Thread by @DeirdreByrne_

Thread: Here's the correct link to watch the @mocoboe meeting, which features in person testimony for the first time since the pandemic started.

I'll be watching and live tweeting for @mymcmedia. Also follow @TVJordanLindsay who is covering in person.

Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight announces these two appointments, which are confirmed by the @mocoboe.

@mymcmedia

Interim Superintendent McKnight moves to recognize National Suicide Prevention Week from Sept. 5-11. It is approved by the @mocoboe.

@mymcmedia

.@mocoboe President Brenda Wolff (@brendawolff1) says seven people will offer in person testimony. There's 1 audio testimony and 11 video testimonies, as well.

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

@mymcmedia

.@MCC_PTA CIP Committee Chair Laura Stewart is testifying. She urges @mocoboe to provide meals outdoors. She also calls for refusing airborne transmission of covid in schools with the Delta variant spreading.

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

@mymcmedia

Dr. Jennifer Reesman, an @MCPS parent and psychologist, urges @mocoboe to do everything they can to stay in schools to "minimize disruptive quarantine."

"As we know, absenteeism and missing school, is directly related to graduation outcomes."

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

@mymcmedia

Dawn Iannaco-Hahn, an MCPS parent, says parents do not want a repeat of Zoom school.

"Schools need to be open and stay open for real in-person learning. This is not August 2020 and this Board needs to stop making its decisions like it is."

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

@mymcmedia

Lisa Cline, a QO parent, conducted a survey on books and workbooks. She says 2/3rds of families surveyed said they used the books in their classes.

@mymcmedia

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

Amy Waychoff testifies about critical race theory. She says critical race theory is being taught in MCPS schools.

@mymcmedia

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

Julie Saxon testifies saying she'll be coming to every @mocoboe meeting because she is concerned about the emphasis on equity, antiracism, etc., which she says teaches kids to hate other races.

@mymcmedia

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

.@MCC_PTA President Cynthia Simonson offers video testimony. She says overcrowding in spaces isn't acceptable and calls for the use of outdoor spaces, especially for unmasked activities.

@mymcmedia

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

Advika Agarwal, a 10th grader involved in MCR-SGA, calls for the @MCPS Department of Facilities Management to take "guidance from an independent expert on school ventilation practices."

@mymcmedia

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

This third grader is concerned about the spread of covid, and says he wants there to be adequate testing and wants students to eat outdoors.

@mymcmedia

Hannah Donart, an MCPS parent, testifies asking for tents for outdoor lunch in elementary schools, better contact tracing, data on air ventilation, safe disinfections, and more.

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

@mymcmedia

Joanna Snyder, a member of @MCC_PTA, has lead the covid outdoor learning initiative.

"We have the opportunity to lead the Metro region with outdoor innovation...don’t let this...pivot the district has taken become too little too late."

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

@mymcmedia

A Bells Mill Elementary student testifies that she wants to eat outside because there's better air quality and she's concerned about the Delta variant. @mymcmedia

Laura Mitchell is concerned @MCPS's reopening plans were not specific. She's concerned about the policy on quarantining for asymptomatic students.

"We're not doing everything that we can," she says. "I urge you to consider testing for all, even past the 6th grade."

@mymcmedia

Julia Rogers is worried guidance is based on where we were in 2020, not 2021. She wants people to be able to opt out of testing, not opt in.

go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Bo…

Apart Ganesh also urges @mocoboe to make testing something people have to "opt out" of rather than "opt in."

She wants there to be steps to create an alert system for covid exposure.

@mymcmedia

Liz Feldman says 2021 is a make or break year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She says all new construction at MCPS should be net 0 and they need a comprehensive plan for making these energy savings now.

@mymcmedia

Dr. Jennifer Todd is concerned about @MCPS's testing plan, which will randomly test students as part of a sample.

"Children can spread covid and can get sick and die from covid...without of robust testing system...we are all flying blind into a new school year."

@mymcmedia

Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight said @MCPS is prepared to welcome back 160,000 students to its classrooms.

She said, in partnership with @MoCoDHHS, 159 students received the COVID-19 vaccine at the Back to School Jam.

@mymcmedia

McKnight says MCPS wants to make sure every student returns to a safe, healthy and nurturing environment.

@mymcmedia

McKnight said 53,000 students participated in MCPS summer school programs.

"We definitely have heroic staff here in our school system," she said.

