School Updates Prompted By COVID To Be Discussed By Howard County Board Of Education

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The Howard County Board of Education will hold a hybrid session Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. to discuss school system updates related to the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting will be broadcast live on Verizon 42 and Comcast 95 and livestreamed on www.hcpss.org.

Howard County Public School System officials are focused on "keeping school buildings open for instruction," even if that means temporarily suspending other activities in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus, said Superintendent Michael Martirano.

"Closing school buildings is a last resort," Martirano said Friday. "I want to be clear: The quality of supports our students receive virtually is not ideal in comparison to those they receive in person. Local and national health and education leaders have all stressed the importance of in-person education to continue. Secondary transmission of COVID-19 in schools has been low compared to community transmission. Our local health officer, Dr. Maura Rossman, noted that even when all schools were closed during the past two weeks, cases have surged and that schools may be a safer place for students since mitigation strategies are layered and can be enforced."

Virtual instruction ultimately may become unavoidable for certain classes or schools as the latest coronavirus strain spreads, Martirano said, but the Maryland State Department of Education noted in December that "only on a case-by-case basis under the most exigent of circumstances and in close consultation with state and local health departments will MSDE support a temporary transition of a school system to virtual learning with guardrails in place that ensure students have access to a connected learning device and meaningful synchronous instruction."