Our school district has been operating with a hybrid model since September and it's been...moderately successful? The most difficult thing for parents (and kids) is keeping track of the random days when the schools switch to full remote because so many of the teachers are in isolation due to exposure. I'm sure having some in-class time has been beneficial to the kids who are in the hybrid model, but keeping track of the schedule is a full-time job in itself.

My school has been back in person since Sept/Oct (they brought back a few grades at a time, starting with the youngest), and we've mostly been pretty lucky so far, with few cases and (as far as I know) no in-school transmission, but that may be changing: just yesterday a small cluster of cases emerged that may indicate they were infected at school. The more contagious strains are a major concern.

It must be said that my school is a private school that was able to install a whole new HVAC system over the summer, expand our health team so we can do in-house contact tracing, and change class schedules and cohort models to minimize students' exposure to each other. I'm well aware that many (most?) public schools don't have that kind of money or flexibility, so I don't see my experience as having much bearing on what other schools, teachers, or parents should do. It's such a shitty situation all around. Of course most parents want their kids to go back to in-person school. Of course most teachers want that too, but are also quite reasonably worried for their health. Teachers and school staff have died from this. Lots of kids aren't doing well at home. There are no good answers.

My mom's little Friends school is the same. They're so small (like, 100+ kids total) they were able to really finesse who would be where, using what bathroom, etc. They also have a lot of outdoor space they've been using daily, even now.

In the public schools, the issue seems to be that about 80% of families have decided to stay completely remote (we've been on a hybrid schedule, except for two weeks around the holidays), so the space the schools do have isn't being used to its fullest potential. But like Jessica said, the hybrid schedule is a nightmare to keep track of, and Sara decided it wasn't worth it to go to school two days a week, especially when some days she only has one or two classes.

Like Kate said, it's not ideal for anyone.

flea, I hope Casper's friend is all right. It does seem like a good sign that she called.

sigh ... another Word question for the hivemind. I'm working on another of these documents that have been worked on by multiple people. There's a section that has a full-page table on each page. BUT the pages keep leaving a large white space at the top. I've checked margins, I've checked the header/footer options, everything I could think of. When I go to the draft view, it shows the table being continuous, no section/page breaks, no extra blank lines. I suspect that the problem is that some of the cells are too long/tall to fit on the page, so it's shifting the table down. Help?

I suspect that the problem is that some of the cells are too long/tall to fit on the page, so it's shifting the table down

That makes sense, except I'd expect the blank space to be at the bottom of the page. Try selecting the table, right-clicking, and selecting Table Properties. There should be a check box that says "Allow row to break across pages." Select that and see what happens.

That's not working ... and, looking through, there's one page that has one not very tall row on the page. It's set to allow rows to break across pages, although some of the rows would fit nicely. There aren't section or page breaks ... it's driving me bonkers trying to figure out what's going on. I suspect that SOMEONE did something arcane with it.

Thanks for the advice ... I'll keep looking.

{{{Hil}}} I can understand why you would be burnt out already just because everything is so hard on top of teaching challenges. And I hear you on the house - wanting help with cleaning but not wanting anyone to see the mess is a common problem! The COVID safety issues sure don't help.

Best wishes for Casper's friend, I hope being inpatient will help her.

Good luck, Toddson, wish I could help with that but Word is not my area of expertise at all.

I am pleased that I am using my MBA this morning, sort of. More in attitude that I picked up in my Managerial Accounting class than anything else, but it still makes me feel better about still paying off my student loans.

I suspect that SOMEONE did something arcane with it.

Probably entirely true. Check the properties for each row and see if someone has specified the row height and forced it to be something really big?

How is it only Wednesday?

Am I really expected to work everyday?

Why? (this is about everything, not just work)

Sending good thoughts for Casper's friend, flea.

Hil, I totally get the not wanting strangers to see my messy house thing. I had a couple of "no choice; thing has to be fixed" incidents in the past that forced me to deal, but it is a pain. In terms of where to find someone if you decide to, I've used Task Rabbit before for decent rates, but again, with Covid, etc. that's a not an inconsequential decision.

Sorry and good luck, Toddson. That stuff is so frustrating.

I've started doing some PT admin. work for a friend's 501(c)(3). I need to learn how to be social media manager now. OK!

Completely random: My DP hates the CAPS LOCK key and always disables or repurposes it, and I'm using a keyboard now that he used most recently, and it's really annoying. I should figure out how to fix it.

The school situation is overwhelming to me, and I don't even have kids. I have so much empathy for all involved.