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Sunday, June 28, 2020

DCPS looking to spend millions on plastic shields, masks still optional. (draft)

You know for years I have been advocating for later start times for high schools. The science is pretty clear that high school kids should start later in the day.

https://www.cdc.gov/features/school-start-times/index.

The district always replies we can't afford it because of magnet school busing. Buses rum multiple routes for multiple schools and we would need a lot more buses and that would cost a lot more money. 

Well friends I believe we can throw that excuse out the window and I think I have figured out where we can get the money.

Grumpy Educator has shared and invoice of the districts plan to buy Plexiglas shields and friends they going to run the district in the millions to buy.

https://duvalcosb.civicclerk.com/Web/GenFile.aspx?ad=18202&fbclid=IwAR3jhAlliACq-Ec4TQDlA8tTUHZg4FFp0RK9KlDKYJh4C35SrXR2_GmPQtE

Listen I am torn on this. I don't think the Plexiglas shields would hurt and I think they would help with slowing the spread of the disease. That being said it's millions for something if we are lucky we won't need much past Christmas or beyond this year.

Then think about this, the district is willing to spend millions on screens but shrugs their shoulders at masks. This despite the CDC and the Florida health department practically begging us to make them mandatory. 

This is what I think we need to do and for those of you that disagree with me, cool, share your ideas, I  would love to see them. I don't think the districts plan was well thought out in the least and we are all in this together.

I would like to see us stagger start times by grades for schools. Masks are required in all common areas and then we have a serious ease of movement plan, at all grades. Where a group of kids stay with the same group all day long. They eat in the room and are escorted to and from the class. Then if one kid in that class gets sick then just that class goes out and not the entire school.

With masks, I think the kids should all wear them all the time, but is that realistic? At least if students are in the same group and there were an outbreak it would be limited to that group. 

I believe if we did this we could do four days a week at all levels with one day for distance learning and deep cleaning, a day staff especially those with children could work from home.

Masks basically being optional and with no ease of movement plan, the district's plan is a recipe for disaster.

I am not against Plexiglas shields though I think there are better things we can spend that money on.
More money for nurses, more/any testing and staggering start times with more buses come to mind.

I applaud the district for wanting to get us back, I believe we all want to get back, but the thing is if we don't do it right we will be right back where we started or worse.

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