Anne Arundel Schools Inch Closer To Plan For Fall Classes

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Coronavirus continues to spread throughout Anne Arundel County, leaving the school system with a tough decision: How should it handle fall classes? As the fall start date creeps closer, the Board of Education inches toward a tentative plan. According to an update at a Wednesday board meeting, Anne Arundel County Public Schools is weighing three options.

Under the first plan, school would return to in-person instruction in the fall. The second potential would require a completely virtual learning experience. The final option would be a hybrid between online and in-person classes.

Choosing a plan has been a challenging decision, Superintendent George Arlotto said during the board meeting. According to the report, the school system hopes to have a tentative plan by the end of the month.

"We’ve never had schools close before," Arlotto said. "Therefore, we’ve never had to go through a reopening."

The school system recently conducted a survey to gauge families' preferences on how to handle fall classes. More than 45,000 families responded. The sample represents nearly 80,000, or 94 percent, of the county's students.

Of those surveyed, 49 percent said that they would want to return to in-person classes in the fall. The hybrid model was the second most popular choice, registering 32 percent of the vote. The final 20 percent of families said they would prefer to continue classes online.

As the county began to reopen and parents started to return to work, child care became one of the board's top concerns. Returning to work after quarantine may leave some families' child-care situation more volatile.

Three-quarters of families said they wouldn't need or already secured child care for the fall. The other 25 percent said they still need to figure out a child-care plan.

The potential for at-home learning could create an opportunity gap between students based on their access to technology, the board said. The survey asked whether lack of technological access was a reality for Anne Arundel County families.

The results showed that 76 percent of students have complete access to technology at any time. A fifth have reduced access to technology or shared it with at least one other person. Four percent of families report having minimal or no access to technology at home.

Recognizing these obstacles, the school system said it plans to give every student a small laptop, called a Chromebook, to complete their work this fall. The report said that some students may not get their Chromebook before classes resume, but they should finish the handout shortly thereafter.

More than half of those surveyed said disinfecting, social distancing, academic recovery and communication were their top reopening priorities. The majority of families also said they wanted to require temperature checks, assure students could wash their hands properly and have recess outdoors. Maintaining a rigorous workload, social connections and co-curricular activities were the main academic goals of respondents.

The full survey results will be available online early next week. To supplement the data, the board also created 14 committees to consider all potential obstacles to returning to school.

Those committees are considering how the three potential plans could affect everything from special education to student safety. The top committees will have significant sway in deciding which plan the school system chooses.

Those four top committees will examine employee relations, nutrition services/ transportation, facilities and childcare. The report said their influence is strongest because a flaw in any of those realms could affect whether masses of students get a quality education.

"We are all engaged in this," Arlotto said. "There is not a department that is not part of this process."

Anne Arundel County Public Schools has been closed since the state superintendent, Karen Salmon, shut down Maryland's schools in March. The school system will remain closed until Salmon and Gov. Larry Hogan indicate otherwise. While the Anne Arundel County Board of Education cannot override this order, it is currently weighing options in case that closure is lifted.

Arlotto said he has coordinated with other superintendents around the state and country to brainstorm how to move forward.

"Everybody is right where we are," he said. "Nobody has final answers."

School is currently scheduled to start on Sept. 8 for ninth-graders and students starting grades one through six. All students in grades one through 12 are slated to report the next day. Kindergarteners have staggered start times over the following week.

The school system posts all of its coronavirus-related updates here.

Related:

• Anne Arundel County Hits 200 Coronavirus Deaths, Check Your ZIP
  

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