schools closing

[hillview]

Our schools just closed til end of next week and likely longer. Anyone else? Any ideas for what the kids can do (our library also closed).

[mnj77]

Ours is on spring break the next two weeks, then closed for two more weeks.

[petesgirl]

Our closed today until further notice.

[BDKmom]

Our district just announced digital learning for next week and reassessment next Thursday about the status of the following week. We were already scheduled to be off tomorrow. Public school district in Atlanta suburbs.

[Snow mom]

I expect we will close this weekend. Still debating pulling my kids before they close.

[georgiegirl]

We have spring break next week (thankfully). The largest district in our metro area announced no school until 3/30. Our district said it would update us by the end of the day tomorrow. I’m guessing they will close as well.


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[gatorsmom]

It sounds like my kids will be going to school next week. We received this notice from DD's dance school. They aren't closing either, yet, although her dance competition in Madison next weekend was postponed.

"While COVID-19 is prominent in the news, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services states that the risk remains low in Wisconsin.
This afternoon State Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm said today her agency recommends the cancellation of all events involving more than 250 people. That recommendation does not extend to K-12 public schools, although schools will have to use different “tools and tactics” to keep student gatherings small."

[Mommy_Mea]

Ours are closed through next week at least, guessing it will be longer.

[Philly Mom]

We are closed for two weeks. I would guess we will be closed for at least 4. My brother's are closed for 6.

[SnuggleBuggles]

It’s amazing to me how many schools have a spring break- like it’s the norm/ assumed. Growing up, we got Thursday, Friday and Monday around Easter off. First snow day removed Thursday, second would remove Monday. And that’s still the case!
Anyway, no calls have been made yet but they are working on the digital learning options.


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[jacksmomtobe]

We just got notified that our district (large public district in ma) is closing all schools tomorrow and next week with the possibility of extending it longer. I tried to push ds who is in hs go take a make up test today thinking today might be the last day for a bit. His first gf just broke up with him so he has been a roller coaster of emotion and didn’t feel he would be able to give his best effort. I knew I could really push him due to the situation. The term closes in 2 wks so I hope he doesn’t get screwed because he has had some time to take the test.

Our soccer clubs (dd plays for one club and ds plays for another) have also stopped all practices etc until at least end of March. Since my kids are older (13&& soon to be 16) I will let them go to a local field where they would likely be the only people there to practice soccer together. I will also encourage both to go on runs and walk the dogs. The forecast looks a bit iffy with a mix of rainy days and sunny ones. Luckily dh is going into work. They are allowing people to work from home so he will likely be the only person there. Otherwise I think we would have quite a bit of conflict with ds screaming at the Xbox and dh trying to work. :). Ds had some college showcases for soccer coming up including one in VA which I’m guessing will be cancelled on Tuesday when the tournament hosts make a decision. DS is scheduled to take driver’s ed over April Break so hopefully things are better by then.

[Kestrel]

Here in Washington state, most schools are closed or are closing Monday. Some have announced they will be closed at long as six weeks!

[NCGrandma]

Three large public school systems around here just announced closures starting Monday (in some cases, by starting spring break early). So Duke and UNC faculty who are trying to move all instruction online will need to do so with their kids underfoot... (At least at UNC, next week is supposed to be spent learning how to use the online instruction options.)


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[westwoodmom04]

No return to school for us until 4/7 at the earliest. First 10 days or so Spring break, although most people not going anywhere, then remote learning for the remainder.

[mommy111]

Public school in Boston didn’t close, I’m SO upset, the superintendent keeps sending totally inane messages. Completely clueless to the fact that Boston is now an epicenter. The stupidity is hurting my head, really

[o_mom]

We have school tomorrow, then three weeks of e-learning followed by Spring Break.

[KpbS]

We are closed through 3/30. My kids are homeschooled and not too amused I told them we will do some work next week though, lol.

DS1’s online classes will continue as per usual

[Globetrotter]

DS and I talked about AP exams in May. If this goes on, I wonder if those will be canceled (more likely postponed). They really seem so minor in the context of a pandemic… Talk about perspective.

[PZMommy]

Public school in Boston didn’t close, I’m SO upset, the superintendent keeps sending totally inane messages. Completely clueless to the fact that Boston is now an epicenter. The stupidity is hurting my head, really

He must be getting the same info the superintendent in Los Angeles is, although our union is demanding they shut down, and as teachers we spent all day preparing to shut down after tomorrow.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

we are on spring break now - just got notification that school next week is closed too.
while super annoying and inconvenient, it is the right decision. right after spring break i'm sure many have traveled and kids in school is just going to make it spread super fast.

[carolinacool]

Three large public school systems around here just announced closures starting Monday (in some cases, by starting spring break early). So Duke and UNC faculty who are trying to move all instruction online will need to do so with their kids underfoot... (At least at UNC, next week is supposed to be spent learning how to use the online instruction options.)


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Oh wow. School has not closed here, but they announced several new procedures today. All field trips of been canceled. I’m so sad for DS who was supposed to go to the coast at the end of April. Only parents and guardians are allowed in school, and they can only go as far as the office. No classroom visits. Any sort of parent-teacher conference now needs to happen by phone. No gatherings of more than 100 people, which I imagine will affect any proms happening in early April. Sports have also been put on hold until the beginning of April.

[essnce629]

DS1's school (private HS in Los Angeles) shut down today and tomorrow and then they have spring break for the next 2 weeks.

We haven't heard any news about DS2's school (public independent charter) closing yet.

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[niccig]

He must be getting the same info the superintendent in Los Angeles is, although our union is demanding they shut down, and as teachers we spent all day preparing to shut down after tomorrow.

