How could a school the size of Blair reopen?

[Anonymous]

Given the enormous size - and location in a county hotspot - I’m trying to wrap my head around how Blair (and schools like it) could reopen this fall. Has anyone heard discussion of strategies or is it all speculation at this point?

[Anonymous]

Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

[Anonymous]

I doubt there's a meaningful difference, in terms of public health, between a 3,000-person high school and a 1,500-person high school.

[Anonymous]

All speculation at this point. Especially because:
1) Blair houses the Math/CS magnet and CAP bringing students from all over Down County
2) even non-magnet students come from many different areas due to the DCC.
3) Down County MS magnet students end up at Blair due to the magnet bus system.
4) Eastern students taking Algebra II are at Blair in the morning.

There is no way that Blair can reopen without major changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

We're not really shut down. Plenty of people are out and about, in fact increasingly so, and I'm not talking about the people working in essential industries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

Honest question. We know Blair has a ton of kids, but it is also one of the largest high schools in terms of square footage. Is it actually more crowded than any other MCPS HS?

If we go by at a glance, Blair is at 117% capacity, on 30 acres, with 10 portables.

Walter Johnson (chosen literally at random) is at 124% capacity, on 31 acres, with 6 portables.

I'm not trying to play "gotcha." I just don't think Blair is alone here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

We're not really shut down. Plenty of people are out and about, in fact increasingly so, and I'm not talking about the people working in essential industries.

Yup. More than half of the Montgomery county cases and deaths are nursing home patients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

Honest question. We know Blair has a ton of kids, but it is also one of the largest high schools in terms of square footage. Is it actually more crowded than any other MCPS HS?

If we go by at a glance, Blair is at 117% capacity, on 30 acres, with 10 portables.

Walter Johnson (chosen literally at random) is at 124% capacity, on 31 acres, with 6 portables.

I'm not trying to play "gotcha." I just don't think Blair is alone here.

I'm the poster you quoted, and I agree with you. I too don't think that Blair is alone in being crowded. It is quite possible that other schools may be more crowded, but I don't have direct experience with them. Regardless of relative population densities, I find it highly doubtful that any MCPS school (including elementary and middle schools) can
provide adequate social distancing. I referenced Blair, because that was the subject of OP's original question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

Honest question. We know Blair has a ton of kids, but it is also one of the largest high schools in terms of square footage. Is it actually more crowded than any other MCPS HS?

If we go by at a glance, Blair is at 117% capacity, on 30 acres, with 10 portables.

Walter Johnson (chosen literally at random) is at 124% capacity, on 31 acres, with 6 portables.

I'm not trying to play "gotcha." I just don't think Blair is alone here.

I'm the poster you quoted, and I agree with you. I too don't think that Blair is alone in being crowded. It is quite possible that other schools may be more crowded, but I don't have direct experience with them. Regardless of relative population densities, I find it highly doubtful that any MCPS school (including elementary and middle schools) can
provide adequate social distancing. I referenced Blair, because that was the subject of OP's original question.

WJ students do not come from roughly 1/2 of the county. That greatly reduces the likely of WJ becoming a place that spreads coronavirus across households in different parts of MoCo.

WJ students can eat off campus, reducing density in the cafeteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

We're not really shut down. Plenty of people are out and about, in fact increasingly so, and I'm not talking about the people working in essential industries.

Yup. More than half of the Montgomery county cases and deaths are nursing home patients.

Not factual at all. Maybe you can’t do math.

Today’s 5/3 MoCo count:

Total cases: 5,150
Total nursing home cases: 1,099
Staff: 382
Residents: 717

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

Honest question. We know Blair has a ton of kids, but it is also one of the largest high schools in terms of square footage. Is it actually more crowded than any other MCPS HS?

If we go by at a glance, Blair is at 117% capacity, on 30 acres, with 10 portables.

Walter Johnson (chosen literally at random) is at 124% capacity, on 31 acres, with 6 portables.

I'm not trying to play "gotcha." I just don't think Blair is alone here.

I'm the poster you quoted, and I agree with you. I too don't think that Blair is alone in being crowded. It is quite possible that other schools may be more crowded, but I don't have direct experience with them. Regardless of relative population densities, I find it highly doubtful that any MCPS school (including elementary and middle schools) can
provide adequate social distancing. I referenced Blair, because that was the subject of OP's original question.

WJ students do not come from roughly 1/2 of the county. That greatly reduces the likely of WJ becoming a place that spreads coronavirus across households in different parts of MoCo.

WJ students can eat off campus, reducing density in the cafeteria.

If WJ students are eating off campus, what makes you think that the people working and dining in those restaurants don't live in households in different parts of MoCo? For that matter, I suspect some of the staff in Walter Johnson lives in different parts of MoCo. Moreover, is there some zoning restriction for the Walter Johnson neighborhood to keep coronavirus out? I don't live in that neighborhood, but I'd be highly surprised if there weren't parents living there who worked in other parts of MoCo (maybe even the Blair district), Virginia, and DC.

All the medical experts I've heard have said that the only way to be safe is to avoid other people as much as possible, and to keep at least six feet away from people you have to be around. I haven't heard any doctor or scientist say that immunity comes with zip codes and/or bank accounts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Presumably, Silver Spring won't still be a hot spot in the Fall. The numbers for 20906, for example, while high are only slowly going up (ie: 10-25 new cases per day for past week).

That's because we're shut down. If things are going up a little with things shut down, I certainly wouldn't expect them to go down when we stop social distancing.

My kids went to Blair. I can tell you that while you can't feasibly keep kids 6 feet apart in the classroom, that's still a lot better than the spacing in the cafeteria, on buses, or in the halls between class periods.

Do you think it is possible at any high school? I do not.

[Anonymous]

Everyone will have to wear masks in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
WJ students do not come from roughly 1/2 of the county. That greatly reduces the likely of WJ becoming a place that spreads coronavirus across households in different parts of MoCo.

WJ students can eat off campus, reducing density in the cafeteria.

I really really really really really really really really really doubt that MCPS will open some schools but not others.

I also think that if school doesn't re-open next fall, the costs of not re-opening will outweigh the benefits of staying closed.