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Baroclinic Zone
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25 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

I am thinking it will be hard to ever tell people they can't be remote if they choose now that the "safety" genie is out of the bottle. As long as that remote option exists, it seems most public schools will need to keep doing this "remote in-person" bit where the kids are sitting at school but still on the Zoom with the remote kids. Maybe I am overstating this, but it's a concern my wife and I have had.

For my school the remote kids have a separate group of teachers.  For my wife, they watch her teach from home while she is with the kids in person. 
 

I’ve been enjoying doing hands on labs with my students since February.  Lots of adjusting and retooling. But getting it done. 
 

It’s sad how many kids who are supposed to come into the building stay home and do nothing. That’s on the parents 

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Just now, HoarfrostHubb said:

For my school the remote kids have a separate group of teachers.  For my wife, they watch her teach from home while she is with the kids in person. 
 

I’ve been enjoying doing hands on labs with my students since February.  Lots of adjusting and retooling. But getting it done. 
 

It’s sad how many kids who are supposed to come into the building stay home and do nothing. That’s on the parents 

That’s good they have a real hybrid approach. Some schools are making that work. 

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1 minute ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

For my school the remote kids have a separate group of teachers.  For my wife, they watch her teach from home while she is with the kids in person. 
 

I’ve been enjoying doing hands on labs with my students since February.  Lots of adjusting and retooling. But getting it done. 
 

It’s sad how many kids who are supposed to come into the building stay home and do nothing. That’s on the parents 

They zone out on the computers and its not like in class where a teacher can catch them and tell them to pay attention....My wife just went through my 2nd graders school computer and we found he was searching youtube, robox, and other crap during school time.  He lost internet use for two weeks.  Don't tell me that other kids aren't doing the same thing.  The poor kindergarten teacher spends half the time just trying to get the kids to focus and solve computer problems.  This doesn't even address the social interaction they are missing, as well as the hands on learning like you are describing.  Kids remember good teachers and the things they teach for the rest of their lives.  And I'm sure good teachers are missing the interaction with kids. We have learned that we can do in person learning safely.   It's just not the same behind a screen. Period.

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50 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said:

As cases continue to rise everywhere . Varients gone wild 

The data is clear that schools are not the cause of spread, teachers who wish to be, will be vaccinated by fall, the vaccines are working against variants, and the 7 day average cases are down from a high of 200,000 a day to about 50,000.  I've yet to hear an expert in the field say that in person learning is not far superior to virtual and it's been a YEAR of virtual.  Schools can and should reopen safely.  

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Just now, bwt3650 said:

The data is clear that schools are not the cause of spread, teachers who wish to be, will be vaccinated by fall, the vaccines are working against variants, and the 7 day average cases are down from a high of 200,000 a day to about 50,000.  I've yet to hear an expert in the field say that in person learning is not far superior to virtual and it's been a YEAR of virtual.  Schools can and should reopen safely.  

In person vs virtual being better is different depending on the student and the implementation.  For most kids it (virtual) isn’t as good.  
This has also widened the gap between haves and have nots in many cases 

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6 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

In person vs virtual being better is different depending on the student and the implementation.  For most kids it (virtual) isn’t as good.  
This has also widened the gap between haves and have nots in many cases 

Valid points...the option to attend full time in person should be there, though.  And yes, the socioeconomic aspect is an additional piece of all of this.

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Anyone here ever deal with an escrow shortage? My mortgage company forgot to include the fourth quarter taxes during their yearly escrow Analysis last March. This caused my payment to lower. I alerted them that this must have been a mistake, and they basically said it’s not a big deal and there is nothing they can do.

Fast forward to today, I get this years analysis, and there is a shortage of almost $3000! In addition, my monthly escrow is increasing by $150. So between the normal increase, and shortage, my mortgage payment is increasing nearly $400.

Do I have any recourse here as far as repayment? I understand it’s money I owe, but as far as stretching out repayment?

To be clear, this is their mistake, and I now will be paying for it. Seems outrageous to expect people to just shrug their shoulders at a $400 a month increase in payment.

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37 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

My brother's kids in Pennsylvania have been 5 days in person since August 2020' . No deaths attributed to in person in 8 months . Maryland is 50th out of 50 for in person.  What a injustice.  Luckily my county is bucking the trend in Md . 4 days a week last week started. 

