Are you sending your kids to school next month?

[MrsPete]

Ok. And we haven't and I don't know a single person who stayed home ALL SUMMER LONG.

I do not know you. I do not know the people you know.

Since March I have left my house for the following reasons:
- To go to the grocery store
- To access curbside pick up items I ordered
- I've been to my daughter's house once

I know a number of people who've been considerably more strict than my family.

 

[Colleen27]

Maybe they ARE doing the best they can for their own kids, but are concerned for the kids with parents who don't care, who aren't trying to help with kids' school work, maybe aren't feeding them well, and in some cases physically abusing them.

And while kids do tend to love time home on holiday, it's very different over the long haul. It does take a toll.

I don't know what the answer is. But it's a valid concern.

Exactly. It isn't just about me and mine. Most people who have known me on the boards for a while know that we've had two "bonus" kids in our household for most of my son's high school years because they were homeless and needed a stable place to stay to continue attending school. We've had several other children in our lives over the years that had less serious problems with their home lives, or who found other alternatives to staying in abusive or neglectful homes. So when I think about the schools not opening, I'm not thinking as much of my relatively privileged 12yo who did struggle with the isolation but did so in a supportive home and with the "consolation prize" of the unexpected return of her beloved college-age sister. I'm thinking of my bonus son who, when he was in elementary school, was living in a motel with his mother who worked second shift and relying almost entirely on school breakfasts, lunches, and weekend "blessings in a backpack" for meals. I'm thinking of my older daughter's best friend, who was emancipated at 17 after two different teachers at each of two different schools contacted CPS on her behalf and one finally went so far as helping her navigate the process. I'm thinking of our former neighbor who (by her own poor choices, but that's not the kids' fault) had so many kids by so many abusive or absent losers that she simply had no time or energy for the school-aged kids.

I'm also thinking about the fact that, when buying our home, we ended up with a sort of map of our school district dotted with "off limits" areas because after I fell in love with a house at which no broadband was available I decided to use internet access as a filter before going to look at any others. About a quarter of our students cannot get high speed internet at home, at any price, and even in the most supportive family that makes distance learning very difficult.

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

Maybe some but not majority. Many parents don't want to take one of their vacation or personal days to be home with their child. How many people get fired for taking a sick day. I don't know any people who get NO sick days!

I work in Manufacturing and no one gets sick days - not the offices or the production or the shipping. We only get one Personal Day all year and it is only allowed to be used if planned ahead of time. It is not available to be used on the day of. And only 1-2 weeks of vacation which again have to be planned ahead and taken a whole week at a time. Not available a day at a time. If you or your kid are sick once or twice, we mark it down and move on. But if it becomes a habit you can get a write up and three of those will get you fired.

 

[Colleen27]

I work in Manufacturing and no one gets sick days - not the offices or the production or the shipping. We only get one Personal Day all year and it is only allowed to be used if planned ahead of time. It is not available to be used on the day of. And only 1-2 weeks of vacation which again have to be planned ahead and taken a whole week at a time. Not available a day at a time. If you or your kid are sick once or twice, we mark it down and move on. But if it becomes a habit you can get a write up and three of those will get you fired.

My son's plant gets one week PTO - sick and vacation combined - so if you get sick, you don't get a vacation. And they have a points-based attendance system where calling in is a violation unless the claim of illness is backed by a doctor's note, so they're essentially penalized for using any of their time for minor illness.

The worst part of it is that they *tightened* the policy this spring, when they reopened after the shutdown. Because this is the best timing for implementing a policy that all but demands your workers come in when they're just a little sick.

 

[HeatherC]

I work in Manufacturing and no one gets sick days - not the offices or the production or the shipping. We only get one Personal Day all year and it is only allowed to be used if planned ahead of time. It is not available to be used on the day of. And only 1-2 weeks of vacation which again have to be planned ahead and taken a whole week at a time. Not available a day at a time. If you or your kid are sick once or twice, we mark it down and move on. But if it becomes a habit you can get a write up and three of those will get you fired.

This sort of policy seems so antiquated to me. I feel for you and all others who have to work in a place that obviously does not value their employees enough to care about things like sick days or much needed vacation time.

