BCPS To Come Up With Hybrid Learning Plan For 2nd Semester

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Two weeks ago, the Baltimore County Board of Education directed the superintendent to come up with a plan allowing the school system's youngest students to return for in-person instruction by the end of November.

The board issued a new request Tuesday night that will be due before the end of December, calling for Baltimore County Public Schools to plan for a hybrid second semester.

Since the board's initial request for in-person learning to begin by Nov. 30 for prekindergarten through second grades, coronavirus rates in Baltimore County climbed to the point that reopening is not permitted.

The timeline the board proposed for bringing students back — at the end of November — also did not sit well with Baltimore County health officials, Superintendent Darryl Williams said.

Starting in-person learning Nov. 30 would mean students would go back to the classroom days after Thanksgiving.

"There [are] some concerns about the potential of large groups gathering and an impact that could have on our metrics as a county," Williams said.

"We're not saying we won't do what's necessary to position ourselves for bringing back small groups," Williams said. "We're just saying based on this timeline as requested [by the board], we have to amend this ... based on what was reported earlier today."

On Tuesday, Gov. Larry Hogan recommended limits on gatherings due to the coronavirus surge statewide.

"You can just as easily get the virus by hosting a group of friends to watch football on Sunday or celebrating a family birthday or the Thanksgiving holiday that’s fast approaching," Hogan said at a news conference about the surge in infections. "Each of us has to be more cautious and more vigilant."

As of Wednesday, the Maryland Department of Health reported the positivity rate was 6.24 percent in Baltimore County, where the seven-day average case rate was 23.91 per 100,000 people.

State guidance calls for a 5 percent or lower positivity rate and case rate at or below 15 per 100,000 for reopening schools, according to Williams and Chief of School Climate and Safety Dr. Michael J. Zarchin.

Public day schools Battle Monument, Maiden Choice, Ridge Ruxton and White Oak had been slated to reopen for staff on Nov. 9 and students on Nov. 16.

Due to rising positivity and case rates, Zarchin and Williams announced Nov. 4 the school system was postponing the reopening plans until two weeks of metrics showed new cases per 100,000 over a seven-day period and cumulative cases per 100,000 over a two-week period had declined.

Plan For Prekindergarten Through Second Grade

Although in-person learning was on hold, administrators at Tuesday night's school board meeting outlined plans for returning prekindergarten through second grade students to classrooms as directed before the spike.

Both a hybrid and fully virtual option would be built into the plan, which is designed to build an "on-ramp to traditional schooling," according to Chief Academic Officer Mary Boswell-McComas.

"Our model prioritizes live interactive teaching," Boswell-McComas said, which she said differed from how other districts were handling instruction.

Teachers would fully engage students in person for one part of the day and dedicate the same level of attention to those in the virtual rotation, she said. This was critical, she noted, since the school system's youngest learners developmentally require dedicated attention "to optimize their learning."

Administrators noted that a return by Nov. 30 was not recommended based on the health metrics. However, they said the school system could bring back students by Dec. 14 if the data allowed.

"Reopening of schools will only occur when the health metrics indicate that it is safe," said Kathleen Causey, chair of the Baltimore County Board of Education.

To ensure the school district was ready if and when the data permits, Causey asked the superintendent to prepare a detailed plan for a hybrid semester to be presented by the board's second meeting in December.

"I’m not discounting the continued efforts to try to implement phased-in learning for students this semester," Causey said, adding that if the data allowed, students could potentially return this semester. "We know that disparities are growing."

Plans for the second semester should be fleshed out now "so parents can digest it, the board can digest it and operational issues can be implemented," Causey said.

The plan the board and Maryland State Department of Education approved over the summer did call for a hybrid second semester, Williams said.

However, school board member Erin Hager said the understanding of the virus had changed since then.

"I read and reread the reopening plan that was developed by the school system in August and approved in September, and I think it's really good for August," she said.

Three months ago is like "two years in COVID time," Hager continued. "There have been a lot of things that have changed since that plan was prepared."

While she said she thought it would be "months" before the school system was ready to reopen, she said she wanted to ensure they were ready.

Officials say they are working on a dashboard that is projected to be on the BCPS website by Friday showing where the school system is in terms of the coronavirus metrics and its readiness for reopening.

The proposed hybrid learning plan is due by the board's Dec. 22 meeting. It appears the plan that was approved by the Maryland State Department of Education over the summer has been updated as of Wednesday, Nov. 11.

See Also:

• As Coronavirus Spreads, BCPS Postpones Reopening Of Schools
• Hogan Reduces Restaurant, Bar Capacity As Coronavirus Cases Spike
• BCPS Plan For In-Person Learning Coming By November 10