Completely agree. Parents need to prepare... give them notice that this will happen at some point.


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[westwoodmom04]

we are on spring break now - just got notification that school next week is closed too.
while super annoying and inconvenient, it is the right decision. right after spring break i'm sure many have traveled and kids in school is just going to make it spread super fast.

Our school (private) said it reserves the right to require anyone traveling during spring break or distance learning to submit proof of good health from a physician before being allowed to return to school, and definitely will require for any international travel, plus two week quarantine if travel to level 2 or 3 country. Nearly everyone has cancelled travel anywhere by plane.

[Globetrotter]

SF Bay Area here.. We got a message saying our district has been advised by public health NOT to cancel school but we can choose to keep the kids home without penalty. Ds wants to go.

I wonder if the reasons are things like child care and food insecurity, vs public health.

San Francisco itself has closed schools.

[MontrealMum]

All the area public schools are closed tomorrow. Admin will be discussing how to proceed. Most private schools are still on spring break.

Province-wide all gatherings of 250 or more have been cancelled. All libraries, pools, arenas etc are closed. Universities have gone to distance learning.


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[DualvansMommy]

My kids school district announced in emails after their BOE meeting earlier to tonight, with tomorrow as the kids last day of school. Monday is closed to students while teachers get a day of prep to prepare for online instruction, effective Tuesday until April 3rd! Then it’s our spring break and resume classes on 14th, that’s if conditions are good to reopen.

Club soccer team is pushing our season back till end of March instead of this weekend as the opening date. I feel baseball will follow...will see as their official start date doesn’t start until early April though. Surreal.


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[almostmom]

Boston suburbs here, and school is closed until end of March. School sports tryouts postponed until then as well. All play-off games cancelled. Not sure if there will be online learning.

[essnce629]

We just got the email. DS2's school and all of Los Angeles Unified schools are closed starting Monday.

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[lizzywednesday]

There are closures in nearby districts, and an early dismissal today (3/13) and Monday (3/16) to plan for remote learning.

They've canceled a PTO event that was scheduled for next Friday, as well as postponed the high school's spring musical performance.

The ice rink where DD takes skating lessons is closed through Monday at least, all libraries' public programs have been canceled through 4/13, and I've postponed the special meeting I was going to hold for my Girl Scouts on Sunday.

I strongly suspect that they will go remote starting next week, but they're moving quite slowly at this point - no cases have been reported in the county, although there are folks under observation (2 people at a party that was held in Princeton last weekend have been announced as presumed positives in the state's count.)

If the schools close, I've got another troop meeting to call off this month.

[ett]

Boston suburbs here, and school is closed until end of March. School sports tryouts postponed until then as well. All play-off games cancelled. Not sure if there will be online learning.

Boston suburbs here too and school is closed until end of the month. Teachers will be given some days to prep and then there will be online learning. Lots of school and town activities there were planned for the coming weeks are all cancelled. DS1 was suppose to take the SAT tomorrow, which was also cancelled.

[marinkitty]

Large suburban Chicago public school here. The high school and all feeder districts closed today with an in-service for teachers to prepare for remote learning. Kids were told to take everything with them at the end of the school day yesterday. Remote learning starts Monday for a week, then we have spring break and we all assume we will return to remote learning after that. Chicago Public Schools and Evanston Public Schools, which both have a far more diverse population and more kids on food plans etc. are still open today.

Club soccer, private choir, library, park district, community center, gym all closed starting today. All tutoring for ACT/SAT has gone remote. All therapy appointments have either gone remote or remote optional.

All this since 3:30 pm yesterday!

[LD92599]

Northern NJ we're closed now (starting after school today) for a minimum of 2 weeks. The days will count as regular school days due to digital learning!

[pharmjenn]

SF Bay Area here.. We got a message saying our district has been advised by public health NOT to cancel school but we can choose to keep the kids home without penalty. Ds wants to go.

I wonder if the reasons are things like child care and food insecurity, vs public health.

San Francisco itself has closed schools.

MDUSD here in the East Bay. Watching the live streamed emergency board meeting now. Received notice this morning that schools are closed as of Tuesday(Monday was already teacher work day) and they are deciding duration during the meeting. Lots of kids rely on free breakfast and lunch at our schools, and we are hoping the same schools that provide meals during the summer will be providing meals during the closure. DS is 6th grade, and although he has books at home, and has Google Classroom and iReady, at his age and younger, I don't know how much learning will be occurring from these alone without lectures. I also wonder if there are households without internet access that use the libraries for Google classroom assignments

[georgiegirl]

Our schools decided not to close. Granted we have spring break next week, so we have off this coming week anyway. I bet classes will be cancelled though.

[NCGrandma]

Rhode Island governor today announced that all public schools in the state would be closed next week (this will replace the scheduled April vacation week). The Diocese of Providence also closed all of their Catholic schools next week. I suspect this will be a moving target.

This week, there were 9 new cases of Covid19 reported in RI, for a total of 14 (hey, it’s a small state). Of the new cases reported today, 3 were "pediatric" cases, but no info on ages.


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[JustMe]

Oregon's governor ordered schools to be closed state-wide from Monday until the end of the month. Our district is providing pick-up bagged lunches for those who need it and can get there.

I think it is a smart move, although who knows what happens next.

[lfp2n]

VA Governor closed all schools til March 27. If we came back then, there would be one week of school and then the next week off for spring break. My guess is we will be off for at least those 4 weeks if not longer.

[doberbrat]

Holy Cow!!! Boston public just closed from Tuesday until APRIL 27....... :47:


What are working families supposed to do? How are they supposed to work to feed those kids? never mind 8% are homeless .... they're not going to be doing 'online learning'.

