Anonymous wrote:Frederick County has a hybrid plan and will be reopening with an option for 100% virtual.

I think that the challenges public school administrators face in providing different options are being overlooked. Our public schools have not previously ever simultaneously provided educational services via two different models, in person (whether fully in person or hybrid) and 100 % DL. Obviously hybrid is completely new and comes with logistical and scheduling challenges. It is one thing if all instruction is DL and delivered via the traditional classroom model. However, what does the long term virtual model look like? Do families have to make the choice of DL by the quarter, semester, or year? How do you staff the long term virtual model? Will there by synchronous instruction? Will it be centralized or school based? The need for this additional mode of instruction further complicates planning for this school year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tune into Hogan's press conference now. He wants schools open state wide and is upset that many counties are doing DL, but have not submitted reopening plans.
It's about to get interesting.

Because ALL districts should have a reopening plan instead of ONLY submitting a DL plan. This would be whether our metrics were okay to open or not. It is being prepared and not getting scrambled on what to do. MCPS thought they could sit on their asses in February. Was wanting to point fingers of all the schools opening on how terrible of an idea that was. Well, schools have been open in areas where metrics are higher and masks are optional. No one is dropping dead. Everything should have been planned and submitted before the school year started and slowly been put in place as the metrics got better.

I guess MCPS likes charging all the daycares rental fees instead.

Yup!

Frederick County has a hybrid plan and will be reopening with an option for 100% virtual.

Anonymous wrote:Carroll County just announced hybrid starting for students on October 19. I expect we will see a flurry of these types of announcements. Baltimore city wanted to start hybrid and I think they also will be back in some capacity in October.

Lifelong dem voting for Biden and I totally support Hogan’s actions. Hogan waited for the metrics to improve sufficiently and asked schools to begin returning by second quarter. There’s also money available to help with the process.

Cecil is planning on going hybrid now too. They already had a plan in place and will start within a month.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Living in Anne Arundel I’m just grateful Hogan supports us having the flexibility to reopen consistent with *our* metrics. If PG and MoCo can’t keep up, fine.

+1. If there are a couple hot spots in MoCo and PG that are keeping their numbers higher than acceptable for reopening, why should that keep the rest of the counties from returning to in-person?

46% of ALL Covid cases in MOCO are in Silver Spring.

Anonymous wrote:Tune into Hogan's press conference now. He wants schools open state wide and is upset that many counties are doing DL, but have not submitted reopening plans.
It's about to get interesting.

Because ALL districts should have a reopening plan instead of ONLY submitting a DL plan. This would be whether our metrics were okay to open or not. It is being prepared and not getting scrambled on what to do. MCPS thought they could sit on their asses in February. Was wanting to point fingers of all the schools opening on how terrible of an idea that was. Well, schools have been open in areas where metrics are higher and masks are optional. No one is dropping dead. Everything should have been planned and submitted before the school year started and slowly been put in place as the metrics got better.

I guess MCPS likes charging all the daycares rental fees instead.

Anonymous wrote:Living in Anne Arundel I’m just grateful Hogan supports us having the flexibility to reopen consistent with *our* metrics. If PG and MoCo can’t keep up, fine.

+1. If there are a couple hot spots in MoCo and PG that are keeping their numbers higher than acceptable for reopening, why should that keep the rest of the counties from returning to in-person?

Living in Anne Arundel I’m just grateful Hogan supports us having the flexibility to reopen consistent with *our* metrics. If PG and MoCo can’t keep up, fine.

Use this one, https://www.fox5vegas.com/coronavirus/las-vegas-private-school-uses-thermal-imaging-as-safety-measure/article_6c572ad0-e420-11ea-ac1b-d7c959d34cf3.html

Living in Prince George's County, I listened to Hogan and felt like he must live in another world than I do. Prince George's County positivity rate is down to 5.2%. There are some zip codes in the county where it is still much higher than that. Distance learning is the only way to go for us and probably will be for the entire school year.

Anonymous wrote:And what happens if the metrics go above the "safe enough" zone after in person instruction resumes? Just pivot back to full DL?

That's precisely why they need a plan based on clear metrics.

And what happens if the metrics go above the "safe enough" zone after in person instruction resumes? Just pivot back to full DL?

There is absolutely no reason those metrics weren't announced back in June - or even April.

I'm glad there are hard statistics to use now, though. If things continue to remain where they are and we continue to improve, than schools can and should look to open up in the 2nd quarter.

As PPs have said, the content of the announcement isn't bad. The timing and theatrics of it, though, are so disrespectful and clearly politically driven.

Anonymous wrote:Carroll County just announced hybrid starting for students on October 19. I expect we will see a flurry of these types of announcements. Baltimore city wanted to start hybrid and I think they also will be back in some capacity in October.

Lifelong dem voting for Biden and I totally support Hogan’s actions. Hogan waited for the metrics to improve sufficiently and asked schools to begin returning by second quarter. There’s also money available to help with the process.

+1. I'm also a lifelong Dem who is voting for Biden, who also supports Hogan's actions. Remember when MD had a rise in cases and hospitalizations starting mid-July and climbing until early August? Positivity rate was 4% Was that the right time to announce this? Or was the right time to wait until the numbers improved, positivity rates dropped, and all of that stayed that way for a while?

Yes, schools who have already announced DL to start can't turn on a dime. He didn't order anyone to open physical buildings Monday morning. But my county (Frederick) had a hybrid plan, before going with 100% DL, so just dust those off and work towards it.

Carroll County just announced hybrid starting for students on October 19. I expect we will see a flurry of these types of announcements. Baltimore city wanted to start hybrid and I think they also will be back in some capacity in October.

Lifelong dem voting for Biden and I totally support Hogan’s actions. Hogan waited for the metrics to improve sufficiently and asked schools to begin returning by second quarter. There’s also money available to help with the process.