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Wednesday, September 30, 2020

County Executive Marc Elrich Refuses to Answer Question about Ventilation in MCPS Buildings Currently Being Used by the Public, Teachers, and Students

 


Today, County Executive Marc Elrich held his weekly COVID-19 briefing.  I signed up to be on the Zoom call and was admitted to the meeting.  

In the past, when briefings from the County and MCPS were held I was able to attend in person and ask questions.  However, today's briefing was on a Zoom call and County Executive Marc Elrich used that platform to prevent me from asking a question.  When my turn came up, my name was skipped over and the meeting was soon ended. My microphone was muted by the moderator. I could have submitted my question in writing, but that option was not permitted either. 

Based on the Twitter thread from ventilation researcher Lisa C. Ng, I prepared a question related to the evaluation of ventilation in Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) buildings that have been, and are currently being used by the public (cooling centers and day care centers), MCPS administrators, MCPS teachers, and MCPS students.  

Here is the question I was not permitted to ask:

Public schools are being used by the public for day care and cooling center. Seneca Valley High School is open to staff to teach from classrooms, and SVHS seniors will be in the building starting tomorrow for their senior pictures to be taken.  Now that MCPS school buildings are open to the public, staff, and students what criteria has been established to determine if a school or classroom is safe?   Has there been an evaluation of the ventilation in all school buildings that are in use now?  Thank you.  


Janis Sartucci 

@mcps recently gave its 45-day notice to the teachers union so they may start talks to re-open schools. Here's what teachers, parents & students should be demanding before they step foot in a school.

Read the thread at this link or below: 

 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1310963647506714627.html


@MCPS recently gave its 45-day notice to the teachers union so they may start talks to re-open schools.

📢 Here's what teachers, parents & students should be demanding before they step foot in a school (A thread/1) 
Checks on the HVAC system and #ventilation

1. What kind of system does your school have?
2. Is the ventilation rate meeting minimum requirements in code?
3. What can be upgraded in-time for school re-opening?

(/2) 
If outdoor air vents are blocked or equipment is not working, exposure could be 2x compared with working system (/3)

CTL = central system with 70% recirculation
DOAS=dedicated outdoor air
TU = terminal unit system with 70% recirculation
NIE = normalized integrated exposureImage
Depending on the system, your exposure with no controls (no masks, no system upgrades) might be 20% to 7x greater than a CTL (central) system w/ 70% recirculation & MERV 11 filter

NIE = normalized integrated exposure 6 h day, normalized to CTL system with no controls (/4)Image
If you have a CTL system with 70% recirculation & MERV 11 filter operating at minimum required #ventilation rates, both a contagious person and receptor wearing #masks, exposure is reduced to 0.5 of no-controls (/5)

Error bars account for deficiencies of controlsImage
#Masks are as good as upgrading to 100% OA, MERV 13 filtration or adding a 300 CADR portable air cleaner (PAC)!!!!!!

📢Combining #masks & these individual controls reduces exposure to 0.3 of no-controls! These results are true for the DOAS and terminal unit systems too! (/6)Image
If you have window units & no mechanical #ventilation#masks reduce exposure to 0.5 of no-controls

📢300 CADR portable air cleaner could reduce exposure 0.1 of no-controls #MaskUp

⚠️No-controls exposure 8x greater than other systems (/7)Image
So what's the bottom line?

☑️ Know your HVAC system & #ventilate right
☑️ Know what controls can be implemented
☑️ #masks for everyone at a minimum
(/8) 
☑️ #Filtration (MERV 13) works as well as 100% outdoor air
☑️ #PortableAirCleaners w/ HEPA filtration for classrooms where other controls not available
(/end)

We can do this.

More results: nist.gov/publications/s…

@Poppendieck, Polidoro, @dols, Emmerich, Persily 

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

ABC News @ABC · New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says schools must report testing data.

Seneca Valley High School Opens School to Seniors This Week

In a video on Twitter, Seneca Valley High School's Principal Marc Cohen announces that the school will open up this week for seniors to come to the auditorium to have their senior pictures taken.  As shown in the video, there are multiple workers in the school building along with the principal.  

Yesterday, MCPS' Supervisor Gboyinde Onijala from the Department of Communications said that students and staff are not in buildings.  Yet, this video clearly shows the SVHS Principal and workers in the school building and includes an announcement that students will be in the building for senior pictures. 

SVHS senior pictures start being taken on October 1, 2020.