[Kestrel]

Washington State governor closed schools until April 24th. Our district is 70% free/reduced lunch. Now what?

[lizzywednesday]

...

I strongly suspect that they will go remote starting next week, but they're moving quite slowly at this point - no cases have been reported in the county, although there are folks under observation (2 people at a party that was held in Princeton last weekend have been announced as presumed positives in the state's count.)

If the schools close, I've got another troop meeting to call off this month.

Yup, they're going to remote learning effective Tuesday (3/17) through the end of March at least.

Because we meet at one of the elementary schools, this meant I had to cancel my 3/27 troop meeting (we meet at the school) and figure out what, if any, kinds of tech DD needs to keep up with the remote learning plan.

Teachers are supposed to be available (Google Classroom or something) for at least 4 hours every day; I'm not quite sure how that'll work, but I suppose they'll let us know with whatever work they send home on Monday.

[gatorsmom]

Ok update. Wisconsin’s governor just shut down schools for 2 weeks starting next Wednesday. Apparently there more positive cases showing up in the Milwaukee area. Hopefully this will slow down the spread of the virus.

I wonder if the kids will be vulnerable again in 2 weeks? Hopefully the governor will reassess the wisdom of the kids coming back in 2 weeks if the virus is raging around town.

[Globetrotter]

It’s Official. We are in SF Bay Area and all around us schools are closing. Ours is closed for two weeks and then they will figure out what to do from there.

[mom2binsd]

All of Illinois is out until beginning of April. I'm trying to get my DD 16 babysitting jobs, lots of people still have to work like I do. DS will be outside with his buddies playing basketball and baseball as long as it's above 35 degrees, and Xbox and earning [emoji23]. They are old enough that I don't have to worry about childcare.

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[mom2binsd]

Also, our kids did not take their chrome books home as they were not planning on this, the decision was made after dismissal, so pretty hard to do remote learning and we've never done that prior to this so no idea how they would implement it.


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[mom2binsd]

If I didn't have to work to support my two kids and not able to take time (I don't get any vacation or paid sick days, I'm hourly/per diem) I'd be packing up and headed to the beach to chill, the owner of our small hotel emailed me saying he had a cancelation and wondered if I was interested, I wish!

I feel for the parents who have to go to work and don't have the option to work from home and are going to scramble to find sitters (the cnas at work are very stressed, and they don't make much to begin with).

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[KrisM]

DS and I talked about AP exams in May. If this goes on, I wonder if those will be canceled (more likely postponed). They really seem so minor in the context of a pandemic… Talk about perspective.

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update?fbclid=IwAR2cSZsmzNhDN3V7jaVb4XVLd7WG6-X76wyqIxYY83Yg5AlTcIgH9tG2rXM

There is a late testing date. DS1 came home with a fair amount of assignments/learning for AP classes.

Michigan is closed through at least April 5. One week is our spring break and the other 2 are just off.

[marymoo86]

Holy Cow!!! Boston public just closed from Tuesday until APRIL 27....... :47:


What are working families supposed to do? How are they supposed to work to feed those kids? never mind 8% are homeless .... they're not going to be doing 'online learning'.

Ours isn't closing and pointed to CDC recommendation that short term closures do nothing to impact the curve or hospitalization. Closures needed to be 8 weeks or longer.

That's going to be huge impact.

[jbbhb]

Orange County, CA and we are out for two weeks starting Monday. Students can pick up breakfast and lunch at school sites and work packets will be available for pick up next week.


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[StantonHyde]

Salt Lake City public schools closed for 2 weeks—one of which is spring break. All catholic schools also closed for 2 weeks. DS is at a Catholic high school and they require every student to have some sort of lap top so they can do a bunch online. For DD, ‘tis will be interesting—so many lower income students in her high school. Apparently, school are open for kids to get lunch and if they need a safe place during the day—staffed by teachers I guess????

[craftysierra]

Southern New Jersey closed until April 20th. My high schooler was prepared. The teachers and school were planning for closing with students, the k-8 district was not as transparent.

[sf333]

Ours isn't closing and pointed to CDC recommendation that short term closures do nothing to impact the curve or hospitalization. Closures needed to be 8 weeks or longer.

That's going to be huge impact.

Can you point me to that CDC statement about closures needing to be 8+ weeks? I haven’t seen that.

[marymoo86]

Can you point me to that CDC statement about closures needing to be 8+ weeks? I haven’t seen that.

Link in the announcement

http://www.wcpss.net/coronavirus

[NCGrandma]

Link in the announcement

http://www.wcpss.net/coronavirus

This is particularly interesting because 3 large school systems that are adjacent to WCPSS just announced that they are closing as of Monday!


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[gatorsmom]

Link in the announcement

http://www.wcpss.net/coronavirus

This is exactly what I was afraid of. Our town doesn't have any cases of the virus. Our Governor just closed our state's schools down for 2 weeks. How is this going to help stop the spread of a virus that isn't here yet? And when it does get here, are our kid going to go back to school? According to that CDC report, 2 weeks will do nothing to stop the virus' spread. The decision to close our schools for 2 weeks seems like a knee-jerk reaction.

[KpbS]

This is exactly what I was afraid of. Our town doesn't have any cases of the virus. Our Governor just closed our state's schools down for 2 weeks. How is this going to help stop the spread of a virus that isn't here yet? And when it does get here, are our kid going to go back to school? According to that CDC report, 2 weeks will do nothing to stop the virus' spread. The decision to close our schools for 2 weeks seems like a knee-jerk reaction.

