PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert’s Board of Education (BOE) passed an updated emergency virtual education plan at its May 21 meeting, in compliance with state law.
The virtual education plan must be renewed every two years. It serves as a blueprint for prolonged emergencies that would help schools continue virtually on a temporary basis. Each district must have an emergency virtual education plan in place. This type of plan would be enacted during a state or national emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, when schools across the county closed.
The document includes plans for educational, technology and nutritional support, as well as social, emotional and community support.
Board member Paul Harrison was the only “no” vote on the measure. Harrison criticized the district’s handling of COVID-19 closures and appeared to disagree with the governor’s power to shut down schools statewide during a state of emergency.
“I think we should push back on the effectiveness of virtual learning,” Harrison said.
BOE President Jana Smith-Post argued that this was a legally required document to make sure a plan was in place for statewide emergencies and to support continuity, but the district could further develop plans to mitigate the drawbacks of virtual learning. They also have their own plans in place for local emergencies pertaining to weather or other disasters.
“If it comes from the state and they say we have to close, then there’s no option,” Smith-Post said. Dr. Newsome agreed that if closures were declared, the district would have to follow the law.
TJ Hill, the supervisor of instructional technology, also clarified that this document only pertains to state-mandated closures, and the district has numerous other plans in place for other types of school closures.
“This is literally if we have to go to a virtual instruction option because it is declared by the government we must do that,” Hill said. Earlier in the meeting, he’d said that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there was no virtual educational plan, which was part of the problems with virtual learning. This document can also be updated to reflect any specific needs that arise.
The plan will be updated and resubmitted to the state in two years.
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