By Steuart Pittman
As County Executive, I normally try to stay in my lane, focusing on the work of county agencies that are under my direction. Anne Arundel County Public Schools is not one of those agencies, but decisions about school reopening have major county-wide impacts. In Maryland, county leaders and their health departments have been tasked by the governor with managing the pandemic response. The events of the last week and the lessons I have learned from them compel me to speak up.
Here is where we stand, as I see it.
Governor Hogan, County Health Officer Dr. Kalyanaraman, and I have all spoken frequently about the importance of getting children back into classrooms safely. AACPS Superintendent Dr. Arlotto, Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County President Russell Leone, and many parents have made similar statements.
The Board of Education asked Dr. Arlotto to present them with a reopening plan. After extensive collaboration with Dr. Kalyanaraman and his team, that plan was presented to the board at its Monday evening meeting.
In the weeks leading up to that presentation, I followed closely the work of Dr. Kalyanaraman and his scientific advisory group. I knew that the original metric we were seeking for a green light to reopen was a daily case rate of five new cases per 100,000 population, averaged over seven days. For our county, that’s 29 new cases per day, a threshold we last met in June.
I also knew that the scientific advisory group had helped develop a set of best practices that allowed us to open elementary and eventually middle schools with rates as high as 10 cases if class sizes were cut in half through implementation of a hybrid program in which students were in classrooms only two days per week. High school reopening with a hybrid model would still await the lower case rate of 5. This chart sets forth the metrics approved by our health department.
I stated last Monday that I trusted that these were the right metrics to guide school reopening plans, and my position has not changed.
Separate from reopening metrics are the questions about timing and implementation. Meeting the metrics at the end of a given seven day period does not automatically open schools. It simply give AACPS the green light to start that process.
Let me pause here to congratulate our teachers and our administrators. The virtual teaching program that they created in response to this pandemic is far superior to what I and most other parents thought possible. Far too many kids are falling through the cracks, and far too many parents are being forced to choose between desperately needed work and staying home for their children, but I’ve received hundreds of letters from parents whose kids are thriving in the virtual environment. So, thank you to AACPS for that.
But moving from virtual to the hybrid system, especially the hybrid system that allows parents to opt out and stay virtual, takes time. AACPS needs to find out which kids will be attending classes, prepare the classrooms, arrange transportation, and get staff and teachers trained for their new responsibilities. Imagine from a teachers’ perspective, being responsible for both virtual and classroom teaching. Creating this hybrid program, just like creating the virtual program, is more than just putting it on paper. It’s preparing the whole AACPS community for a new model.
So here’s what happened last week.
The health officer’s metrics, the hybrid model, and a timeline for implementation were all introduced on the day that the school board was asked to vote on them. That was Monday. The timeline, which has since been moved back a week, had K-2 opening November 9 and 3-5 opening two weeks later. Public comment was invited in advance of the meeting, but the public hadn’t seen the plan. The board’s youngest member noted the disconnect, and the plan was neither accepted nor rejected. Dr. Arlotto made clear the next day that he would only move forward with board direction.
The board met again on Wednesday. By that time parents and teachers had seen the plan and spoken up. Two competing motions were presented. Julie Hummer moved that the elementary school reopening begin in January, and that additional efforts be launched immediately to better serve individual students whose needs are not being met by the virtual program. Melissa Ellis moved that as long as health metrics are achieved, the elementary reopening plan move forward as presented in November.
In a surprise development, Ms. Hummer asked Dr. Arlotto which approach he’d prefer. I personally was shocked that this was the first time that the superintendent had been asked to give his opinion in a public forum. His answer may not have influenced some board members, but it impacted me.
Dr. Arlotto explained that he supported the Hummer approach, to wait until the second semester. The board, however, voted 5-3, with one abstention, for the Ellis approach, to move forward in November. At Dr. Arlotto’s request, the board then agreed to an additional week for preparation, so that K-2 would begin November 16 and 3-5 on November 30. As things stand today, that is the plan if health metrics permit.
Here are my own thoughts.
Our COVID case rate has been on a slow but steady increase since late June and is over ten today. Public health experts everywhere warn that the movement of people indoors to escape colder weather is very likely to increase our rate of spread. In other words, we no longer have the green light to reopen. We are in yellow territory.
In January we will know the impact of cooling weather on community spread and can make a decision that is less likely to be reversed. Our teachers and parents deserve better than the yo-yo model of openings and closings that we see happening at colleges and private schools across the country.
Many parents and teachers are angry. Too many feel that they weren’t listened to and that the planning was rushed. I accept some of that blame. I expressed support for a plan based primarily on health metrics and too little on the well-being of the whole institution and its stakeholders. I have since read a lot of very thoughtful emails, and I have learned. That’s what we ask of our students, and that’s what I am now asking of our school board members - to listen and reconsider.
Like all tough decisions, it’s helpful to list pros and cons. I view classroom time as a pro, but under the Hummer plan, where we wait until the start of the next semester, there aren’t many classroom days lost. When you consider that each child would spend two days each week in the classroom, and you subtract the upcoming holidays, the difference between the two proposals is six days for kids in grades 3-5, and eight days for grades K-2. In return for the lost days, we get two months to rebuild trust, improve planning, conduct training, and hunker down at home if possible to prevent a fall COVID surge from happening in our county. This is the approach I support.
I have a lot of respect for the individuals who serve on our school board. I’ve spoken to many and am convinced that each is committed to what’s best for the students. I don’t believe that any view these issues through the political lens of the partisan protesters who demanded in September that AACPS ignore the pandemic and open fully. Every board member wants the all-in-this-together attitude to prevail, and they’re not that far apart. I feel the same way about what I’ve heard from parents, teachers, the unions, and the administration.
With just a little more listening and a little more empathy, we can show the 85,000 kids in our school system how to take on a challenge, together. We’re really close.
If you don’t believe me, tune into Tuesday Night with County Executive Pittman, October 13 at 6 pm on facebook.com/aacoexec, bit.ly/ArundelTV, Channel 38 on Verizon, or Channel 98 on Comcast / Broadstripe. My guests are Dr. Kalyanaraman, TAAAC President Russel Leone, Board of Education Member Melissa Ellis, and Board of Education Member Julie Hummer. You will hear thoughtful dialogue and a responsible discussion of options.