Senior picture appointment portal:   https://www.freedspirit.com/

Baltimore: Catholic Schools record 13 coronavirus cases in 4 weeks of school

 (WBFF) - Catholic Schools are 4 weeks into their school year. At this point, the Archdiocese of Baltimore says its schools have seen 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Archdiocese installed isolation rooms in each school as required by the state Health Department, and in some cases, schools had to use them...


https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/catholic-schools-record-13-cases-in-4-weeks-of-school?fbclid=IwAR1uRVx-TmFLiiverymnKcrCj6-Qs4Jy3lTbqq-jx3dmBhCrB4JLDUPZ8LU

Bethesda Family Relocates to Vermont: Anna White, 36, began looking for places in July when it became clear that schools in Bethesda, Maryland, where she now lives, would not reopen for in-person learning.


WINHALL, Vt. — From his post at the town dump, Scott Bushee spent the summer observing his new neighbors, transplants who pulled into his compound with heads full of rustic fantasy and license plates from New York and New Jersey.

Bushee is one of the half-dozen or so people who run the town of Winhall, Vermont, with a year-round population, before COVID-19, of 769. He is a cranky dude. That is his brand...

...Since then, the number of available single-family homes in Winhall and Stratton, the adjacent ski resort, has dropped to 29 from 129, its lowest level since 2003, according to Tim Apps, a Realtor with the Vermont Sales Group.

Anna White, 36, began looking for places in July when it became clear that schools in Bethesda, Maryland, where she now lives, would not reopen for in-person learning. The market she encountered was “a gold rush.”

“We would make an appointment to look at 10 houses on a Saturday, and they would be gone by 9 a.m.,” said White, who grew up in Vermont and left the state to go to college.

The pickings were so thin that at one point, to her husband’s dismay, she put in an offer on a battered-looking house whose older occupant was hoping to remain there...

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/26/nation/virus-sent-droves-small-town-suddenly-its-not-so-small/?s_campaign=coronavirusnow:newsletter

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Exclusive: MCPS Knows of 61 Staff that have Tested Positive for COVID-19

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland filed a Maryland Public Information Act request with Montgomery County Public Schools for the following information:

the number of MCPS staff that have tested positive
 for the COVID-19 virus this year

In response to that request, we were informed that 61 MCPS staff members have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.  This number is as of September 10, 2020.  

We filed this request after receiving information from community members about positive COVID-19 tests from MCPS staff currently working in MCPS buildings.  Our MPIA request was to obtain confirmation of the information we were receiving from the community.

Note that this is a list for a time when students were not using the buildings for public school classes. The buildings were being used by maintenance staff, administrators, food service staff, and the community (for example, cooling centers, day care centers). 

We do not know if this number includes all MCPS staff that have tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020 or just MCPS staff still working in MCPS buildings.  


Number of NYC schools with coronavirus-infected staffers rises to 150


The number of NYC schools where staffers have tested positive for COVID-19 ballooned to 150, including 108 where infected staffers came into contact with colleagues.

DOE officials again refused to disclose the total number of  teachers and administrators who have been quarantined for 14 days since reporting to buildings on Sept. 8

At IS 51 Edwin Markham in Staten Island, about 70 staffers — more than the 50 previously admitted — are now forced to isolate until Oct. 1.,  teachers told The Post.

“It was a s–t show,” said a source familiar with the coronavirus catastrophe. About half the faculty and all administrators have been exiled. “No one is running the school.”..

https://nypost.com/2020/09/26/number-of-nyc-schools-with-coronavirus-infected-staffers-hits-150/

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School tests positive for COVID-19


Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Bethesda has moved to virtual instruction only for all students for 14 days and students in grades 6-8 are required to quarantine for the same period, after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19. according to a letter sent from the school to families on Friday...

...On Sept. 11, Dr. Travis Gayles, the county’s health officer, told local private school leaders that they “should expect to see cases” of COVID-19 among staff members and students, if students participate in in-person classes.

At the time, 12 private schools had reported positive cases and six schools had to quarantine students or staff members because of potential exposures to the coronavirus. Gayles did not reveal the names of the schools...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/teacher-at-our-lady-of-lourdes-catholic-school-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

Exclusive: MCPS has had to Close 9 School Buildings Due to COVID-19

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland filed a Maryland Public Information Act request with Montgomery County Public Schools for the following information:

the list of MCPS schools and buildings that have been closed
this year due to positive test results from MCPS teachers and staff.

In response to that request, we were informed that the school buildings listed below have been closed due to positive COVID-19 test results from MCPS teachers and staff.  This list is as of September 10, 2020.  