@mymcmedia

McKnight said she believes in person education is ideal for the interests of students.

She said over this last year there were probably more lessons learned than anyone even desired to learn.

@mymcmedia

McKnight said there's a virtual academy (enrolling 3,000 students) and an in person structure of learning for MCPS students.

@mymcmedia

McKnight said we are now in a different place than we were a month ago because of the Delta variant.

"Health and safety is our first priority, always has been, and will continue to be," she said.

@mymcmedia

McKnight says MCPS is requiring mask wearing, staff vaccinations, covid-19 screenings. MCPS continues to offer vaccine clinics for students and staff.

"This truly does take a community effort," she said.

@mymcmedia

McKnight said MCPS has taken even more proactive measures because of the Delta variant.

--back to school night will be virtual
--teacher/parent conferences will be virtual (parents actual participate in higher rates when these are virtual)

@mymcmedia

McKnight gives a shoutout to the Arcola Elementary School Principal who is at the @mocoboe meeting. Check out @TVJordanLindsay's story for @mymcmedia on Arcola ES from a couple of weeks ago:

mymcmedia.org/two-mcps-eleme…

Everett Davis, the acting associate superintendent of student and family support and engagement, is talking.

Davis shares information about how social emotional learning and restorative justice has been implemented in classrooms. (See screenshot for details)

@mymcmedia

One speaker is outlining MCPS's health and safety protocols. Check out these slides for details.

@mymcmedia

Heather Dublinske, a coordinator for student welfare and compliance, discusses isolation vs. quarantine. Students must "isolate" if they test positive for covid-19. Students must "quarantine" if they are a "close contact" of the covid positive student. @mymcmedia

Vaccinated students who are in "close contact" with a covid positive student don't need to quarantine unless they are displaying symptoms.

@mymcmedia

If contact travers determine everyone in a class have been in close contact with the covid positive student, then the whole class must quarantine.

@mymcmedia

Eugenia Dawson discusses ventilation, sanitizing products, and MCPS's policy on cleaning and disinfecting.

@mymcmedia

Students will be served lunch and breakfast at no cost.

Schools are not required to provide outdoor lunch options, but they are encouraged to take advantage of all indoor and outdoor seating space.

@mymcmedia

Examples of outdoor lunch spaces, but ultimately each school decides their own lunch seating policy.

@mymcmedia

Here are more lunch seating options schools can consider.

@mymcmedia

President @brendawolff1 asks who can purchase the items in the previous tweet.

Eugenia Dawson, chief of finance and operations, says 100 picnic tables have been purchased, but MCPS would prefer that schools order the materials through the MCPS materials management.

@mymcmedia

.@brendawolff1 clarifies that it's the schools purchasing these items, not school PTAs.

@mymcmedia

.@brendawolff1 asks about this slide. Interim Superintendent McKnight says the only option for testing is to have families opt in.

CDC guidance says testing should be conducted with informed consent. MCPS is required to collect consent info to be in compliance.

@mymcmedia

Board Member Patricia O'Neill said while many are happy to have schools in person, many are also anxious about the spread of the Delta variant.

"I have a third grade grandson and a fifth grade granddaughter...and I am worried. They are unvaccinated because they are under 12."

O'Neill said she's worried about the quarantining policy with some children coming from vacations.

"You think you do everything right and you don't know," O'Neill said.

@mymcmedia

O'Neill asks why volunteers aren't mandated to get vaccinated or frequent testing. O'Neill began her MCPS career as an MCPS volunteer and said she strongly believes in a vaccination mandate.

@mymcmedia

Interim Superintendent McKnight said she is working with providers of programs with volunteers to update the process for volunteering which would require proof of vaccination.

(MCPS is still in the process of updating this information, so it's not set in stone)

@mymcmedia

McKnight said MCPS is coordinating efforts to make sure parents can volunteer but in a way that limits access to staff.

McKnight says MCPS has to be thoughtful of how spaces are utilized at each school. She said outdoor tents would not necessarily work at each school.
@mymcmedia

.@RebeccaOnBoard said she supports using outdoor spaces, but notes not all schools may be able to fit students in an outdoor space during lunch because of other activities happening at the same time.

@mymcmedia

.@RebeccaOnBoard asks if tents have been purchased.

Dawson said MCPS is not encouraging tents "because of various codes for outdoor spaces." She said right now tents are not a recommendation.

@mymcmedia

Dawson said "equity is clearly number one and working with their schools and their needs" is also a major priority.

