By Jordyn Jones
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
While the deadly coronavirus pandemic forced public school officials to shutdown classrooms and buildings, many private schools in Maryland either remained open or found ways to reduce the number of school closure days.
St. Paul’s School for Boys in Brooklandville has been open since the fall, offering a fully in-person model for its lower or elementary school and a hybrid learning model for its middle and upper or high school students.
“We also gave families the opportunity to remain in distanced learning if they weren’t comfortable having their children be in person,” Edward M. Trusty Jr., head of schools, told The Baltimore Watchdog.
“Some of them did; but, most of our families, when we surveyed them, especially early in the year, their response was, ‘Hey, if you are going to be open, we are going to send our kids,’” said Trusty, an educator with Baltimore roots and a strong background in all-boys education.
The decision to remain open came with input from many different partners, including medical professionals, staff, parents and the community at large, he said. The only breaks students have taken have been for extended holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break.
Trusty said that private schools are becoming more popular because of their success with the hybrid model. Hybrid education combines both in-person and online learning. He noted that many families previously in the public school system now are applying to St. Paul’s School because of their successful educational strategies.
In a survey of 160 independent, or private, schools in more than 15 states and the District of Columbia, 78 reported that they had experienced an uptick in enrollment in the current school year, compared to the prior year. Of these schools, 121 are open full time with face-to-face learning with the remaining having a hybrid model. The schools are members of MISBO, a nonprofit association supporting the K-12 independent school sector, officials said.
St. Paul’s sits on 120-acres and is made up of three schools. These schools are a combined co-ed elementary school and two separate middle and upper schools, one for girls and one for boys. The three schools combined have 1,330 students and 205 faculty members. St. Paul’s prides itself on lending its resources to allow children to explore their interests and gain confidence through their small-school environment, officials said.
Trusty said the educational strategies plus the copious amount of time and resources poured in to make sure the environment is safe have been a winning formula for St. Paul’s. Also, he said that 90% of the faculty and staff are fully inoculated against Covid-19.
Vaccination distribution, resources, and funding combined have made the infection rates in private schools over 40% lower than those of public schools, officials said.
“We value the importance of being able to provide our students and families the resources that they want and need,” Trusty said.
Initially, St. Paul’s administration wanted to have all students in person daily. However, school officials realized this dream was only possible for the lower or elementary school. The other divisions needed to use a hybrid model, officials determined.
Before opening up the school, the administration identified the obstacles for in-person learning, looked at what needed to happen to overcome the obstacles and weighed the consequences. St. Paul’s School made changes to school operations, implemented new nursing protocol and hospital-grade cleaning services, and set up isolation spaces.
In addition, Trusty said the school has upgraded its heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as converted classrooms in hopes of reducing risk.
“These things are very expensive, but we thought the investment was necessary to try and get as many in-person days as possible,” Trusty said.
Trusty said that private schools have advantages with small student bodies, staff and faculty.
“I have to acknowledge that I’m talking about a school environment of a couple hundred adults, rather than a school district that has thousands of adults and thousands of children,” Trusty said comparing private school environments with larger public-school systems. “So, the complexities are a little different. So, I think that had an influence on what we were able to accomplish.”
Parents relish the advantages of private school. India McLeod has two children, 10 and 15, at Garrison Forest, a private, independent girls’ school in Baltimore County with an elementary, middle and high school program. Like all students, her girls were sent home in mid-March last year and completed the remainder of the school year online. When school provided an option in early fall, she sent her children back immediately.
“They needed to interact with their classmates and teachers face-to-face,” McLeod said, admitting she was nervous sending them back.
The reward was much greater than the risk, McLeod said of her decision. She made sure to equip her children with knowledge of how to protect themselves and others. She also keeps up with the school’s contact tracing emails, which state the number of COVID-19 cases prevalent in the school and the risk of her children being exposed.
“Being in a school environment makes them more creative,” McLeod said.
One freshman student at Garrison Forest said that while she has enjoyed both virtual and in-person classes, she now understands the difference. She said she made the conscious effort to treat each online class like an actual classroom and that this approach enabled her to be successful in the distance-learning model.
However, the student stressed that learning has not been as enjoyable over Zoom and that she noticed a lack of motivation with her online classes and hobbies. When in-person learning was offered again, she said motivation was completely restored.
“I think it’s about the same, because, I always treat my Zoom classes like it’s a normal classroom. Motivation-wise, it is completely different,” the student said.