We filed this request after receiving information from community members about the closure of MCPS buildings.  Our MPIA request was to obtain confirmation of the information we were receiving from the community.

Note that this is a list of school buildings that were closed when students were not using the buildings for public school classes. The buildings were being used by maintenance staff, administrators, food service staff, and the community (for example, cooling centers, day care centers).  




   


Friday, September 25, 2020

Montgomery County school district officials notify employees they may potentially return in 45 days


 https://www.fox5dc.com/news/montgomery-county-school-district-officials-notify-employees-they-may-potentially-return-in-45-days?fbclid=IwAR2L-hhBmlz0SLQN5JuY8i-6JPdRR9IHAwHQoLRuZHaU7rBazw9kJEqQqpw


Dear Colleagues:

We want to first and foremost share our deep appreciation for all you have done, and continue to do, to support our students in these unprecedented times. There is no question that virtual learning has been difficult for students and staff alike. However, it is also important to acknowledge that virtual learning is an essential part of the statewide effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep our community safe. 

We recognize that there have been a number of recent actions at the state level and in surrounding school systems regarding groups of students returning to in-person, in-building instruction. As a result, we write today to share our plans for our continued work together to thoughtfully assess and define appropriate steps for the safe return of some groups of staff and students.

While not perfect, the virtual-only learning model has provided a solid foundation that meets the needs of many. This foundation is the product of the dedication and hard work of every staff member in our district. However, we also recognize that virtual learning cannot replace the in-person educational experience for our students. When health and safety conditions allow, we will begin a phased transition back to in-person instruction to ensure all students have the access and opportunity they need to reach their full potential while maintaining student and staff safety. 

We have been working together over the last several weeks to begin exploring strategies for an in-person return. There is mutual interest to ensure enough time to jointly develop a comprehensive plan for the eventual return to in-person instruction. Thus, today MCPS formally provided employee associations the minimum 45-day notice required by our agreements to legally honor and preserve timelines. To be clear, this does not mean that in-person instruction will begin in 45 days. Instead, it means that we can reopen impact bargaining and do more in-depth collaborative planning for the eventual return to instruction in buildings.

We know that this news may cause apprehension for some people. Please know that the safety of our students and staff is the top priority for us. MCPS is working with county health officials, and we are all closely following state and local health metrics to guide our timing for a phased-in return.   

We will continue to work together to build on the ideas and framework for an eventual return to in-person instruction that are included in our Fall 2020 Recovery plan. There is much more to be considered, examined and decided before in-person learning can begin. We will continue to gather input from stakeholders throughout the process. We welcome all of your feedback. We will continue to provide regular updates as we move forward in this effort. 

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to our students.

Sincerely,

Jack Smith Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Christine Handy

President, MCAAP / MCBOA

Christopher Lloyd, NBCT

President, MCEA

Pia Morrison

President, SEIU Local 500

Virus Cases Surged in Young Adults. The Elderly Were Hit Next.


Infections among young adults eventually may have spread to older, more vulnerable people, the C.D.C. reported.

As millennials mingled in bars and restaurants over the summer, and students returned to college campuses, coronavirus infections surged among young adults.

From June through August, the incidence of the virus was highest among adults ages 20 to 29, according to research published on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Young adults accounted for more than 20 percent of all confirmed cases.

But the infections didn’t stop with them, the researchers found: Young adults may have also seeded waves of new infections among the middle-aged, and then in older Americans.

The new data show that outbreaks linked to parties, bars, dormitories and other crowded venues are hazardous not just to the 20-somethings who are present, but to more vulnerable Americans with whom they are likely to come into contact.

College campuses have become a particular threat. According to a database maintained by The New York Times, there were more than 88,000 coronavirus infections reported on nearly 1,200 campuses as of early September.

At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned against sending home students from colleges experiencing outbreaks...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/health/coronavirus-young-adults.html?campaign_id=174&emc=edit_csb_20200925&instance_id=22534&nl=coronavirus-schools-briefing&regi_id=69030530&segment_id=39060&te=1&user_id=5d9b4cfa875663665040837f3744d4a7

To Stop COVID-19 Spread in Schools, Start with Local Data and Do the Math


Infection in General Population Mirrors Pediatric Prevalence, UCSF Study Shows

As schools across the country continue to wrestle with configurations of online and in-classroom learning, a new study from UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals shows that public data and a simple equation may be all that is required to estimate the number of infected students who might be in a classroom. The result may help school districts make tough decisions on whether it is safe for students to return to the classroom, and in what numbers.