Are they still just sitting on zoom at a desk in the building, though?

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9 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Anyone here ever deal with an escrow shortage? My mortgage company forgot to include the fourth quarter taxes during their yearly escrow Analysis last March. This caused my payment to lower. I alerted them that this must have been a mistake, and they basically said it’s not a big deal and there is nothing they can do.

Fast forward to today, I get this years analysis, and there is a shortage of almost $3000! In addition, my monthly escrow is increasing by $150. So between the normal increase, and shortage, my mortgage payment is increasing nearly $400.

Do I have any recourse here as far as repayment? I understand it’s money I owe, but as far as stretching out repayment?

To be clear, this is their mistake, and I now will be paying for it. Seems outrageous to expect people to just shrug their shoulders at a $400 a month increase in payment.

Shop around and refinance fast

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8 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Many teachers are still at home with a "assistant " in the classroom but I think CCPS is putting that to an end next week when highschool returns 4 days in person.  Luckily Carroll county public schools council members believed strongly in in person and its necessity and didnt buy into the non science and fear doom and gloom.  Rest of Maryland not so much. 

Hopefully when they come back they will be able to have real in person school where a teacher is up front and the kids are not on laptops watching videos. 

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3 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Haven't really been paying attention--has Mass been fully remote this whole year?  My kids have been 4 days a week forever it seems like.  From what they tell me its pretty much remote learning- esque, but in the classroom. Still just doing everything on their laptops, even in 1st and 3rd grade.

My wife’s school district (Walpole high school) has been hybrid all year. Students go about half the days in person and half remote. They are going back to full in-person the 2nd week of April. 

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13 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

My wife’s school district (Walpole high school) has been hybrid all year. Students go about half the days in person and half remote. They are going back to full in-person the 2nd week of April. 

Do you know if some kids will still be remote when that happens and if the kids "in person" will still just be on the laptops?

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49 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

These freaking teachers unions never quit lol. Was 6 foot ever science based . Hell no lol

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/largest-teachers-union-concerned-that-new-cdc-social-distancing-rules-arent-justified-by-science/

I’m not going to wade to far into these waters, but it’s a similar sentiment to the mass teachers association head, who is apparently a scientist now, and questioning the science of the CDC decision.

Its obviously not a one size fits all approach, but a lot of these unions have definitely overplayed their hand at this point. Since they’ve been prioritized in getting the vaccine recently, we are now moving onto other issues on why they can’t return to the classroom.

To the outside observer, it certainly looks like the unions are looking for reasons not to resume in person learning.

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27 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Do you know if some kids will still be remote when that happens and if the kids "in person" will still just be on the laptops?

There will definitely still be some stragglers that are remote. I think it was already decided that people can opt out the whole year back in the beginning. 

I think they’ll be able to resume physical labs though when in-person goes full again. 

It’s definitely going to be a lost year for some students which is terrible. My oldest son goes into kindergarten next year so hopefully they are fully back to normal by then. We’ve been lucky that his daycare has been functioning relatively normal during this so he’s been able to get lots of social interaction with his peer group. Only the dropoff and pickup procedures were drastically altered. Masks were only required for the teachers at daycare too, but most of my son’s pre-K class wear them (minus snack, lunch, and nap times) so he’s gotten some practice. My 18 month old toddler obviously doesn’t wear one. 

 Luckily in my town, the elementary school kids have been full time all school year. They just have to wear masks though. Hopefully those are gone by fall but I wouldn’t be shocked if they aren’t. At least we won’t really have to worry about any remote learning. It’s especially damaging to the younger elementary aged students.

 

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15 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

I’m not going to wade to far into these waters, but it’s a similar sentiment to the mass teachers association head, who is apparently a scientist now, and questioning the science of the CDC decision.

Its obviously not a one size fits all approach, but a lot of these unions have definitely overplayed their hand at this point. Since they’ve been prioritized in getting the vaccine recently, we are now moving onto other issues on why they can’t return to the classroom.

To the outside observer, it certainly looks like the unions are looking for reasons not to resume in person learning.

The end result is that the parents that can will pull their kids out of public school. That will usually be the higher-performing students. This will in turn hurt test results and funding at these schools, further sinking them into a morass of poor performance.

