By Cory Kefauver
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Public schools in Baltimore County continue to face several challenges as they transition students, teachers and staff back into buildings after 18 months of hybrid and virtual learning during the pandemic.
Teachers and bus drivers have reported that students do not always follow the BCPS mask mandate while some parents say they are still worried about sending their kids to school, especially those under 12 who cannot yet receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Those fears were heightened during the first week of classes, when school officials reported that 800 students had to go into quarantine because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.
School officials have tried to quell those concerns by pointing out that they have put several measures in place to ensure that students, teachers and staff members are safe.
Charles Herndon, BCPS spokesperson, said the school system was well prepared for the school year and all the challenges COVID-19 would pose. He said mask mandates, contact tracing with students and staff, and vaccine awareness were all part of a broader plan to ensure that schools could limit potential outbreaks.
Herndon said that many of the cases of COVID-19 in the school systems originated in the community.
“The numbers are consistent with what we expected given the spread in Baltimore County,” Herndon said. “I think we need to look at community transmission. The spread in our schools depends on the numbers in the rest of the county.”
Cindy Sexton, the president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO), said that while there are still concerns, the school system is confident its masking protocols will slow the spread.
“The mask mandate is the biggest mitigation strategy we’ve got right now,” Sexton said. “There are still concerns but teachers following protocols are doing all they can.”
Herndon said that there are protocols in place for students who need to quarantine due to close contact. These protocols include asynchronous virtual learning with some synchronous opportunities.
He also said that parents were given the option to join the county’s Virtual Learning Program (VLP) before the school year began.
Herndon said that parents could apply for the Virtual Learning Program based on medical conditions.
However, some parents said they found that it was not easy to get into the VLP.
Dr. Natasha Pratt-Harris, a sociology professor at Morgan State University and a BCPS parent, said she has not yet gotten her daughter into the VLP, even though she applied in May.
Pratt-Harris said she believes the VLP model is questionable and believes that the school system is not being accommodating to parents who wish to keep their children away from COVID-19.
“With Baltimore County it was all or nothing,” Pratt-Harris said. “Show up in the building or hope that you can get into VLP.”
Pratt-Harris said she was initially denied access to the VLP but is still trying to get her daughter into the program. She said she was instructed to apply via a medical adjustment but is still waiting to hear back from the school system.
Masking has been an issue in schools as well, according to teachers and other workers for the school system.
One bus driver, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said that drivers have had to provide masks for students riding the bus, adding that there doesn’t appear to be any consequences for students who pull their masks down while riding. At the very least, the driver said, there is no way for drivers to know if noncompliant students are disciplined.
“At this point from what I’ve seen the school system isn’t fairing very well,” the bus driver said. “On the school bus kids don’t want to wear the mask, there is no social distancing on the school bus, and if a child comes to the bus without a mask, they still get a ride.”
Herndon said that if students do not wear their masks on the bus and in school they will face punishment.
Some teachers have also had challenges with masking protocols. Catonsville High School teacher Gail Rye said that she has had issues with students pulling masks down during class.
“There will be administrative action if students don’t follow the protocol,” Rye said. “They are given warnings, but if they don’t heed the warnings, they risk being sent home and not allowed to come back. This would result in them having to join the Virtual Learning Program.”
Woodlawn Middle School teacher Kasie Lerner has also had issues with students following mask protocols but said that the disciplinary approach is not as simple as administrative action.
“I have to constantly ask students to pull their mask above their nose, tell them to stop touching each other,” Lerner said. “As of right now we have a ‘restorative practice’ system in place. For example, we talk to the student first, then the parent, then have a restorative circle and explain to them why wearing their mask incorrectly is not safe, then the consequences get more serious from there, but nothing has changed really.”
Lerner said that last school year teachers were given time to sanitize and space out dismissals to keep contact at minimum, but this year the only protocol to remain is masking. Both Lerner and Rye said that social distancing is almost impossible with schools back at full capacity.
Towson High School senior Nicholas Elliott also echoed the concerns of BCPS workers about social distancing. Elliott said there is no social distancing in the classroom or at lunch.
“The halls are still extremely crowded,” Elliott said. “Everyone is leaving class at the same time. There’s lots of close contact.”