Four more Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will revert to virtual learning for 10 days as the omicron variant continues to spread.
Loiederman Middle School, Harmony Hills, Pine Crest and Wheaton Woods elementary schools and the autism program at Westover Elementary School temporarily will cease in-school classes as of Jan. 31. They are expected to reopen their doors Feb. 10, according to an MCPS Community Message issued Thursday evening.
According to a letter from MCPS, this is being done “[I]n the interest of the overall school community’s health and safety.” There was no mention of COVID-19 cases numbers at each of those schools.
16 schools that switched to virtual learning about two weeks ago will reopen Monday.
The Black and Brown Coalition and the Children’s Opportunity Fund are working with childcare providers to establish what MCPS is calling ‘equity hubs’ for students in kindergarten through fifth grade who are participating in virtual learning, The goal is to assist families whose children need a safe place to learn as their parents and caregivers must be out of the home and at work.
These hubs also are designed to help families that are not able to access virtual learning in their homes or whose students need a more structured learning environment.
Also, as of Jan. 25, all MCPS students are eligible for free virtual tutoring or homework help from FEV Tutor and Tutor Me Education.
MCPS currently is looking into ways to conduct virtual learning when school is closed due to bad weather.
Also explained in the community message is that as of Jan. 29, a limited number of spectators once again will be permitted to watch MCPS athletic games and other extracurricular activities as long as the audience capacity does not exceed 25%
This community message includes updates on schools entering virtual learning, a message about safety, masks, testing, athletics and more: https://t.co/XsksgBzyOa
— MCPS (@MCPS) January 28, 2022