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2 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Anyone here ever deal with an escrow shortage? My mortgage company forgot to include the fourth quarter taxes during their yearly escrow Analysis last March. This caused my payment to lower. I alerted them that this must have been a mistake, and they basically said it’s not a big deal and there is nothing they can do.

Fast forward to today, I get this years analysis, and there is a shortage of almost $3000! In addition, my monthly escrow is increasing by $150. So between the normal increase, and shortage, my mortgage payment is increasing nearly $400.

Do I have any recourse here as far as repayment? I understand it’s money I owe, but as far as stretching out repayment?

To be clear, this is their mistake, and I now will be paying for it. Seems outrageous to expect people to just shrug their shoulders at a $400 a month increase in payment.

Escrow shortages happen all the time.  It may be their mistake but when the payment lowered you gained by pocketing the difference when they lowered your payment.   Now it’s time to pay.   It sounds harsh but it’s not like the total outlay would be any different.   Pay attention to taxes and if you notice the bank forgets, pay the town yourself.   And refinance but only if you can get a rate 0.5 lower than your current one.  The mortgage companies are all the same.   I must have had 15-20 mortgages over the years.   Current rate is 2.8% which I’m pretty sure will never be lower.  

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7 hours ago, PhineasC said:

Do you know if some kids will still be remote when that happens and if the kids "in person" will still just be on the laptops?

Kids in person are rarely just on laptops in Mass.  some maybe     I rarely have the kids use their laptops (some simulations I would have used a computer lab for in the past).  

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7 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

I’m not going to wade to far into these waters, but it’s a similar sentiment to the mass teachers association head, who is apparently a scientist now, and questioning the science of the CDC decision.

Its obviously not a one size fits all approach, but a lot of these unions have definitely overplayed their hand at this point. Since they’ve been prioritized in getting the vaccine recently, we are now moving onto other issues on why they can’t return to the classroom.

To the outside observer, it certainly looks like the unions are looking for reasons not to resume in person learning.

It’s weird.  Our local union is pretty much get back in as soon as possible.  Teacher from other districts I know are looking to be in 100%.   I think leadership of our state union will be largely changed when their term is up.  Our state president turns my stomach.  

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On 3/18/2021 at 9:38 PM, Supernovice said:

Me thinks bonds r oversold here. 

This is dated but saw more on expanded short positions in bonds this week, eventually the WSB boys will turn their attention to bonds and correct rates. (tongue in cheek but should eventually correct)

 

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10 hours ago, HIPPYVALLEY said:

Private school for us next year.   We got a great financial aid package from a cutting edge private school in Greenfield so we're giving it a shot.  Brand new campus with state of the art ventilation system and outdoor classroom spaces.  It's more than we want to spend but we only have one kid and I wanted to give him the best shot at normalcy.  

Sent my son to private schools, with one it was financially feasible , and was happy with their Performance. Given the environment today agree with Phin, it’s a good choice. Private schools here have been in person all along, although I will say public school in out town had part time in person this school year.

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6 hours ago, weathafella said:

Escrow shortages happen all the time.  It may be their mistake but when the payment lowered you gained by pocketing the difference when they lowered your payment.   Now it’s time to pay.   It sounds harsh but it’s not like the total outlay would be any different.   Pay attention to taxes and if you notice the bank forgets, pay the town yourself.   And refinance but only if you can get a rate 0.5 lower than your current one.  The mortgage companies are all the same.   I must have had 15-20 mortgages over the years.   Current rate is 2.8% which I’m pretty sure will never be lower.  

This , given the nature of the beast, escrow withholding  will always lag tax changes.

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For my district our biggest concern right now isn’t the kids in the classroom when they come back 100%. It is the lunches. We have a cafeteria naturally. Right now we spilt the students for lunches into either the cafeteria or the gym. So instead of 300 in the cafeteria per lunch we have around 50 each in the gym and cafe. We have around a third of our population doing full remote and in the hybrid model we only have half of the kids present I. The building. 
When they all come back that will make the gym and cafe not large enough to hold them since you still need the 6’ since they will be eating maskless.  Not sure how it will work.  More lunch periods I guess?  

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12 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

This has happened to us a few times.   Usually not to the extent of Tauntonnosnow

Happened to us 2 years ago, but yeah, it wasn’t a massive difference per month like Tauntonblizz. I think our payment increased by about a hundred bucks. 

We refinanced last summer at 3.2% and saved double that. 

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