Odds are the virus is in your area, just not officially diagnosed yet due to the delay of symptoms presenting, some not showing symptoms with mild cases, and testing kit shortages. We are about to see a huge spike in cases in the next two weeks.

[PZMommy]

This is exactly what I was afraid of. Our town doesn't have any cases of the virus. Our Governor just closed our state's schools down for 2 weeks. How is this going to help stop the spread of a virus that isn't here yet? And when it does get here, are our kid going to go back to school? According to that CDC report, 2 weeks will do nothing to stop the virus' spread. The decision to close our schools for 2 weeks seems like a knee-jerk reaction.

Even though many districts say two weeks, if things get as bad as it is predicted, then I am sure they will extend the shut down. I think at this point no one knows what to fully expect, so they started with a small time frame and will extend it as needed.

[gatorsmom]

Odds are the virus is in your area, just not officially diagnosed yet due to the delay of symptoms presenting, some not showing symptoms with mild cases, and testing kit shortages. We are about to see a huge spike in cases in the next two weeks.

You are undoubtedly right that it's in our area. But even so, there isn't so much "yet" that this will make a big difference. I just think whoever made those decisions weren't thinking this through and jumped the gun.

[twowhat?]

The way our district explained it is that the school closure will allow staff time to develop online/remote learning plans. So that if it gets worse in two weeks they will be fully prepared to keep kids out of school longer.

[o_mom]

Even though many districts say two weeks, if things get as bad as it is predicted, then I am sure they will extend the shut down. I think at this point no one knows what to fully expect, so they started with a small time frame and will extend it as needed.

Exactly this. The lack of testing means they have no idea how much spread there is. The CDC flowchart is useless if they aren't testing. Most districts here will end up closed for 4 weeks with Spring Break. In 2-3 weeks we will hopefully know a whole lot more about just how widespread it is and they can make adjustments.

On the other hand if they wait around for testing to catch up, it will be too late to be effective. Our schools here are huge, with thousands of students in a building, so there is no way to do any sort of social distancing in the schools.

[Philly Mom]

You are undoubtedly right that it's in our area. But even so, there isn't so much "yet" that this will make a big difference. I just think whoever made those decisions weren't thinking this through and jumped the gun.

If it is not in your area yet, then this is the best time to close. Stop the threat of spread. To be really effective of it infiltrating your area, everything should shut down. As a country, we had an opportunity two months ago to take serious action to prepare especially with getting testing centers ready and effective. We didn’t. Now there are areas, including my own, where more cases are being determined each day and that is with limited testing. My brother lives in western Washington. Things are bad where he is. It changed within a week. I can see where he was last week and recognize that we aren’t far behind but no one took it seriously here the last two weeks.

Yes. Small businesses are taking a big hit. People here are buying gift cards from them or for restaurants doing curb side pick up.


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[o_mom]

You are undoubtedly right that it's in our area. But even so, there isn't so much "yet" that this will make a big difference. I just think whoever made those decisions weren't thinking this through and jumped the gun.

They can't wait until it is widespread, especially given that there is little to no testing and people are not taking it seriously.

In just 2.5 weeks, Italy went from 62 cases to over 10,000 cases and that was with localized lockdowns and other measures. It moves too fast, and we have no way to monitor it.

[westwoodmom04]

I expect as things go on, we will see different treatment of different areas of the country, and maybe restrictions on travel to/from such regions. The Seattle area is clearly hardest hit, and school cancelled there for six weeks. NY and Boston aren’t far behind in number of cases yet neither has had a death yet, which I find fascinating, in a good way.

Another thing that I thought was interesting from yesterday’s presser is that the vast majority of people who they are testing, definitely those most likely to have it due to overly restrictive testing qualifications, more than 90 percent are testing negative.

Also on the good news front, the city in Italy considered the epicenter has started to see decreases in number of new cases since Italy finally got strict a week or so ago. Keeping people home seems to be really effective against this virus based on this, plus China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, etc. . .

[♥ms.pacman♥]

our school is closed next week. i'm glad, bc we just had spring break and i imagine so many kids coming back from trips it would just cause the virus to spread like crazy. luckily my hubs is off this coming week. i am going to work (was supposed to be traveling to a conference, where i would be presenting, but now it's canceled) but will be coming home for lunch so i don't have to deal with using microwave in breakroom that hundreds of people touch each day. THursday my site is having everyone work from home.

am i the only one that is annoyed that that burden is largely on MOMS to figure out how work from home AND take care of kids??! I mean, it's 2020! I have been saying this for decades. Why didn't people realize this huge gaping hole in our society?? Like somehow people think it's actually possible to work from home AND take care of kids at home. If it's so easy, why haven't men done it. I hate how American society doesn't recognize the need for paid sick leave, which this pandemic clearly illustrates the need for. People either are choosing to come to work (either sick, or possible carrier of the disease) and infecting others, or having to stay home and not get paid or use up the very little vacation time they may have (or, worst case, risk losing their jobs for not coming in to work).

sorry, it just irks me. i feel like American society is still functioning on the premise that one parent (the mom) can stay at home and shoulder/absorb 100% of all the responsibility of whatever catastrophe the world flings at it, while the dad gets to focus only on work (which we all know, is incredibly easy). Taking care of children at home for 2-3 weeks (or more) AND having to still work full-time at full productivity is beyond ridiculous, nobody would EVER ever ever dare ask men to do that. Yet here we are.....

