11 Montgomery Co. schools go virtual for 14 days

Eleven Montgomery County Public County Schools will return to virtual learning Wednesday for 14 days because of high COVID-19 case rates.

The Maryland school system has plans to consider transitioning additional schools with high coronavirus cases to virtual learning.

Interim Superintendent, Monifa B. MnKnight made the announcement Tuesday, pointing out a recent spike in cases over the winter break.

As of Monday, 5,680 students and staff across the district have reported testing positive.

“We are concerned by the surge,” she said. “This absolutely reflects a trend that we are seeing across the Washington region.”

The surge has resulted in a shortage of teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers.

To help stop the spread, MCPS will now use a color-coded system to identify each school with a certain number of cases.

Schools with below 3% positive cases will be coded as green and remain open.

Yellow schools are those with positivity rates of 3% to 5%.

Schools categorized as red, with more than 5% of students and staff who have tested positive, would be considered for virtual learning.

The Department of Human Health and Services will then step in to help determine the next steps, especially whether that is the best option.

“The transition to virtual learning is not an automatic decision or a guarantee,” said McKnight.

The school system plans to provide more information to the school community later Tuesday.

Schools scheduled to begin virtual learning on Wednesday because their positivity rate is more than 5% include the following:

Watch the school briefing: