Return to In-Person Learning: Health and Safety Updates

Dear Prince George’s County Public Schools Community,



As we prepare to resume in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18, I want to express my appreciation to all of you for your understanding and flexibility over these last few weeks. Our temporary shift to virtual learning system-wide was unprecedented among large school districts, but as we can see now, it was a necessary precaution that helped to slow the spread of COVID-19 within our schools. When students return next week, we are layering in additional mitigation measures.

Home test kits and KN95 masks will be distributed to all students and staff. One kit containing two tests will be available for each child enrolled in our schools. The distribution will be held at schools and offices. Students will be requested to test weekly in order to return to school the following week. Every Sunday, tests should be taken and results uploaded from January 23 through February 27. The link for uploading will be provided next week. Home test kits will be distributed biweekly until the end of February to facilitate this request.

More students will be randomly tested in our weekly pools. We have worked with testing vendors to double the capacity to 20 percent of students.

New county and state quarantine rules were implemented with clear guidance on when students can return to school after contracting or being exposed to COVID-19.

Staff testing was expanded during virtual learning. All employees regardless of vaccination status were able to get free COVID testing provided by PGCPS due to the difficulty of obtaining tests in the community. Weekly testing of unvaccinated staff will continue.

No spectators will be allowed at athletic events through the end of January. Athletes who are not vaccinated will continue to be tested weekly. Starting Tuesday, February 1, attendance at athletic events will be limited to 25 percent of building capacity.

The Temporary K-6 Virtual Learning Program will conclude Friday, January 28. This program was always designed to be a temporary option in the absence of a vaccine for children ages 5-11. PGCPS does not have permission from the Maryland State Department of Education to go beyond the timeframe established at the beginning of the school year. Each school will facilitate a return to school orientation meeting for our elementary virtual students during the week of January 24th and upon return to school buildings, these students will also receive a home test kit and KN95 mask.

I understand that families may have concerns about returning due to the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to collaborate with the local and state health departments to assess data and make the best decisions. My goal remains to keep our schools open safely and I believe that we can do so for the duration of the 2021-22 academic year by following the science and proven mitigation strategies: Wear a mask. Stay home if you are sick. Complete the permission slip for your child to be randomly selected for weekly testing. Get vaccinated.

Your health and safety is our priority as a school system.

I invite you to join me this evening at our Tele-Town Hall with Dr. Ernest Carter, Prince George’s County Health Officer, to discuss the return to in-person learning and related health and safety issues. Parents and guardians will receive a phone call from the school system at 5:30 p.m. If you do not receive a call, please dial 844-734-8766. The Spanish interpretation line is 508-924-5155.

Thank you for your support during these times. I look forward to speaking with you tonight.

Sincerely,

Monica Goldson, Ed.D.

Chief Executive Officer

Thanks! I know that virtual is hard on parents and kids especially those too young to be home alone. But I am so thankful these past two weeks have been virtual. We didn't know we'd get the big snowstorm of course, and I'm positive that whole week would have been lost instructionally (instead of just Monday and Tuesday) if we hadn't moved to virtual before break. This week, a LOT of our staff members are out due to COVID or quarantine, or their kids are sick or some other reason, but they are able to work from home and teleteach. So instruction is progressing chaos free.


Next week it'll be better for those who need to be in person, but I'm still anticipating a lot of chaos until the illness runs through the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we think school will really open back up next week?

Yes. We teachers have been told to expect students next Tuesday. We are teaching from schools this week.

I truly hope so! My kids need to be back in school for their social and emotional well-being more than anything else. We can always catch up on academics, the depression from being isolated at home was really tough for my teen and the announcement of virtual learning brought them to tears.

And PP, thank you for teaching our kids! I really appreciate it.

Anonymous wrote:Do we think school will really open back up next week?

Yes. We teachers have been told to expect students next Tuesday. We are teaching from schools this week.

Do we think school will really open back up next week?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in two schools in PGCPS; in one of them today 6 teachers were out with COVID or with kids (their own) who had positive COVID. So at least in some schools there is definitely a surge in cases. We can't keep schools open with so many staff out.

Then close and keep kids home but not with virtual learning. Parents are not home like they were in 2020-2021. The teachers are not set up for success. Cancel and close until staff can return. The support and infrastructure for a shift to virtual learning is not there right now.

