Baltimore still leads nation in move to reopen schools

Posted Janurary 2021

By Isabelle Donahue

Staff Editor

More than any other U.S. school district, Baltimore public schools started taking serious strides towards reopening their buildings after parent outcry in December 2020, but teacher union pushback and public official concerns meant reopening has been pushed back.

In six Maryland counties, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Charles, Frederick, and Montgomery, parents have been calling on Gov. Larry Hogan and state education and health officials to provide the option of attending in-person classes. There is an estimated 10,000 parents who banned together to provide a united front, they wrote to state leaders saying that they, as parents, are concerned about the “detrimental impact of prolonged school closure on children,” as well as saying, “School systems throughout the country, including our own local nonpublic schools in Maryland, continue to stay open and operate.” An overall look at central Maryland school districts most, except for Baltimore City, are operating almost completely online because of the spike of instate COVID-19 cases. Also, most schools in Baltimore, Howard, and Montgomery counties have not been open for more than a tiny percentage of students since mid-March. In response to the parents' outcry, state officials, instead of stating when schools should reopen, approved health metrics for districts to follow.

In Baltimore county, parents and students rallied on Jan. 9 saying that it was time for schools to open. The rally was peaceful as well as having some COVID-19 precautions used. This rally was set up by parents as a time for families to share their frustrations about not having a choice on when their students were able to return to class.

"We feel that the lockdown of schools, since March of last year, is detrimental to the overall health and wellbeing of our children," stated parent and rally organizer Amy Adams.

After about a month of parents petitioning and writing to both school board members and government officials Baltimore was planning to reopen more elementary schools for in-person learning despite the spike in COVID-19 cases this winter. City school leaders expect that, even with thousands of parents making their wishes known, only 20%-25% of families will actually send their children into school buildings when they reopen. Baltimore City, one of the few school districts instated with in-person learning, only has 2.35% of the districts normally 85,000 students enrolled and attending.

In response to both Baltimore City remaining open and other districts planning to reopen the Baltimore Teachers Union is expected to make larger statements. When the city announced its decision to begin reopening more than 30 cars with signs that read “no staff forced in” and “#safenotsilenced” lined up outside school headquarters with honking horns and other sound makers. Alongside the teachers were also many parents who were speaking out about their concerns of rushing back into schools with proper safety measures being put in place.

“With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise and a new variation of it surfacing in Maryland, the district needs to put students and staff safety first,” stated Baltimore high school chemistry and physics teacher Joel Pally. “We know the district is under pressure, but that shouldn’t come at the cost of the safety of students or teachers.”

One member of the school board of Carrol County School District, CEO Sonja Santelises, strongly believes that in-person learning is necessary for all students for them to learn and participate in classes. Based on year-over-year rates for the first academic quarter, Santelises mentioned during a board meeting, the number of students who failed classes had increased in every grade and every student group. In middle and high school the percentage of students failing a course rose to 60%, up from 38% in 2019. For students in second grade through fifth grade, 55% failed at least one class compared with 30% in 2019. Nearly two in five students in primary grades had failed a subject. Most alarming was that 68% of ninth graders failed a class.

“No instances of transmission of the virus between students or staff have occurred in the city schools since small groups of students were allowed back Sept. 28,” Santelises stated. “Contract tracers have been working to detect sources of the virus. While there have been cases in schools, those individuals have contracted the virus in the community rather than the school. There has been one case of transmission of the virus at a meal distribution site.”

The largest argument against schools reopening was the fact that neither teachers nor families had been provided with a plan on receiving vaccinations. The Baltimore school districts have been working alongside the University of Maryland Medical System to provide on-site COVID-19 testing at schools for those who have symptoms. In addition, the district is working to provide testing for those who haven’t shown symptoms. While the city has been slow to roll out vaccinations, the school's board has said that the district is now developing a vaccine distribution plan so that, “we will be ready to proceed once the vaccine is available locally.”

Regardless of the district's steps towards safety, like implementing new sainitory stations, ventilations systems, and rooms designated for “mask breaks” for the K-2 students, many teachers are still strongly against going back to in-person instruction.

“I would quit if it came down to it,” said Danielle Hopper Dubasak, who works as an Individual Education Plan (IEP) team associate at Collington Square Elementary/Middle School.

Many teachers fear that even with new sanitation items that some students, families, and other school personnel will ignore what is asked of them. Which will place the entire school district at risk.

“We see so much trauma every day on a regular basis in Baltimore City,” the Park Heights resident said. “We cannot afford to let our children see the trauma of sickness and death all because of Coronavirus.”