would totally support a teacher strike. @voltronic @killagator @janallmac

@Bemet_Or
As a staunch union guy, I appreciate your support ✊ but I'm fairly sure a strike wouldn't have the desired effect, and communities would lash out against the teachers. I have walked the picket line before, and it only ever works when admin has obviously screwed over staff on salary and benefits. Getting "working condition" language in teacher contracts is extremely difficult.

@killagator @janallmac

<sigh> so frustrating... stay as safe as you can. @voltronic @killagator @janallmac