While a majority of Anne Arundel County school staff plan to return to buildings as the coronavirus pandemic changes instruction, most elementary school students’ families will continue online learning, school system figures released Tuesday show.
According to a survey of families, 29.4% of elementary school students opted to learn partially online and in person, 36.9% will continue online learning through the semester, and 33.7% will continue online through the end of the school year.
Schools automatically assigned students to the online for the year option for families who did not respond to the survey, schools spokesperson Bob Mosier said during a news briefing Tuesday.
The school system counted 6,173 students who opted for online learning through the rest of the school year, making up 15.8% of that learning option. School officials counted nearly 18%, or 7,011 “no responses,” and automatically added them to the group of students learning online for the rest of the school year.
Out of the 7,510 school system employees who responded, 69.7% said they’d return to buildings, 30% requested accommodation and 0.35% decided to not return and look to retire, resign or seek leave.
Families and staff had to decide on what plan would work for them by Monday. Elementary school students, who total 39,117 children, were asked to either come back to school for some in-person learning or sign up for online learning.
Diane Riley, a county teacher of over 30 years, is worried about her own health as much as she is concerned the plan could interrupt established relationships she made with her students.
“The whole thing weighs on me. What really worries me is — are they going to move me to a different school,” Riley asked.
She also relies on the teaching income and so cannot retire, resign or take leave if the school system denies her request, she said.
For now, Riley filed her intent with the schools to ask for health accommodation to continue teaching online. Some of her concerns were echoed earlier this month by union leadership as teachers tried to figure out what works best for them.
The hybrid classroom sessions start in November and school system employees will return to school buildings on Nov. 2. Staff could have asked for accommodations for things like childcare, personal health conditions, and health conditions of families, school officials said.
Now with the numbers set, schools will need to figure out classroom structure for students who signed up for hybrid learning or to remain online.
Under the proposed hybrid plan, as long as the case rate allows, students in early childhood intervention and prekindergarten through second grade will begin the hybrid learning model on Nov. 16. Students in third to fifth grade will be allowed to go back to schools on Nov. 30.
The Anne Arundel Board of Education will hear an update today on the reopening plan, as well as review the hybrid learning schedule and a student-based needs assessment. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
