School Year Should Start Online: Anne Arundel Teachers Union

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County teachers want to start the school year online, their union said Friday. The announcement from the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County says educators are worried that returning to school too soon will only worsen the local coronavirus situation.

"We know there is no better alternative to learning having teachers, school administrative and support personnel in front of students," the statement said. "But it must not come at the expense of our children’s and staff’s health."

The teachers union said it was concerned about the logistics of busing and personal protective equipment. Starting the classes online would give the board of education more time to figure out a strong safety plan, the union says.

School funding is another concern for the union. Teachers question whether they can operate safely with their allotted budget.

"In a time when the school system budget has been reduced from what was originally requested before the pandemic, we have reservations that the limited current resources are sufficient to keep our students, teachers, administrators and other school-based employees safe and successful," said the statement, which the Secretaries and Assistants Association of Anne Arundel County and the Association of Educational Leaders also signed.

The school system's budget is $1.31 billon for the 2021 fiscal year, which started on July 1. The approved budget is about $52 million less than what the board originally requested from the county council. The requested budget is frequently less than what's approved.

This year's school budget is $44 million larger than last year's. Budget cuts have been commonplace however, as coronavirus ate about $1 billion out of the state's funding. Gov. Larry Hogan requested $1.45 billion in cuts from the state's budget to off set these losses.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools has not yet announced its plans for the upcoming school year. Classes are currently scheduled to start on Sept. 8.

Superintendent George Arlotto updated the board of education on Wednesday, crossing off three reopening potentials. The school system will not allow full classrooms or buses, Arlotto said.

If opened, the board would restrict classroom capacities based on size. With social distancing guidelines in place, most classrooms would be allowed to host 10 to 12 students at a time.

School buses would also run differently, Arlotto said. If any in-person classes are offered, only one student will be allowed in each row of the bus.

The row behind drivers would remain empty. If a bus had an aide sitting behind the driver, an additional row would be left open. Siblings living in the same home would be allowed to sit in the same row, Arlotto said.

AACPS will not use an A/B day schedule either, according to Arlotto. Under that plan, students would have alternated days learning at home and going to school. This would have created logistical troubles with cleaning schools, he said.

Arlotto said another hybrid model is still on the table. Under the remaining plan, one cohort of students would go to school on consecutive days while the other took virtual classes. The two groups would flop halfway through the week after a school cleaning.

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.

Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Howard County have already committed to starting the school year online. Prince George's County said it would remain online until at least Jan. 29. The county will not return to completely in-person instruction until the 2021-2022 school year at the earliest.

The teachers' call for online classes aligns with the digital learning push from the state teachers union. On Tuesday, the Maryland State Education Association hosted a virtual meeting with the state PTA and the Baltimore Teachers Union to reveal their preference for starting the school year online.

More than 80 percent of MSEA members are concerned about the student motivation, participation, internet access and mental health implications of online classes, according to two association-sponsored polls. The same polls reported that the majority of its members "strongly support reduced class sizes, [personal protective equipment] for educators and students, and additional mental health staff as pre-requisites to reopening schools."

“The pandemic has exacerbated inequity and trauma that existed widely before the pandemic shuttered schools,” Cheryl Bost, the association's president, said in an online statement. “These polls clearly show that educators and the public know that we need to protect school funding and the health of our educators and students. Our kids have waited too long for equity in education, and now more than ever we must act to give all of our students the opportunities and support that they deserve.”

Maryland schools have been closed since the state superintendent, Karen Salmon, shut them down in March. The school system will remain closed until Salmon and Hogan indicate otherwise.

Hogan has asked each county's school board to submit a plan for fall classes by Aug. 14. State officials will review those proposals and then issue a definitive ruling on whether public schools are allowed to reopen.

Anne Arundel County counted 78 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most recent data show. That was the most since June 15 when the county tallied a record-high 128 new cases.

New cases bottomed out at 10 on June 23. The county has confirmed 5,619 coronavirus cases and 203 related deaths.

Hospitalizations remain low, however. As of Thursday, coronavirus had 34 Anne Arundel County residents in the hospital.

That's down from the April 21 peak of 172 hospitalizations. Fewer than 50 people have been hospitalized at a time since June 14.

Anne Arundel County has the fifth most confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, according to the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health.

RELATED:

• It's Unsafe To Return To School This Fall, Maryland Teachers Say
• Anne Arundel Schools Inch Closer To Plan For Fall Classes
• Superintendent George Arlotto removes Three Additional Items From reopening Consideration
• Approved Anne Arundel County Budget Slightly Lowers Property Tax
• Anne Arundel Sees Most New Coronavirus Cases In Month
• Masks Required Outside, County Gives Debit Cards To Unemployed
• Free Coronavirus Test Sites In Anne Arundel County: Full List
• MD Sees Decrease in Coronavirus Cases, Hospitalizations

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