[SnuggleBuggles]

ms.pacman[emoji813];4355377]our school is closed next week. i'm glad, bc we just had spring break and i imagine so many kids coming back from trips it would just cause the virus to spread like crazy. luckily my hubs is off this coming week. i am going to work (was supposed to be traveling to a conference, where i would be presenting, but now it's canceled) but will be coming home for lunch so i don't have to deal with using microwave in breakroom that hundreds of people touch each day. THursday my site is having everyone work from home.

am i the only one that is annoyed that that burden is largely on MOMS to figure out how work from home AND take care of kids??! I mean, it's 2020! I have been saying this for decades. Why didn't people realize this huge gaping hole in our society?? Like somehow people think it's actually possible to work from home AND take care of kids at home. If it's so easy, why haven't men done it. I hate how American society doesn't recognize the need for paid sick leave, which this pandemic clearly illustrates the need for. People either are choosing to come to work (either sick, or possible carrier of the disease) and infecting others, or having to stay home and not get paid or use up the very little vacation time they may have (or, worst case, risk losing their jobs for not coming in to work).

sorry, it just irks me. i feel like American society is still functioning on the premise that one parent (the mom) can stay at home and shoulder/absorb 100% of all the responsibility of whatever catastrophe the world flings at it, while the dad gets to focus only on work (which we all know, is incredibly easy). Taking care of children at home for 2-3 weeks (or more) AND having to still work full-time at full productivity is beyond ridiculous, nobody would EVER ever ever dare ask men to do that. Yet here we are.....

Where do you see that moms are the ones stuck figuring this out? Maybe where live it feels like that but families I know are working it out. I’m sorry that you really feel a disproportionate burden. All that should matter is your family’s dynamics and if those are solid then all good. If you’re do isn’t pulling his wright or prioritizing his career then that’s different and not really a broad idea. I know you’ve brought this up a few times and it just doesn’t track with what i see. I don’t mean to diminish your reality but just not sure where you’re seeing it?


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[gatorsmom]

our school is closed next week. i'm glad, bc we just had spring break and i imagine so many kids coming back from trips it would just cause the virus to spread like crazy. luckily my hubs is off this coming week. i am going to work (was supposed to be traveling to a conference, where i would be presenting, but now it's canceled) but will be coming home for lunch so i don't have to deal with using microwave in breakroom that hundreds of people touch each day. THursday my site is having everyone work from home.

am i the only one that is annoyed that that burden is largely on MOMS to figure out how work from home AND take care of kids??! I mean, it's 2020! I have been saying this for decades. Why didn't people realize this huge gaping hole in our society?? Like somehow people think it's actually possible to work from home AND take care of kids at home. If it's so easy, why haven't men done it. I hate how American society doesn't recognize the need for paid sick leave, which this pandemic clearly illustrates the need for. People either are choosing to come to work (either sick, or possible carrier of the disease) and infecting others, or having to stay home and not get paid or use up the very little vacation time they may have (or, worst case, risk losing their jobs for not coming in to work).

sorry, it just irks me. i feel like American society is still functioning on the premise that one parent (the mom) can stay at home and shoulder/absorb 100% of all the responsibility of whatever catastrophe the world flings at it, while the dad gets to focus only on work (which we all know, is incredibly easy). Taking care of children at home for 2-3 weeks (or more) AND having to still work full-time at full productivity is beyond ridiculous, nobody would EVER ever ever dare ask men to do that. Yet here we are.....

But you are in Texas, right? Maybe society is more patriarchal there because I see big differences in how kids are cared for since I was a kid. My dad was NOT helpful with kids at all. Even his grandkids. It was all women’s work. Among my friends and parents I know currently I would estimate it’s a 60% women, 40%men handling child care. This is all anecdotal but it’s noticeable difference from my childhood. At school pickup it’s 50% in the cars picking up the kids- men and women, and grandparents are right there involved. Growing up, I never knew a SAH DAD. Not one. Now I know several. And I know a lot more parents juggling responsibilities. A close friend is a part-time ER doctor whose husband is a part-time GE engineer. He handles the kids most often. My cousin and her Dh are both ft accountants and grandparents do pick up and afternoon child care. Even in our conservative little bubble, I don’t feel any pressure for women to handle the kids. I DO FEEL a definite expectation for at least one parent to be responsible. There is a definite feeling of push back when there isn’t at least one parent keeping track of their kids.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate the preconceived notions about what can be a woman’s job versus what can’t. And what SHOULD be a woman’s job. And society has a long way to go before we are considered equally capable. But I see huge changes in the past 40 years and it gives me hope for the future.

[doberbrat]

.. The Seattle area is clearly hardest hit, and school cancelled there for six weeks. NY and Boston aren’t far behind in number of cases yet neither has had a death yet, which I find fascinating, in a good way.

Another thing that I thought was interesting from yesterday’s presser is that the vast majority of people who they are testing, definitely those most likely to have it due to overly restrictive testing qualifications, more than 90 percent are testing negative.



I think one of the reasons for this is access to quality health care. I'm very worried that when it hits more rural areas we're going to have very different out comes.


Where do you see that moms are the ones stuck figuring this out? Maybe where live it feels like that but families I know are working it out. I’m sorry that you really feel a disproportionate burden. All that should matter is your family’s dynamics and if those are solid then all good. If you’re do isn’t pulling his wright or prioritizing his career then that’s different and not really a broad idea. I know you’ve brought this up a few times and it just doesn’t track with what i see. I don’t mean to diminish your reality but just not sure where you’re seeing it? Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87652)

I'm going to side with Ms. Pacman on this one. The burden does more often rest with moms. Not always of course. And there is no doubt that men certainly help out more often than a generation or 2 ago. Probably more than even 10 yrs ago. But its still viewed as men 'helping out' rather than being the primary person in charge of the kids and their problems.

