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MCPS backpedals on earlier decisions as numbers continue to soar and classes lack coverage
Parents and teachers demand transparency while MCPS points fingers and lacks consistency
Before students went home for winter break, schools across Montgomery County reminded them to bring home their chrome books, chargers, school books, and other school supplies. This move gave a semblance that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) was looking ahead and ready to make the needed transition to virtual instruction as COVID-19 positivity rates soared across the county.
On Tuesday morning, January 4, at an 8am media briefing, Dr. Monifa McKnight shared new threshold metrics to move schools to virtual learning. Eleven schools were identified as red schools, pushing them into 14 calendar days of virtual instruction, which began on Wednesday, January 5. MCPS recognized 89 schools with 3% to 5% positivity rate for staff and students.
The move to categorize schools and provide visual data gave parents, teachers, and staff the sense that MCPS was putting a plan in place. However, it was reiterated that schools moved into the red zone with 5%+ positivity rate would not automatically trigger a transition to virtual learning. Instead, MCPS, in conjunction with input from Montgomery County’s…
