WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) - A Maryland county’s Board of Education has voted to allow hybrid learning at local high schools starting Thursday, although coronavirus cases in the area have increased steadily since October.
Carroll County’s Board of Education unanimously voted on Wednesday to allow high schools students to participate in a hybrid learning model starting Thursday, news outlets reported.
Students in the “B” cohort will attend class on Thursday and Friday. The “A” cohort will go Monday and Tuesday.
Elementary and middle school students entered a hybrid learning model on Oct. 19.
Since then, the weekly average for cases per day per 100,000 went from 5.5 to 12.7 as of the week of Nov. 2, Maggie Kunz of Carroll County’s health department said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, County health officer Ed Singer said he wouldn’t recommended bringing high schoolers back Thursday.
Singer said the department would have a difficult time keeping up with contract tracing. He also said spikes in cases have come from sporting events and parties for Halloween, birthdays and general large gatherings. Nine of the new cases stemmed from a high school party.
Board member Tara Battaglia said extending virtual learning made her worried about the mental health of high schoolers.
Student representative Devanshi Mistry echoed the sentiment. Mistry said delaying the hybrid model the day before students were expected to return would be “an immense disservice to students.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the board will meet again to see whether COVID-19 case numbers have improved. If not, changes will be made system-wide, either limiting in-person instruction or going back to an all virtual model.
Other school systems have made adjustments as COVID-19 cases rise in Maryland. Baltimore City schools will limit the number of reopened school buildings from 44 to 27. Harford County Public Schools will be resuming virtual classes after case spikes hit their highest level since the pandemic began.
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