 

[JM23457]

I work in Manufacturing and no one gets sick days - not the offices or the production or the shipping. We only get one Personal Day all year and it is only allowed to be used if planned ahead of time. It is not available to be used on the day of. And only 1-2 weeks of vacation which again have to be planned ahead and taken a whole week at a time. Not available a day at a time. If you or your kid are sick once or twice, we mark it down and move on. But if it becomes a habit you can get a write up and three of those will get you fired.

This kind of thing really needs to change. Aside from Covid, it's simply an inhumane working environment.

 

[firefly_ris]

Exactly!!! You can drive 4 hours and still be in NY. NYC and upstate New York are like different states. People don’t realize that NYC and other parts of NY are diffent worlds

More than that... I'm 6.5 hours from NYC (with tolls... Avoiding tolls it's over 8) and I live in NY. Haven't been there in 21 years, and when I did go there I didn't even live in NY at the time, I actually lived much closer in a different state!

 

[TJA]

More than that... I'm 6.5 hours from NYC (with tolls... Avoiding tolls it's over 8) and I live in NY. Haven't been there in 21 years, and when I did go there I didn't even live in NY at the time, I actually lived much closer in a different state!

Same! We live way closer to PA and OH than to NYC. Our county has had very little covid and maybe 3 hospitalizations this whole time (currently zero hospitalizations).

 

[VandVsmama]

Took my 2 kids (7th and 9th grade) to school this evening to pick up their class schedules, text book, and school planners (similar to a day planner). We've been in this charter school system since they were in K and 2nd grade. And this year, by far, has been THE easiest start-of-the-year-pick-up-your-stuff-drop-off-forms event.

You had to sign up online ahead of time on Sign Up Genius. Only 20 students per 30-minute window. Had to take our temps at home, write down temps on a form & I had to sign the form attesting that none of us had COVID-19 symptoms.

Turned in the standard start of the year forms. Then we were directed into the school hallways...which were all marked one way only with tape on the floor...and all along the hallways they had EVERY student's stuff stacked up in neat piles one after another in alphabetical order based on last name & by grade.

OMG IT WAS SO ORGANIZED AND FABULOUS AND EASY! THEY SHOULD DO IT THIS WAY EVERY YEAR!

My 9th grader wasn't given any school supply list. That will come out from each of her teachers on 1st day of school (Wednesday) in each of the teachers' welcome letters.

They were also given their login IDs and passwords for Microsoft Teams. My 7th grader's schedule is such that when she goes in person starting the day after Labor Day, all of her classes are basically in 2 rooms and the teachers go from 1 classroom to another from 1 period to the next instead of all the students doing that.

Plus, only 30% of the families are sending their kids in person. So I'm a pretty happy camper.

Of course, when we were ready to go, my car wouldn't start. Battery is totally and completely dead. 2 attempts to jump start it didn't work. This is what I get for hardly driving anywhere in that car for the past 5 months. Oh and it was 111 outside when THAT happened. That part was a poop sandwich.

At least my 7th grader got the elective she wanted. And she got an awesome math teacher this year. And she got the foreign language she was hoping for. Hard to believe ODD is starting high school the day after tomorrow.

A friend of mine had her kids start their new school year today. She home schools them. She took pics of each of them...like so many parents do...1st day of school photo. Only this time, each of them wore a mask and held up a roll of toilet paper in the photo.

 

[HeatherC]

Our school just released the re-opening plans which they had to submit to the state. Full time in person will not happen. Parents can choose remote or hybrid. They hybrid model, however, is the most ridiculous I have heard of and parents are furious.

Kids will be in different cohorts. They will go 1/2 day Tuesday-Fri every other week in person with grab and go lunches given out when they leave. Then they are supposed to do remote every afternoon after they get home and
all day Mondays.
PreK-12 must wear masks at all times. One kid per seat on the buses but they are asking parents to pick up if possible. Basically by the time they get to school, they will need to get ready to go home. Then they are supposed to do afternoon remotely.
No idea how this will work for working parents. People can’t be getting kids to school for three hours, picking them up and then getting them to concentrate and work remotely in the afternoons. Then the schedule switches every other week and kids will be home all week.
They will have Special Needs students in school all day every day. I am not sure what the high school is doing exactly because the plans were 27 pages long. Because I sub (or used to because a I will not be doing it this year) at the elementary level I really didn’t pay much attention to that.