UCSF has created an interactive tool to allow users to estimate the likelihood that a child in any county of the United States may have asymptomatic COVID-19. This tool may be used for estimating the risks associated with classrooms of different sizes.

In the study, which publishes in JAMA Pediatrics on Aug. 25, 2020, researchers compared the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among asymptomatic children and found that it roughly reflected the number of confirmed local cases in the general population...

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/418301/stop-covid-19-spread-schools-start-local-data-and-do-math?fbclid=IwAR37m9z1R9VLJ5p7qPe1BXLu-nwJPogNF4NdS_H-U0JBpCgKOnrkuf6YU1Y

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Fairfax County principal charged with failing to report abuse complaints


The principal of a Fairfax County middle school has been charged with failing to tell the police that he had received complaints of child abuse by one of the teachers.

The Fairfax County police said in a statement Thursday that Yusef Azimi, 41, of McLean, the principal of Thoreau Middle School, in Vienna, has been charged with failure to report suspected child abuse in the case of Matthew Snell, a teacher at the school...

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2020/09/fairfax-county-principal-charged-with-failing-to-report-abuse-complaints/

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

In lawsuit, family says MCPS special education student was assaulted 11 times in one year


...The boy was placed in a “self-contained classroom,” according to court documents, with other students receiving special education services. Each student in the class was supervised and assisted by a one-on-one aide, according to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

On at least 11 occasions between May 2017 and April 2018, the student was allegedly attacked by a fellow student or students, court documents say.

“The child was entitled to protection and being safe in school. That’s where the school completely, utterly failed in this case,” attorney David Ledyard, who is representing the family, said in an interview.

Three MCPS spokespeople did not respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday, including questions about how the student was injured...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/in-lawsuit-family-says-special-education-student-was-assaulted-11-times-in-one-year/

A century ago, a deadly disease sparked a novel concept: teaching in the great outdoors to keep kids safe

 




When Tuberculosis Struck the World, Schools Went Outside

In 1905, when tuberculosis plagued the United States, and Americans lived in deadly fear of the disease, a New York City health official addressed the American Academy of Medicine, pleading for changes at the nation’s schools. “To remove all possible causes which might render a child susceptible to the invasion of tuberculosis during school life, we must appeal to school boards, superintendents teachers, and school physicians to do all in their power.” Alarmed, the speaker noted that windows in American classrooms only opened halfway, and should be immediately replaced with French-style windows to “permit twice the amount of foul air to go out, and of good air to come in.” Every school must have a large playground, he continued, and classroom ventilation “of the most improved kind.” Schoolrooms were to be washed daily, and a “judicious curriculum” was to include “as much outdoor instruction as possible.”

The speaker was S. Adolphus Knopf, a German-born expert on tuberculosis and the founder of the National Tuberculosis Association, which became the American Lung Association. Like many leading minds of his generation, Knopf took an approach to science that was informed by the racist tenets of eugenics. For Knopf, slowing the spread of tuberculosis—an infectious disease second only to influenza in its deadliness—required investing in healthy, young bodies to prevent racial, national and even military decline. By 1915, Knopf argued that “open-air schools and as much open-air instruction as possible in kindergarten, school and college should be the rule.”..

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-outdoor-schooling-180975696/?fbclid=IwAR2NIf499A_DVKxaMdk-xIWNoORrKncQvaO_gwy1zXPQQYCvE3iZOFFb3vI#.X1bOeq9nvpI.facebook

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Windows open, when Montgomery Co. buses resume carrying students to schools


Maximizing physical distancing by seating students in every other seat isn’t the only COVID-19 safety precaution being weighed by local school systems and they prepare for transporting students to school — many will open the bus windows.

“When we resume transporting students to school, it will be with windows open,” said Todd Watkins, transportation director for Montgomery County Public Schools.

“We will be running heat also in cold weather and A/C (in those buses so equipped), but unless something changes drastically in the health guidance, it will definitely be with windows open.”..

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/09/windows-open-when-montgomery-co-buses-resume-carrying-students-to-schools/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3z7_2kCoOefHXbFWhkmSUjnyGk1lxx_GejElPndZqHxE14pKnya2R7i0o

Some private school families not cooperating with COVID-19 contact tracing, health officer says


Some families with students in Montgomery County private schools that have reopened for face-to-face instruction are not cooperating with COVID-19 contact tracing efforts when a possible exposure is reported, the county’s health officer said Friday.

