County officials said they have not had any conversations with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) about a potential pause on in-person learning.
“We’ve had no conversations with MCPS regarding any suspension or ceasing of in-person education. Obviously, that should be crystal clear,” County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Earl Stoddard said during a virtual media briefing Wednesday. Two private schools in the county recently shifted learning plans due to coronavirus outbreaks. Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda shifted to virtual learning, The Washington Post reported last Friday. This week, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney canceled classes before the holiday break also due to an outbreak, according to Bethesda Beat.
“We know there is a serious outcome with students not being in the classroom,” Stoddard said. “We’ve seen that in the data. To the extent that we can ensure that there aren’t going to be serious health outcomes for students, or minimize the potential for that and also prevent that learning loss that comes from the remote education, we’re going to do that.”
“Georgetown Prep and other schools may have implemented that but we haven’t had those conversations with MCPS,” said Acting Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers.