What a nightmare for teachers too because they are responsible for both in person and remote. Monday’s are for planning.


‘Personally, I think it is all a moot point anyway because both teachers unions are calling for all students to do full remote. I do believe that is what will wind up happening.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

We'll get back to those better times.
Eh, the math doesn't support this idea. Here are the two options compared:

1. Teach two more years at my current job and "max out" my years and my pension.

2. Retire now, accept the loss of $5000/year (okay, it's actually something like $4700, but round numbers are easier for our purposes here). Looking at my age and my family genetics, I anticipate being retired for 50 years (obviously this is a guess, but that's the number I'm using for my retirement savings and plans). So that $5000/year will turn into $250,000 over the course of my lifetime. Working two more years will net me that $250,000 over the course of my lifetime. I cannot earn $250,000 in two years, and I don't have the years for compound interest to work its magic.

That's not even a choice!

As for a second career, I don't want to dip into my savings too soon, and I can't collect Social Security for quite a few years -- so, yes, I intend to have a part-time job for a while. A part time job + my pension will give me as much as I have now, but I'll only be working part time.

I face the same dilemma. I will not max out for 5 years but I am at the correct age to go. As far as social security I live in a Blue State where benefits for everyone else are free flowing but I cannot double dip and get full SS even though I am fully vested. It is only one of 13 states in the nation with this law. Just of the myriad of reasons I regret not moving when I was younger.

 

[monsterkitty]

I face the same dilemma. I will not max out for 5 years but I am at the correct age to go. As far as social security I live in a Blue State where benefits for everyone else are free flowing but I cannot double dip and get full SS even though I am fully vested. It is only one of 13 states in the nation with this law. Just of the myriad of reasons I regret not moving when I was younger.

I'm in one of those other 13 states.

When I started teaching, your age plus years of service had to equal 80 to receive 75% of your salary. I hit that last year, stayed an extra year and in September last year decided I was going to retire at the end of last school year. It was 103 in my classroom and I could no longer function in the heat.

When I reach 65 I will be able to collect only around $300 from SS even though I am also fully vested from working as a teen and while college as well as the second job I had the first 10 years I taught.

 

[sk!mom]

I'm in one of those other 13 states.

When I started teaching, your age plus years of service had to equal 80 to receive 75% of your salary. I hit that last year, stayed an extra year and in September last year decided I was going to retire at the end of last school year. It was 103 in my classroom and I could no longer function in the heat.

When I reach 65 I will be able to collect only around $300 from SS even though I am also fully vested from working as a teen and while college as well as the second job I had the first 10 years I taught.

I’m another member of this club. I try not to think about it.

 

[KittyKitty]

As far as social security I live in a Blue State where benefits for everyone else are free flowing but I cannot double dip and get full SS even though I am fully vested.

HI. I don't understand how you would be double dipping? Social Security is Federal, retirement is State, right? Did you contribute to both?

Glad I live in a state that made me pay into SS, as I now have both .

Thanks

 

[Bambi1942]

Our school just released the re-opening plans which they had to submit to the state. Full time in person will not happen. Parents can choose remote or hybrid. They hybrid model, however, is the most ridiculous I have heard of and parents are furious.

Kids will be in different cohorts. They will go 1/2 day Tuesday-Fri every other week in person with grab and go lunches given out when they leave. Then they are supposed to do remote every afternoon after they get home and
all day Mondays.
PreK-12 must wear masks at all times. One kid per seat on the buses but they are asking parents to pick up if possible. Basically by the time they get to school, they will need to get ready to go home. Then they are supposed to do afternoon remotely.
No idea how this will work for working parents. People can’t be getting kids to school for three hours, picking them up and then getting them to concentrate and work remotely in the afternoons. Then the schedule switches every other week and kids will be home all week.
They will have Special Needs students in school all day every day. I am not sure what the high school is doing exactly because the plans were 27 pages long. Because I sub (or used to because a I will not be doing it this year) at the elementary level I really didn’t pay much attention to that.

