PGCPS Will 'Prioritize Our Students' Needs,' Keep Classes Online

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD —Prince George's County Public Schools reasserted its decision to start classes virtually to slow the spread of coronavirus. The reaffirmation came hours after Gov. Larry Hogan urged schools to move toward some type of in-person learning.

"PGCPS is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of all students and educators," Board of Education Chair Alvin Thornton said Thursday evening on Facebook. "We have listened to parents and our community in making decisions that prioritize our students’ needs."

Online classes start on Monday. Distance learning will continue until at least the end of January. The county will reevaluate in December with the hopes of offering a hybrid option starting in February.

"There is broad and overwhelming agreement that finding a way to begin safely returning children to classrooms must be a top priority," Hogan said at a Thursday press conference. "There is no substitute for in-person instruction."

All school districts had to submit their plans for the upcoming school year to the Maryland State Department of Education by Aug. 14. Eight jurisdictions submitted reopening plans that prohibited all in-person instruction, Hogan said.

"This is simply not acceptable," Hogan said. "It is not the right thing for our Maryland children."

Though Hogan encourages schools to get back to the classroom, he will not require them to. Schools that choose to reopen must maintain social distancing and enforce a universal mask policy.

State officials recommend that counties track their positivity rate and new infections per capita to determine whether they can safely reopen. They say jurisdictions should aim to keep their seven-day positivity rate below 5 percent. They also advise districts to shoot for a weekly average of less than five new coronavirus cases-per-day per 100,000 people.

When a region meets both of those metrics, it is probably safe to partially reopen schools, health officials say.

Prince George's County's most recent data clock the positivity rate at 4.57 percent, which is 1.27 percent higher than the statewide clip. The jurisdiction fell under the 5 percent benchmark for the first time on Aug. 19. The local positivity rate topped out at 41.98 percent on May 2.

While the county meets the percent positive guideline, it does not meet the new infections per capita benchmark. Between Aug. 16 and Aug. 22, which is the last full week on record, Prince George's County averaged 11.44 new cases-per-day per 100,000 people.

The county has the most coronavirus infections in the state, with 25,817. The virus has killed 762 county residents.

Prince George's coronavirus-related hospitalizations have plateaued as of late. The virus had 57 Prince George's County residents in the hospital during the last recorded week. Hospitalizations hit a recent low of 45 in the week of July 5. Since then, they have fluctuated between 49 and 57.

Fewer than 69 coronavirus patients have been in the hospital at a time since the week of June 21. More than 240 people were hospitalized in Prince George's County on the pandemic's peak during the week of May 3.

"At this time, we have no plans to change course in reopening PGCPS," Thornton said. "We will work with the County Executive, local health officials and the CEO to assess when it is safe for our students and employees to resume in-person learning."

Patch Editor Elizabeth Janney contributed reporting to this article.

RELATED:

• Maryland Schools May Begin Safely Reopening: Governor Hogan
• Prince George's Schools Host Workshops On Distance Learning
• Give Students Free Internet, Pince George's Teachers Demand
• Prince George's Announces School Schedules, Plan For Fall Clases
• Classes Will Be Online Until 2021, Prince George's Schools Say
• Maryland BOE Reaches Decision on Fall Classes
• It’s Unsafe To Return To School This Fall, Maryland Teachers Say
• Prince George's Schools Considers 3 Options For Classes This Fall

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.