The county health department has conducted more than two dozen investigations into possible COVID-19 cases at private schools and at least 12 schools have reported confirmed cases...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/some-private-school-families-not-cooperating-with-covid-19-contact-tracing-health-officer-says/

Monday, September 21, 2020

Students in Denton Hall advised to restrict activity, monitor symptoms for 14 days


...The restriction comes the same week the university launched its second major testing event. Since Monday, the university has reported 114 new cases — a combination of university-administered and self-reported tests. 

The email sent to residents instructs them to stay inside their dorm room as much as possible and limit the capacity of communal bathrooms and elevators to a maximum of three people. Students are not to attend in-person classes or visit public places including Stamp Student Union, gyms or other dorms, according to the university emailResidents may leave the dorm to “get fresh air,” but they are encouraged to wear face masks and continue social distancing. 

Each floor of the dorm will be assigned a case manageraccording to the email, and the dining services department will be delivering meals to students in Denton Hall...

https://dbknews.com/2020/09/18/umd-coronavirus-denton-hall-quarantine-guidelines/

Baltimore County educator unions call on superintendent to rescind reopening plan for schools


Unions representing Baltimore County teachers and support personnel say the school district broke a labor agreement when it unexpectedly announced Thursday a plan to return staff to schools by mid October.

In a letter delivered Friday to Superintendent Darryl L. Williams, the Teachers Association of Baltimore County and the Education Support Professionals of Baltimore County demanded that he rescind his timeline to gradually switch the school system to in-person instruction. The plan would bring select groups of students back to classrooms by Nov. 13.

School officials did not respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Williams released the timeline Thursday to the surprise of some teachers, families, board of education members and County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. Later in the day, the superintendent clarified the plan was not a done deal...

https://www.baltimoresun.com/education/bs-md-teachers-unions-covid-20200918-20200918-twohr5t6dnhddm7gdoagmulxju-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3oWrp5v69KDt7NfB19MtK56QJsri9SxthpjkekQD-YXJr7MTGc-wOVlL4&int=lat_digitaladshouse_bx-modal_acquisition-subscriber_ngux_display-ad-interstitial_bx-bonus-story_______




https://www.baltimoresun.com/education/bs-md-teachers-unions-covid-20200918-20200918-twohr5t6dnhddm7gdoagmulxju-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3oWrp5v69KDt7NfB19MtK56QJsri9SxthpjkekQD-YXJr7MTGc-wOVlL4&int=lat_digitaladshouse_bx-modal_acquisition-subscriber_ngux_display-ad-interstitial_bx-bonus-story_______

NYC: What they didn’t do: Let’s count Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza’s school reopening failures



Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza didn’t think imaginatively about using outdoor space for teaching kids to stop the spread of a deadly contagion; it took goading from others for them to belatedly react.

They didn’t proactively design a smart plan for who would teach kids whose families opted for hybrid learning when they were at home. Instead, just weeks before the intended start of school, they and the teachers’ union agreed to have three separate sets of educators for the three jobs.

They didn’t swiftly bring aboard the additional teachers desperately needed for the new tasks, leaving principals across the city in the lurch.

They didn’t come up with a plan to test staff and students for coronavirus until they were pushed to the brink of a teachers’ strike...

Sunday, September 20, 2020

A new study on coronavirus songs in Africa looks at the impact of music with a message

...Unlike the US, where very few artists have taken on COVID-19 as a subject in songs, African musicians quickly turned to their songwriting as a form of communication and to disseminate crucial public health information: social distancing, washing hands and staying home during lockdowns...

 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2PGMGrz6LAU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PUHrck2g7Ic" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Friday, September 18, 2020

The superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland says he is confident most students will willingly wear masks on school buses


The superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland says he is confident most students will willingly wear masks on school buses, when pandemic conditions improve enough to allow in-person learning.

In a virtual meeting between the Montgomery County Board of Education and Service Employees International Union Local 500, representing bus drivers, food service workers, maintenance staff, paraeducators and office and administrative staff, discussions focused on steps being taken to try to ensure safety when in-person learning returns...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/09/slow-steady-roll-toward-mcps-school-buses-carrying-students-back-to-near-vacant-buildings/

Some private school families not cooperating with COVID-19 contact tracing, health officer says


Some families with students in Montgomery County private schools that have reopened for face-to-face instruction are not cooperating with COVID-19 contact tracing efforts when a possible exposure is reported, the county’s health officer said Friday. The county health department has conducted more than two dozen investigations into possible COVID-19 cases at private schools and at least 12 schools have reported confirmed cases. Health department investigations begin when a school reports a positive case or someone exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19...