What a nightmare for teachers too because they are responsible for both in person and remote. Monday’s are for planning.


‘Personally, I think it is all a moot point anyway because both teachers unions are calling for all students to do full remote. I do believe that is what will wind up happening.

Wow that is an insane hybrid model. What state are you in? I wonder if they are making it difficult so more parents chose remote. My son went to Pre-K for 3 hours. By the time I dropped him off it was time to pick him back up again. The morning hours flew by.

Our district is offering hybrid for 7-12. They are in cohorts by last name. A-M mon/wed full day and L-Z Tues/Thurs full day with alternating Fridays. The other days are remote. The elementary K-6 times are staggered because of bussing. So A-M is 9-3 and L-Z is 9:30-3:30 everyday. Middle school here is 5th-8th grade.

I have a K and a 7th. I was worried how my 5 year old would do remote. He can’t sit in front of a chrome book for hours. He wouldn’t even watch videos his preschool teacher would send.

 

[monsterkitty]

HI. I don't understand how you would be double dipping? Social Security is Federal, retirement is State, right? Did you contribute to both?

Glad I live in a state that made me pay into SS, as I now have both .

Thanks

In education I contributed to our state's retirement system. Outside of education I contributed to SS. However, the way the rules are written in my state we can only collect from the state and a small percentage of SS.

That actually just changed a few years ago. Before we could not collect any SS. My mom was an educator and is able to collect that retirement. She is not allowed to collect any of the SS she paid into before she went into education because she retired before they changed the rules.

 

[sk!mom]

HI. I don't understand how you would be double dipping? Social Security is Federal, retirement is State, right? Did you contribute to both?

Glad I live in a state that made me pay into SS, as I now have both .

Thanks

In my state, we do not contribute to SS at our teaching job. This is mostly due to school districts lobbying hard to keep this in place so that they don’t have to pay the employer contribution.

The unfairness of this policy comes into play for those who came to teaching as a second career and for those with side/summer jobs who have all the required quarters for SS but now can’t collect at all or only minimally. Teachers with side and summer jobs have become more and more common over the years.

 

[DisneyOma]

This sort of policy seems so antiquated to me. I feel for you and all others who have to work in a place that obviously does not value their employees enough to care about things like sick days or much needed vacation time.

And you can bet the CEO and other bigwigs are taking plenty of paid vacation time, squeezing the last drop of life from the workers.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

In education I contributed to our state's retirement system. Outside of education I contributed to SS. However, the way the rules are written in my state we can only collect from the state and a small percentage of SS.

That actually just changed a few years ago. Before we could not collect any SS. My mom was an educator and is able to collect that retirement. She is not allowed to collect any of the SS she paid into before she went into education because she retired before they changed the rules.

Correct. That is one reason I am holding off. Collecting some of it is better than nothing but when the government and state are so quick to hand out benefits to everyone else why are we penalized especially if we paid into both? And again why is it the state that determines who gets what and not the federal government? It is on a state by state basis and in some states teachers qualify for 100% ss as well as pension.

 

[GreatLakes]

I work in Manufacturing and no one gets sick days - not the offices or the production or the shipping. We only get one Personal Day all year and it is only allowed to be used if planned ahead of time. It is not available to be used on the day of. And only 1-2 weeks of vacation which again have to be planned ahead and taken a whole week at a time. Not available a day at a time. If you or your kid are sick once or twice, we mark it down and move on. But if it becomes a habit you can get a write up and three of those will get you fired.

This seems like one of the deeper rings of Dante's hell. I couldn't imagine working somewhere with such outdated leave policies. I put together the proposal to move from vacation/sick time to straight PTO at my last job. The many positives for both staff and management outweigh the very limited cons. I don't know your position at this company but someone needs to sit down with whomever is in charge of this (it was an HR subcommittee of our board when I did it) and push change through.

All these policies do is make it certain the good employees seek out a better situation. The PTO policy specifically, and work-life balance in general, are more important to me than salary and bonus to me at this point.