SNOW HILL – Worcester County Public Schools will welcome another group of students back to in-person learning Feb. 8.
Superintendent Lou Taylor announced Tuesday that after a successful return to face-to-face instruction for about 30% of students on Jan. 19, the school system would bring back all students with an “A week, B week” model on Feb. 8.
“On Monday, February 8th we will move into Stage 3 of our Responsible Return Model with hybrid instruction — A week/B week.,” Taylor said in his message to parents. “At this time, we will be welcoming the rest of our students who want to return to face-to-face instruction back in an A week/ B week model. Again, principals will be reaching out to the parents of these students soon letting them know who will be A week and which will be B week students.”
Taylor said that the school system would remain in a combination of Stage 2 and Stage 3 of its Responsible Return Model, with “our most vulnerable students remaining face to face daily, and our hybrid A week/B week students joining us every other week until further notice.”
Taylor continues to encourage parents to do their part in ensuring schools can remain safely open by properly completing the daily screening process and keeping students at home if they’re not feeling well.
“We continue to do everything we can to ensure your child is returning to a safe environment for learning, but for us to succeed, we want to again remind you how important your role is in keeping our schools open and safe,” he said. “Each day, we need you to complete the screening tool honestly, and if your child is not feeling well, please keep them home. For those that clear the screening process, make sure your child is properly masked and remind them to keep a physical distance of six feet or more between themselves and others.”
Last week, Maryland State Superintendent Karen Salmon visited several county schools to view the health and safety protocols in place for in-person learning. Salmon and Gov. Larry Hogan have called for all school systems to return to hybrid instruction no later than March 1.
“Every single Maryland student must have at least the opportunity to return to attending school in some form or fashion,” Hogan said last week. “Our children simply cannot afford any more endless roadblocks, or any more moving of the goalposts. The time has come to get all of our kids back in the classroom, and to open the schools.”