And it is very very difficult to work with children underfoot. It could be a separate issue but in reality it is often linked. Having more widespread paid sick time would help ease that burden because parents could take some sick time rather than trying to work with kids around. Although I doubt any company could really offer 6-8 weeks sick time and have all employees who need to stay home use it now. Thats not an individual family problem to solve.

[hellokitty]

My kids don't return to school until April 13, so a mont. They mandated 3 weeks off in our state, and then they opted to continue as planned with spring break, making it 4 weeks.

[Mermaid13]

Our district and surrounding areas have closed for 2 weeks as of yesterday. Yesterday was also an unplanned day off for many in the state.
We are a suburb outside of Boston and tons of area k-12 schools have closed for the time being. Boston area colleges and unis planned their closures with online learning before the k-12 schools.
I believe most school superintendents in the state had virtual meetings and planned their closures together to be more effective.

[Mermaid13]

Wanted to add that there are confirmed cases in our city, as well as school staff in our District that reported close contact with those exposed to the virus. I’m sure there are unreported/untested exposures since Boston is where the biogen conference occurred and a great number of people have connections to those in attendance.

[carolinacool]

And it is very very difficult to work with children underfoot. It could be a separate issue but in reality it is often linked. Having more widespread paid sick time would help ease that burden because parents could take some sick time rather than trying to work with kids around. Although I doubt any company could really offer 6-8 weeks sick time and have all employees who need to stay home use it now. Thats not an individual family problem to solve.

Preach. I usually work from home one day a week. We have been encouraged to work from home for two weeks starting Monday. But it's still work. I actually have a really busy upcoming week that I'm somewhat dreading have to manage from home. Our county hasn't closed schools yet, and DS will go until they do. I'm really not looking forward to also managing any schoolwork that he brings home, or fighting about the PS4, or trying to find little projects for him to do that he'll start complaining about five minutes in.

[Kestrel]

Luckily, my DS is old enough that he does not need the constant supervision that a first grader does, but it's still hard to get stuff done with interruptions. Also, just making/cleaning up three meals a day is a time suck - way different from shoving something for myself in the microwave to heat. We have worked out that DH is parent on duty until lunch, to allow me to get things done, then he works in the afternoon/early evening. With both parents home, set some ground rules!
Side note - in planning my shopping, I didn't think about how many more dishes we would use with everyone being home - I'm running low on dishwasher detergent, of all things.

[carolinacool]

Side note - in planning my shopping, I didn't think about how many more dishes we would use with everyone being home - I'm running low on dishwasher detergent, of all things.

Yes! I'm about to run to Target and a have dish tabs on my list. lol

My DS is 10, but left to his own devices, he would be on the PS4 all day long every day except for a few breaks to shoot basketball, hence needing to be managed.

[gymnbomb]

Where do you see that moms are the ones stuck figuring this out? Maybe where live it feels like that but families I know are working it out. I’m sorry that you really feel a disproportionate burden. All that should matter is your family’s dynamics and if those are solid then all good. If you’re do isn’t pulling his wright or prioritizing his career then that’s different and not really a broad idea. I know you’ve brought this up a few times and it just doesn’t track with what i see. I don’t mean to diminish your reality but just not sure where you’re seeing it?


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That is how it will be in my house. Not because I am the mom, but because I am the one who can work from home. It is so easy for my husband to say “we should keep A home from daycare” but he is not the one who will be there all day. (Not as worried about my 6 year old, he can entertain himself for a while).

He is a fabulous and involved father, and offers to help in any way he can, but the reality is that what I need is for someone to take the kids to a different floor of the house for 3-4 hours every morning so I can actually work. And that is not going to happen. Because he will be at work.


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[♥ms.pacman♥]

Where do you see that moms are the ones stuck figuring this out? Maybe where live it feels like that but families I know are working it out. I’m sorry that you really feel a disproportionate burden. All that should matter is your family’s dynamics and if those are solid then all good. If you’re do isn’t pulling his wright or prioritizing his career then that’s different and not really a broad idea. I know you’ve brought this up a few times and it just doesn’t track with what i see. I don’t mean to diminish your reality but just not sure where you’re seeing it?


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First off - i think this comment you have perfectly illustrated my point (no snark intended, i swear..you bring up a good point). Because i believe a lot of effort (done by women/moms) that goes into many things is INVISIBLE, and many people do not see the struggle behind it . So unless you live and breathe it every single day (work a full time job, that your family depends on the income, while also being the primary person to handle household/kid-related things, and hear the various comments that other people make) you wouldn't notice it. There's even several articles , book chapters on this very thing (the invisible work that women/moms do, that men rarely do, that doesn't get noticed). Many call it "the mental load".

I am in several online groups for working moms in my industry (engineering, which is heavily male-dominated), also for moms who are the primary breadwinners in the household, and as of past several days, due to the coronavirus-related school closures, the main subject of discussion is various moms panicking over how they are going to manage the next several weeks with kids at home, while also working, looking for suggestions on how to keep kids occupied while on calls, etc. Several have bosses who have already insisted they still must put in 40 hrs/per week, despite the school closures. Many of these managers are male who have children who feel like they "know what it's like to be a parent" yet are completely ignorant of the fact that the 95% of working moms don't have a "wife" at home that can handle kids/household while they work. They take it for granted because they've never had to personally deal. And the working moms who DO have to deal with it, usually keep it quiet (only keep it within circle of moms in similar situation) because we never want to be seen as whiny or asking for special treatment at work. I totally understand this , because any HINT of inability to do your job for having to deal with kids,risks you not being taken seriously at work by the (mostly male) mgmt, so you tend not to mention it, or minimize it.


