By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(Nov. 26, 2020) Worcester County Public Schools will remain in distance learning until Jan. 4 as a result of the increasing covid-19 positivity rate in the county and state.

Worcester County’s seven-day positivity rate was 5.26 percent as of Sunday, which is a decrease from 5.57 percent last Thursday. Meanwhile Maryland’s seven-day positivity rate was at 6.88 percent, which is also a decrease from 7.49 percent reported last Thursday.

The confirmed covid cases in Worcester County since March has risen to 1,415 as of Monday.

Thirty-five coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Worcester as of Monday, with 18 of them at the Berlin Nursing Home.

Lou Taylor

“As we have monitored the metrics around community transmission throughout this week, we are not seeing any indications of progress toward a significant decline or stabilization in these metrics,” Superintendent Lou Taylor wrote to public school families last Thursday afternoon.

“We have also consulted with our local health officials regarding current projections of spikes related to the upcoming holiday seasons. In light of this information, we have made the difficult decision to remain in Stage One – with all students engaged in distance learning – until January 4.”

Taylor said last Friday that the decision was one of the hardest he had to make as superintendent of schools. He worked with his executive level team, Carrie Sterrs, the coordinator of public relations and special programs and Lauren Williams, the coordinator of school health services, to make the decision to extend distance learning from the Dec. 1 date he announced a week earlier to Jan. 4.

“All of them have a responsibility in this whole process to get information. I then discuss it with our board of education,” Taylor said.

Taylor made the decision with the support of the board of education, his executive level team, and Sterrs and Williams.

“The transmissions had started to filtrate — at a very low — our schools both from a student and adult perspective,” Taylor said.

He added that none of the positive covid cases were related to in-school exposures.

“Once we go down the investigation of contact tracing, it usually involved anywhere from nine to 15 additional people,” Taylor said. “That’s not in all cases, but in some cases.”

The superintendent said Worcester County Public Schools must follow the CDC’s metric for contact tracing of contact within six feet for 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. However, the 15 minutes do not have to be consecutive.

“[A]s we continue to adjust our plans and enhance our safety protocols, we want to communicate that the lists of students invited back for each wave may change,” Taylor wrote. “This means that if your child was originally in the first wave of students’ return on September 28, they may not necessarily be in the first wave returning on January 4. Our schools are hard at work identifying students for the upcoming waves, and like before, they will be contacting families individually to invite students back to the classroom.”

Each local public school will determine how and when to bring students back to in-person instruction in small groups.

“They have criteria that they’re looking at and it will be based on need,” Taylor said. “One of the examples of needs is the internet access.”

Taylor said internet hotspots have been distributed to teachers and students in rural areas for virtual instruction. Students in need of nutritional meals are also being identified during distance learning.

“We’ve got a team of people working on that process, so that we can continue to provide meals to some of our kids who may have some difficulties getting that,” Taylor said. “We’re being very creative in how we’re doing that.”

There are four feeding sites for the Worcester County Public Schools meal program: Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 107 S. Collins St. in Snow Hill, Snow Hill Elementary School, 515 Coulbourne Lane in Snow Hill, Pocomoke Middle School, 800 8th St. in Pocomoke City and Buckingham Elementary School, 100 Buckingham Road in Berlin.

Meal deliveries will also be available for students in need.

The superintendent notified parents last Thursday that there will be some changes in the transportation department for in-person instruction.

“[W]e want to let all of our families know well in advance that as your child is invited back to the classroom, bus transportation may not be available,” Taylor wrote.

He asks families who are able to provide transportation to school to do so to provide seating on the socially distanced buses.

“I will tell you right now, no kid will be left home that can’t get to school via some sort of transportation,” Taylor said. “I will find a way myself. If I had to go pick a kid up, I would. We want to make sure that our kids that need to come to school and have to be in those buildings will be brought there.”

The superintendent reminded Worcester County families, teachers and staff to follow the key safety practices to combat the coronavirus.

“So as we continue to make these difficult decisions, I ask you all once again to please help us. Please avoid gatherings during the upcoming holiday seasons. Please wear your face masks and keep physical distance between yourself and others, keep washing those hands and sanitizing, and as always, encourage those around you to do the same,” Taylor concluded his message last Thursday. “You are truly the key to our being able to open for in-person learning, so again, please do your part, so we can begin welcoming our students back to school as soon as we safely can.”