MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County Public Schools announced it is changing its process to determine if schools could transition to virtual learning due to positive COVID-19 cases days after its initial plan was released.
In a community update issued Friday, it said MCPS would no longer use a threshold of 5% or more of unrelated students and staff in a school who test positive in a 14-day period to consider a transition to virtual learning.
This week 11 schools initially reached that threshold, or a level red as labeled by the school district's 3-tiered approach, and were transitioned to virtual learning. On Wednesday that number jumped up to 126, but those newly elevated schools were not moved to virtual learning.
The 11 schools currently doing virtual learning will receive information by Sunday morning regarding the next steps, according to the MCPS community letter.
In the community letter signed by interim Superintendent of Schools Monifa McKnight and Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Acting Chief Health Officer James Bridgers, it said the state of Maryland does not currently recommend any automatic trigger or threshold to suspend in-person learning.
"The state of Maryland does not currently recommend any automatic trigger or threshold for the suspension of in-person learning," the community letter read. "Therefore, MCPS will no longer use a threshold of 5% or more of unrelated students and staff in a school who test positive in a 14-day period to consider a transition to virtual learning."
Moving forward schools will be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine if the schools would temporarily need to transition to virtual learning.
"These modifications result from clarifications from the state of Maryland on the appropriate use of thresholds for transitioning to virtual learning – and bring MCPS into closer alignment with how large school systems across the country are keeping schools safe amidst similar COVID-related challenges," Friday's community letter read.
News that the school system was reversing course came as a shock to a lot of parents and teachers, according to MCPS parent and teacher Andrea Lyons.
"We were almost expecting the opposite for them to say we’re going virtual for two weeks to let everybody get better and come back," Lyons said. "Among the teacher community we’re all very shocked, scared of what’s going to happen and what’s to come, feeling very helpless, feeling like the board of education is not listening to our demands.”
Lyons said things have been pretty dire inside the schools, reporting a shortage of teachers and staff with fears things will only get worse.
"I’ve just come to the realization between me and my kids being in school we will probably get COVID," Lyons said. "I just think this is going to continue to spread as we’re in contact and I think the staff shortages are going to get worse and the students coming down with the illness is going to be worse and of course all the students who are scared to come to school because they don’t want to get COVID."
Before the school system's course was reversed, on Thursday Michael Ricci, the Director of Communications for Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said in a Twitter comment that the 5% metric for suspension of in-person learning, or a conversation about it, should not be used that way by any school system.
Montgomery County Board of Education President Brenda Wolff reinforced in a statement Friday evening the state's guidance and the plan to align with that. However, acknowledging the unsettling that has done in the community in the context of staffing shortages and operational challenges.
"I am very concerned that in addition to responding to shifting guidance our community is becoming increasingly polarized over schools. This is particularly unfortunate given that our schools have always been a space of unity across lines of difference," Wolff said.
Kelli Keith, whose children attend Waters Landing Elementary, one of the 11 schools that moved to virtual reiterated it's been a very confusing week.
“We had one day to prepare for virtual learning and then only one day of virtual learning," Lyons said. "Whether you want the kids in school, or you’re worried about it I think everyone at this point is upset at how the county handled this."
Moving forward, factors that could lead to a transition to virtual learning for a designated period of time include the number of positive cases within schools, the number of students in quarantine, COVID-related staff absence and level of spread within schools, according to the community letter.
The school district also said there would be 'robust' mitigation measures including masking, distribution of KN-95 masks, enhanced ventilation, high vaccination rates, and increased access to testing, according to the community letter.
The school system said by early next week take-home rapid tests will be distributed to all students and staff.
Parents are asked to submit those test results using this reporting form.
Students who test positive will have to quarantine for ten days, according to MCPS guidance, however, the state of Maryland recommends five days.