I should clarify, my frustration is not by my *personal* situation..i think i have posted here before that my husband does 95% of household related things now that i am primary breadwinner. And thnakfully i have an awesome manager at work who is more than understanding re: needing to juggle things with kids , school closures etc. As of now, this school closure doesn't really affect me and my job personally at all, because my husband is off his main job for the next two weeks and I trust he will handle the kids no problem. Also, my kids are older (9 and 10), and so with Disney+ and chromebooks it is relatively a minor issue :)

But the fact is, in my industry, at least what i see in my company and in similar companies, most other employees at my similar level are male...majority who have wives at home who SAH and deal with everything related to the house and kids (do all the cooking, cleaning, etc). So right off the bat any woman with kids in my industry is looking at an uneven playing field. Most dads i know have something like 6 WEEKS personal time saved up...whereas most moms i know have barely any, bc they're constantly using it to deal with sick kids and the like (many of the newer moms have had to use it for their maternity leave, which does not exist at my company). Most guys who bring a lunch every day, so they save time eating at their desk - it is a hot homecooked meal, prepared by their wives. The list goes on.

[Kestrel]

I think that the schools make this only worse... so many things come home to "Mom", no matter the subject or situation. I can't tell you how many times I've been called from school, to my work to deal with a kid issue, even though all the forms list DH's cell as primary, house as second, and my work third. They don't even try DH, even though we wrote on the contact form in bright red sharpie to call DH first! WE're talking maybe ten times. (I WOH,DH is mostly WFH.)


Right or wrong, I think more people believe the mother will handle things to do with household and kids. It's automatic, and I hate it. I really hope our generation is helping to change this perception.

[jent]

I think that the schools make this only worse... so many things come home to "Mom", no matter the subject or situation. I can't tell you how many times I've been called from school, to my work to deal with a kid issue, even though all the forms list DH's cell as primary, house as second, and my work third. They don't even try DH, even though we wrote on the contact form in bright red sharpie to call DH first! WE're talking maybe ten times. (I WOH,DH is mostly WFH.)


Right or wrong, I think more people believe the mother will handle things to do with household and kids. It's automatic, and I hate it. I really hope our generation is helping to change this perception.

RBG famously told her child's school when they called her for the Nth time: "this child has TWO parents." And made them alternate calls to her & her husband from then on out.

[HannaAddict]

We closed our independent schools proactively over a week ago and started distance learning this week. We are lucky to have head of major research centers and infectious disease hospitals as parents who said it was in our area since Jan. 19th while they fought with the federal administration to let them test. All schools are now closed state-wide until April 27th. A long time!


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[HannaAddict]

Holy Cow!!! Boston public just closed from Tuesday until APRIL 27....... :47:


What are working families supposed to do? How are they supposed to work to feed those kids? never mind 8% are homeless .... they're not going to be doing 'online learning'.

Online learning is not allowed unless all kids can have it as equity issue. It is really hard even if carriers offer free or reduced. Homeless situation is super hard too. It is what has to happen though to not end up with overwhelmed system and more death.


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[HannaAddict]

Washington State governor closed schools until April 24th. Our district is 70% free/reduced lunch. Now what?

Public school districts are creating programs to provide food for children out of school and so are food banks here locally. The state has passed legislation to help with this. It isn’t great but they are not forgetting the most vulnerable in our state.


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[HannaAddict]

Also, our kids did not take their chrome books home as they were not planning on this, the decision was made after dismissal, so pretty hard to do remote learning and we've never done that prior to this so no idea how they would implement it.


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Schools here are checking out chrome books and laptops with curbside pickup. Maybe an option for your school. That can be worked around.


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[HannaAddict]

Ours isn't closing and pointed to CDC recommendation that short term closures do nothing to impact the curve or hospitalization. Closures needed to be 8 weeks or longer.

That's going to be huge impact.

I think most of the short closures are wishful thinking by schools who don’t want to put their communities into shock and are hoping for the best. We had that here with an independent school announcing a short week closure and thinking maybe it will blow over. But our governor has extended the closure and I won’t be surprised if it is extended longer. Currently six weeks thought some schools have already been closed for a week.


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[HannaAddict]

This is exactly what I was afraid of. Our town doesn't have any cases of the virus. Our Governor just closed our state's schools down for 2 weeks. How is this going to help stop the spread of a virus that isn't here yet? And when it does get here, are our kid going to go back to school? According to that CDC report, 2 weeks will do nothing to stop the virus' spread. The decision to close our schools for 2 weeks seems like a knee-jerk reaction.

The virus is there, you just don’t have any testing or too limited of testing. Flattening the curve requires planning for what is ahead and not the situation as it is today. We know how the virus responds, we know how it travels, we as a nation we are shockingly behind in testing because the federal government didn’t want to widely test and wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. The rates can go from 2 cases to 10 to 1,000 in a short period of time. Read about Italy and then be glad you don’t have known cases yet and prepare. We closed our school before anyone was sick and parents bitched and moaned because it is a total pain, and now are thankful. The head of the major flu study that discovered the virus here in January and warned others, pulled their kids out of their school because of what they knew was coming. It can change on a dime. Prepare and be safe. But hoping it won’t come because it isn’t prevalent now won’t keep the greater community safe.


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[HannaAddict]

You are undoubtedly right that it's in our area. But even so, there isn't so much "yet" that this will make a big difference. I just think whoever made those decisions weren't thinking this through and jumped the gun.

Nope. Be glad you have someone familiar with epidemiology and more and a confident enough leader to make the tough calls and close to prevent spread before it seems like you “need” to as if you wait to close until it is obvious, it is too late.


