ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s state superintendent is pressing school systems to consider bringing small groups of students back to class despite surging coronavirus cases.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that State Superintendent Karen B. Salmon cited the needs of students as well as research that does not show major spread of the virus in schools.
Salmon pointed to failing grades in school systems that rely on remote instruction. Children’s mental health also is a big concern.
“The research is not showing a consistent relationship between in-person K-through-12 schooling with appropriate safety measures and the spread of the coronavirus,” Salmon told the Maryland State Board of Education on Tuesday. “I . . . continue to encourage our school systems to bring small groups of students in for in-person instruction.”
State officials said it appears that two of Maryland’s 24 school systems are conducting some form of in-person schooling. Salmon said it will be “critical” to return students to hybrid models of instruction. Such models typically offer in-person classes for part of each week.
“We need to reopen our schools because the risks to our children of keeping them closed are far greater,” she said.
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