They can’t do this, unless they add a month on to the back of the school year, and y’all will complain about that, too. Find a friend whose parents ARE home and send your kids over there.

No no no. If kids aren't supposed to be mixing in schools, they shouldn't outside schools either.

This is NOT March 2020. The vast majority of people are not isolating, not social distancing and yeah, the kids are going to be in daycare/camps mixing. The world is not closing down again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in two schools in PGCPS; in one of them today 6 teachers were out with COVID or with kids (their own) who had positive COVID. So at least in some schools there is definitely a surge in cases. We can't keep schools open with so many staff out.

Then close and keep kids home but not with virtual learning. Parents are not home like they were in 2020-2021. The teachers are not set up for success. Cancel and close until staff can return. The support and infrastructure for a shift to virtual learning is not there right now.

They can’t do this, unless they add a month on to the back of the school year, and y’all will complain about that, too. Find a friend whose parents ARE home and send your kids over there.

No no no. If kids aren't supposed to be mixing in schools, they shouldn't outside schools either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in two schools in PGCPS; in one of them today 6 teachers were out with COVID or with kids (their own) who had positive COVID. So at least in some schools there is definitely a surge in cases. We can't keep schools open with so many staff out.

Then close and keep kids home but not with virtual learning. Parents are not home like they were in 2020-2021. The teachers are not set up for success. Cancel and close until staff can return. The support and infrastructure for a shift to virtual learning is not there right now.

They can’t do this, unless they add a month on to the back of the school year, and y’all will complain about that, too. Find a friend whose parents ARE home and send your kids over there.

Anonymous wrote:I teach in two schools in PGCPS; in one of them today 6 teachers were out with COVID or with kids (their own) who had positive COVID. So at least in some schools there is definitely a surge in cases. We can't keep schools open with so many staff out.

Then close and keep kids home but not with virtual learning. Parents are not home like they were in 2020-2021. The teachers are not set up for success. Cancel and close until staff can return. The support and infrastructure for a shift to virtual learning is not there right now.

I teach in two schools in PGCPS; in one of them today 6 teachers were out with COVID or with kids (their own) who had positive COVID. So at least in some schools there is definitely a surge in cases. We can't keep schools open with so many staff out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do they expect parents to do? This isn’t 2020 where everyone is virtual. Peoples jobs expect them to be in. What the hell do they do with their kids for 3 weeks? This is BS.

-teacher

Yea...I don't know what I'd do. For instance I live in loudoun, my kids go to school in loudoun and I teach in Fairfax. My DH works for the government and works in a scif and has been called back quite a while ago. We are both out of the house 10hrs a day. No idea how in the world my kids would cope if LCPS went virtual. I'd literally have kids home alone for 10hrs a day. It worked (well not really it was a disaster still last year) but at least last year 1. LCPS went back before FCPS 2. Even though I was trying to teach from home at least my kids weren't alone..

I can't go back to virtual teaching. I'll quit. My students are such an academic disaster this year, they just can't afford anymore learning loss. This entire year so far has been remediation.

You hire help or take a leave of absence or if your husband can, he flexes.

So people just take unpaid leave or come up with money for help if you can even find it? This is the UMC Zoom mentality.

Yup, snap your fingers or wiggle your noise and voila!

Here’s a problem with taking leave - teachers are already in short supply, and the ones working are stretched thin. But we should encourage more to leave? Healthcare workers are in short supply and already stretched thin. Should they be encouraged to take leaves of absence so they can be home with their kids all day?

Sometimes we need to make hard choices. Why not enlist a vaccinated family member to help?

Hard choices? One) you need to have a vaccinated family member to help. literally, that person needs to exist 2) you would need to enlist them,which means that even if they exist they can say no

Again the issue is why there are even restrictions on the lowest risk population ANYWAYS

Because there literally is not enough staff to run PG right now. But unless they provide some support to teachers like the PP, the problem is only going to get worse, not better, with closures.

This is why we need to hold the Alsobrooks administration accountable for failing to anticipate this and provide the necessary support to teachers (plus testing capacity). I know the teachers want to teach and absolutely don’t blame them.