The Baltimore County school board directed administrators Tuesday night to come up with a plan to bring K-2 students back to classrooms after Thanksgiving. The plan is expected to be presented to the board at its next meeting November 10.
Parents would have the option to keep their children home and they can continue to learn virtually. Board member Russ Kuehn said it would be irresponsible for the school system to not make plans to bring K-2 students back.
“You should be planning to bring those kids back immediately,” Kuehn told administrators.
So far, the county school system has a specific plan to bring back severely disabled students who attend four special schools. They have the option to return November 16. There are no concrete plans to bring back any other students before late January.
K-2 students are in a group that is considered at risk of struggling with virtual learning.
Board members, who sgreed unanimously to have the administration come up with a plan to bring them back, also acknowledged that it may be difficult to pull that off. Logistical issues such as working out bus routes and surveying staff would have to be accomplished.
“I just wanted to make sure that you all didn’t lose the opportunity to understand the processes that would need to happen,” William Burke, the county schools’ chief of organizational effectiveness, said. “The timeframe from November 10th to November 30th might not be realistic.”
