The Frederick County, Maryland, Board of Education will meet Wednesday to decide how it will reopen schools for the 2020-2021 academic year.
At a meeting before the Maryland State Board of Education, Frederick County School Superintendent Dr. Theresa Alban said a recent survey of teachers and parents revealed there was “an incredible amount of fear” about bringing students back into the classroom.
Alban explained that teachers were concerned about exposure to students during in-person classes, and teachers and parents alike wondered whether entire schools would have to shut down if coronavirus cases were reported in a school building.
“A lot of those fears were coming through in the emails that were coming to the board,” she said. “And that is a challenge we are continuing to try to navigate.”
Alban told state board of education officials that as other jurisdictions decided to move to an all-virtual instruction model for the coming year, she predicted the Frederick County board members might do the same.
The Frederick Board of Education will start its meeting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Alban was asked whether it was possible to tell if parents were looking to shift their students to private schools.
She indicated it’s a bit early to tell, but added, “The biggest difference we have seen are kindergarten deferrals. We are seeing an increase in the number of parents who are asking if they can wait an additional year before enrolling their child in kindergarten.”
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