@mymcmedia

.@RebeccaOnBoard asks if virtual academy students can pick up lunches. Dawson said the answer is yes, but MCPS is considering giving these students a weekly box so there would be one pickup.

@mymcmedia

.@KarlaSilves_BOE asks to clarify if every school is expected to have outdoor lunch, even though it's not technically required.

Ruschelle Reuben said MCPS has been in contact with schools and their data shows most schools are using their outdoor spaces. @mymcmedia

Reuben said many principals are working with their PTAs and in some cases some PTA are concerned about the safety of students in their outdoor spaces.

@mymcmedia

.@KarlaSilves_BOE asks to confirm if there are more lunch monitors for lunch. Dawson confirms each elementary school would have two 7 hour monitors.

@mymcmedia

.@KarlaSilves_BOE asks about pool testing. She wonders if the consent form should be sent frequently to help get more participants.

McKnight agrees with Silvestre's point. "We really are going to be depending on our community...to participate," she said.

@mymcmedia

.@ShebraEvans asks if staff at schools are close to completing their restorative justice training.

Everett Davis said it is not yet complete yet.

@mymcmedia

.@brendawolff1 notes that many schools are open to the public so it's important to work with the public to make sure outdoor dining is really what they want. She notes not all schools have fences around their campuses.

@mymcmedia

Sean Kelly, an instructional specialist for restorative justice, said of the 65 secondary schools, 49 have identified a restorative justice coach. The goal is to have all RJ coaches in their place by the start of school, and Kelly said MCPS is well on their way to that goal.

Kelly said the RJ coach is responsible for organizing a restorative justice team in each school building, overseeing disciplinary responses. RJ coaches will find ways to provide professional development opportunities to their respective school buildings. @mymcmedia

.@Lynne4Students asks for more detail on the testing protocols. She asks how the random testing data is going to be collected.

"You're saying a random sampling. Are we pooling those from classrooms...I'm not clear what we mean by random and how we're using the data."

@mymcmedia

Dawson said it's "random within the building." She said the difference with the pool testing is that you have to have 5 or more from a class.

"We're going to get individual results," Dawson said.

Dawson said it's random testing but the results are connected to a person. @mymcmedia

.@Lynne4Students asks how MCPS is encouraging the use of outdoor spaces.

Dawson said schools are working with staff and communities to discuss their options. Dawson said MCPS has offered documents with ideas about being creative with outdoor spaces.

@mymcmedia

.@Lynne4Students asks what's being done to minimize the amount of unvaccinated staff working in elementary schools.

McKnight said "yes" noting that MCPS has coordinated vaccination clinics.

@mymcmedia

.@Lynne4Students asks about who is in charge of air-quality and how the data around that will be monitored.

"I think the biggest thing is being the proactive approach, changing filters regularly, making sure we do have the air filters," Dawson said. @mymcmedia

.@Lynne4Students asks how often air filters will be monitored to make sure they are used strategically.

Dawson said for portable air filters, those filters are changed on a regular basis.

@mymcmedia

Veronica Hill the director of the vision of maintenance and operation said there will be a team in place monitoring indoor air quality.

@Lynne4Students urges that the results of the monitoring be shared with the community.

@mymcmedia

.@hanaolooney, the @mocoboe SMOB, asks if there will be any option for in school testing at grades 6 and up.

Dawson said MCPS has the option to allow testing at levels beyond elementary school and there's an option to even allow staff to test.

@mymcmedia

.@hanaolooney notes that @MCPS has student birthdays and suggests that the schools send a happy birthday message to students turning 12 with information about getting vaccinated.

McKnight said, "I love that idea, love it."

@mymcmedia

Dawson tells @hanaolooney MCPS have purchased 100 white picnic tables (pictures in one of the slides in an earlier tweet).

She said there are plans to purchase more but MCPS wanted to make sure they "got the first round coming in."

@mymcmedia

.@mocoboe is moving on to the next item on its agenda -- returning to in person learning.

@mymcmedia

Accelerating student learning is going to be apart of in person instruction, but evidence based intervention will also be provided "in addition to" grade level skills.

@mymcmedia

Now they are discussing the @MCPS virtual academy. 3,500 students applied to the virtual academy -- 730 applied after the deadline and they were all accepted into the academy.

This academy is <2% of MCPS's community.

MCPS virtual academy denied applicants who did not live in Montgomery County.