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[jent]

Can you point me to that CDC statement about closures needing to be 8+ weeks? I haven’t seen that.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/considerations-for-school-closure.pdf

[doberbrat]

anyone remember the old Beck commercial ... and they told 2 friends who told w friends and the friends exponentially multiplied??? Its kinda like that... except on a much bigger scale. 1 person at Biogen infected 90 who infected.....

[California]

Our SoCal school boards did not want to close schools. Teachers used our unions in several districts to push for it. I guess we were our own strong leaders! I know it is a hardship on families. At the same time, we had students being pulled by their parents, worried parents emailing us about how we were keeping their kids safe in class, we were being instructed on how to try to keep kids separate (good luck with that in a classroom), lunch and recess were to be spent in the classroom, and the atmosphere on campus felt oppressive. Still came as a shock yesterday when we heard about all the closures. I'm really hoping it does some good!

[kdeunc]

This afternoon our Governor closed all k-12 schools for 2 weeks starting Monday. As you would expect, half the people are thrilled, half are ticked. A teacher apparently tested positive in Wake County, which I imagine pushed the closure.

[Kestrel]

We just got the message that the school is still going to serve free and reduced meals at the local high school - 45 minutes away from us. So - just imagine adding that fuel bill for 90 minutes drive time every day to a household that's already stretched. It will take more money to go get lunch than the food is worth.

[NCGrandma]

This afternoon our Governor closed all k-12 schools for 2 weeks starting Monday. As you would expect, half the people are thrilled, half are ticked. A teacher apparently tested positive in Wake County, which I imagine pushed the closure.

Interestingly, Wake County was holding out when nearby districts had already closed.



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[kdeunc]

Interestingly, Wake County was holding out when nearby districts had already closed.



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I know. They were taking a lot of heat for that it seems. Our district hadn’t closed either though I was expecting it to sometime this week.

[marymoo86]

I know. They were taking a lot of heat for that it seems. Our district hadn’t closed either though I was expecting it to sometime this week.


Which seems kind of pointless when adults won’t even distance themselves. I drove by North Hills today and it was packed to the gills people everywhere.

[mom2binsd]

Schools here are checking out chrome books and laptops with curbside pickup. Maybe an option for your school. That can be worked around.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThey have only enough assigned for kids. I asked my son if he knew his login info it's on his laptop, in his locker at home. He rarely has homework so always leaves his chrome book at home. About 25% are free lunch and I'm sure not all families have home internet avaliable, as e learning isn't set up yet, so I've heard that they may not be doing much. It's only one week hopefully as the 2nd week is is spring break. I'm going to have my kids do some reading and some cleaning up/organizing/cooking, it's a life skills week of learning.

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[mommy111]

anyone remember the old Beck commercial ... and they told 2 friends who told w friends and the friends exponentially multiplied??? Its kinda like that... except on a much bigger scale. 1 person at Biogen infected 90 who infected.....
...so many that we don’t have enough testing kits in mass to know.
fortunately our town officials buckled and closed the schools. Our head of the high school sent out an email that seemed he was shell shocked that the school had closed. Dude, you should have been planning this out for a week or more now. On the other hand, for the lower school where it doesn’t matter, our exceptional head is so well prepared, she sent the kids home with their chrome books, binders, textbooks, instructions for a week off and then to plan for 6-8 weeks of e learning with their login names and info �� Now if we could swap out heads of school....

[nfceagles]

The American School in London closed on short notice for last Friday when a parent, Mikel Arteta, was diagnosed. We just got an email last night that we’ll continue to be closed until April 17th. They have a distance learning plan in place and at least for the HS level, all kids are required to have MacBooks.

This despite the fact that the UK has not closed schools.


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[HannaAddict]

The American School in London closed on short notice for last Friday when a parent, Mikel Arteta, was diagnosed. We just got an email last night that we’ll continue to be closed until April 17th. They have a distance learning plan in place and at least for the HS level, all kids are required to have MacBooks.

This despite the fact that the UK has not closed schools.


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I told my SIL in the U.K. I would keep my kids home. Hers go to what would be a magnet school here and take two forms of public transit to get there. We’d be home at this point and preparing.


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[Twoboos]

So far we were closed 3 days last week and for this upcoming week. I was surprised it was only one week, I was expecting two but assume they will just extend it.

We have at least one case here bc of the Biogen conference, and this case has 2 kids in the school system including one at the HS DDs go to. Allegedly not in any of their classes but of course that doesn't matter.

A huge sports event my town is part of was postponed recently, most people in town are grateful bc it brings at least 50k (probably more) people here from all over the world for one morning only. It sucks for the athletes bc now their training is off track but totally necessary.

[mommy111]

I told my SIL in the U.K. I would keep my kids home. Hers go to what would be a magnet school here and take two forms of public transit to get there. We’d be home at this point and preparing.


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I think In the UK the idea was that asymptomatic exposure in younger people will build herd immunity. Of course now there is a lot of data that shows that asymptomatic people also transmit not just coughing/feverish ones so I’m not sure what the thought is.

[gatorsmom]

anyone remember the old Beck commercial ... and they told 2 friends who told w friends and the friends exponentially multiplied??? Its kinda like that... except on a much bigger scale. 1 person at Biogen infected 90 who infected.....

This reminded me of that part in the film Contagion where the journalist is explaining how many will be infected and how quickly. It’s point 1:17 on the trailer. This is a fun website: https://mathspig.wordpress.com/tag/contagion-maths/

Thank goodness we aren’t dealing with MEV-1!!!

[gymnbomb]

Just got the email from our daycare that they are closed for the next week. The governor requested today that all child care centers and preschools close.


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