January 21, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christine Griffin
Baltimore, Md. — State Senator Mary Washington made the following statement in response to Governor Hogan's afternoon press conference calling on Maryland schools to re-opening by March 1.
“I must vehemently disagree with Governor Hogan's claim that 'there is no public health reason' to keep many of our students learning virtually. As the only Baltimore senator on the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, I join City Councilmembers Zeke Cohen, Ryan Dorsey, and Kristerfer Burnett and the Baltimore Teachers Union in voicing their concerns with the current plan to return students and teachers to the classroom. While I certainly applaud BCPSS for the success they've seen in some of their smaller face-to-face instruction sites, a larger plan that brings teachers back into the classroom, unvaccinated and involuntarily, seems like far too big a risk to be taking this winter.
The new, highly contagious strain of COVID-19 has been identified in Maryland; only 25% of our city schools have functional upgraded HVAC systems that could guarantee the necessary air circulation for students and staff to remain safe; teachers will have to quickly adapt their curriculums for both in-person and virtual learning; and estimates show that not all of Maryland's educational staff will receive the vaccine by even late spring. We must first implement the proper safety precautions before bringing our students and faculty back, not install them as we go, or realize they are too insufficient as the disease spreads.
My colleagues and I held a hearing on this issue earlier this week, and I couldn't help but, again, feel the frustration that local jurisdictions are being left to their own devices to solve the impossible problem of mitigating learning loss and keeping our teachers, staff, and families safe. We need the sort of statewide leadership and coordination that we are now hopeful for at the national level, but we haven't been receiving it. Threatening schools to put forth 'a good faith effort' or face potential consequences is not the leadership our wary teachers and families need. I encourage MSDE to listen to teachers and educational professionals on how to make schools safer for returning."
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