@mymcmedia

.@brendawolff1 says @mocoboe is moving to discuss athletics now. All students are welcome to participate in MCPS fall sports.

@mymcmedia

MCPS is focus on helping student athletes make smart decisions outside of school and get vaccinated.

Coaches are also required to get vaccinated.

@mymcmedia

When it comes to cases, there are two tracks for student athletes depending on if they are or are not vaccinated.

When athletics has a case the team will "pause," undergo contact tracing before the program resumes.

@mymcmedia

MCPS student athletes are getting acclimated to activity through its Fall Heat Plan. Games begin next Friday.

@mymcmedia

Shella Cherry, director of student leadership and extracurricular activities, talks about the plans for extracurricular activities.

There will be special masks for singers and wind musicians, Cherry said.

@mymcmedia

Cherry said volunteers will be required to show proof of vaccination and more information on that will be announced soon.

@mymcmedia

Jeffrey Sullivan tells @brendawolff1 MCPS is considering mandatory vaccination for athletes but those conversations are ongoing.

@mymcmedia

.@hanaolooney asks if there was a cap for students enrolled in the virtual academy and if students can enroll later in the year.

There wasn't necessarily a cap, but the virtual academy is looking for students to transition in/out during the quarter and semester marks.
@mymcmedia

.@hanaolooney asks when the virtual program will expand to offer special programs (like magnet, IB).

Once the school year starts, the virtual learning will discuss more opportunities for innovation.

@mymcmedia

.@Lynne4Students asks Sullivan, director of athletics, about contact tracing.

"Are you focusing in on whether we're seeing in group transmission [rather than] community cases coming in?"

Sullivan said MCPS has not seen in group transmission. @mymcmedia

Sullivan said indoor sports are masking. @mymcmedia

Jeffrey Sullivan, director of athletics, confirms eligibility requirements are waved for athletics for the start of the school year, but they will be reimplemented in the school year with information provided to families. @mymcmedia

.@RebeccaOnBoard asks about how students can see live instruction without being there.

The answer to this question is that this question may be answered later on, so stay tuned. @mymcmedia

McKnight says @mocoboe is now transitioning to the final part of its return to in person learning presentation now.

@mymcmedia

Everett Davis, acting associate superintendent of student and family support engagement returns to the @mocoboe meeting, and talks about migrant children reunifying with families in Montgomery County.

He shares updates to the "newcomers plan."

@mymcmedia

"Newcomers" are defined as "children born outside the United States and entering the county within the last three years."

@MoCoCouncilMD has provided this program with $1.6 million in supplemental funding.

@mymcmedia

Now @mocoboe is discussing @MCPS contingency plans.

The plan is to open schools for 5 days a week.

Quarantine instruction looks different depending on grade level.

@mymcmedia

Arcola Elementary Principal Emmanuel Jean-Phillipe (@eemajor) now talks about how his school has been providing in person learning since July.

@mymcmedia

.@eemajor said Arcola has had one student test positive for the coronavirus. The student is home safely, Jean-Philipe said.

He said one class had to switch from in person support to virtual due to quarantine.

@mymcmedia

.@eemajor said he's learned more about how best to move forward with quarantining and isolation to support families.

During lunch, students are assigned tables, Jean-Philipe said.

@mymcmedia

Here's the contingency plan for hybrid instruction. More details for this plan will continue at the next @mocoboe meeting.

The contingency plan does not have an all virtual option at this time.

@mymcmedia

MCPS is providing schools the opportunity to request a Continuity of Operations Plan.

@mymcmedia

.@RebeccaOnBoard asks about live streaming of lessons for quarantined students.

Ruschelle Reuben said schools are planning to ensure that students have access to instructions, whether it's recorded or live streamed.

@mymcmedia

Reuben said there could be privacy concerns with live streaming because it would indicate the students that are on the live stream are at home in quarantine. @mymcmedia

.@KarlaSilves_BOE asks how quarantine students can Zoom with teachers. Reuben said teachers would create time in their schedules to make time to be available on Zoom for students in quarantine.

@mymcmedia

The expectation is that students would be able to Zoom with teachers from all subjects. @mymcmedia

.@eemajor tells @KarlaSilvestre6 that Arcola has been doing lunches inside and they've only had one covid case.

@mymcmedia

Reuben said if it's a whole class quarantine, the entire class would go virtual.

.@mocoboe is now on recess