In lawsuit, former Gaithersburg High wrestler says he was sexually assaulted in unsupervised locker room

A former Gaithersburg High School student is suing the Montgomery County Board of Education, alleging he was sexually assaulted two years ago in an unsupervised wrestling team locker room...

...On Feb. 8, 2018, the student went to the locker room to prepare for practice and was “physically restrained” and “digitally penetrated” as three teammates held him down, according to the lawsuit. The assault was described as an “initiation,” by the alleged assaulters, who are identified in court documents by their initials...

...Instead of notifying law enforcement, as required by a memorandum of understanding between MCPS and the local police department, Tyrell began his own investigation, according to the lawsuit. He confiscated the alleged assaulters’ phones and reviewed their contents, where he saw the video and conversations about the assault, the lawsuit says. Tyrell then returned the phones to the students’ parents and notified the victim’s parents of the attack...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/in-lawsuit-former-gaithersburg-high-wrestler-says-he-was-sexually-assaulted-in-unsupervised-locker-room/

Hogan orders in-person elections with mail-in options

Maryland will open all its polling places for the November general election but still will make mail-in ballots widely available.

Gov. Larry Hogan, in a letter to the State Board of Elections, said the state will hold elections in November that look  like a traditional election but with additional options, including widespread use of absentee ballots — choosing the second of three options sent to him by the State Board of Elections...

https://thedailyrecord.com/2020/07/08/hogan-orders-in-person-elections-with-mail-in-options/?utm_term=Hogan%20orders%20in-person%20elections%20with%20mail-in%20options&utm_campaign=Hogan%20orders%20in-person%20elections%20with%20mail-in%20options&utm_content=email&utm_source=Act-On+Software&utm_medium=email

N.Y.C. Schools, Nation’s Largest District, Will Not Fully Reopen in Fall

Classroom attendance in September will be limited to only one to three days a week in an effort to continue to curb the outbreak, the mayor said

About four months after 1.1 million New York City children were forced into online learning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday that public schools would still not fully reopen in September, saying that classroom attendance would instead be limited to only one to three days a week in an effort to continue to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

The mayor’s release of his plan for the system, by far the nation’s largest, capped weeks of intense debate among elected officials, educators and public health experts over how to bring children back safely to 1,800 public schools...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/nyregion/nyc-schools-reopening-plan.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Iowa district suspends summer school program after two days over COVID-19 concerns

From the Des Moines Register, by reporter Michaele Niehaus-Steffensmeier. For the fill story go here.

The Burlington Community School District suspended its in-person summer school program after two days when eight students recorded temperatures of 100.4 degrees or higher.

There were about 60 students enrolled in the North Hill Elementary School program, which began Monday. Classes were suspended Tuesday and moved online until further notice. 

“This is precautionary to ensure that we’re watching out for the health and safety of our students and staff,” Burlington Superintendent Pat Coen said.

North Hill Principal Mark Taylor said students were screened for COVID-19 symptoms and their temperatures were taken upon arrival to the building, before getting out of their car.

And:

Safety measures such as social distancing and frequent hand washing were in place at the school, officials said. Classrooms were arranged with an 8-foot radius around each desk. Students were encouraged to wear face coverings.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Calling all parents and caregivers! Did your family transition to online learning due to lockdowns this spring? We want to hear about your experience with edtech! Take our survey so we can create resources and campaigns this fall that best fit your needs: <a href="https://t.co/YOMw3QRNoZ">https://t.co/YOMw3QRNoZ</a></p>&mdash; CCFC (@commercialfree) <a href="https://twitter.com/commercialfree/status/1280598344839114753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Reopening Schools Was Just an Afterthought

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/reopening-bars-easy-schools-are-difficult/613861/

DeVos rejects part-time reopening for schools amid pandemic

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/devos-rejects-part-time-reopening-for-schools-amid-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR28kTWsRrhlQjvnYbxBQpvYLIhqT9ImQRDx5hefdvJtUyecOnvOX0p3Gg8

Face-to-face instruction by fall? Several Fairfax County teacher unions are saying no.

https://wjla.com/news/local/fcps-teacher-unions-worried-about-face-to-face-instruction?fbclid=IwAR0-so1Bqo8j8Pmf0lO3MFx_JBgX2fnJC5b0Ik4RnxZcUfM7P3yGbQNRNxU

'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools

From Politico, reporters Nicole Gaudiano and Juan Perez Jr. Full story here.

Pediatricians say schools should strive to bring kids back to classrooms. Teachers unions are on the verge of revolt, in fear of infections. Local school districts are struggling with everything from technology to staging schools for socially distanced learning.

And:

From social distancing to health checks, the list of concerns is seemingly endless as school districts draft their plans, many of which are still in the development stages. Those concerns are only intensifying as Covid-19 cases begin to skyrocket.

"There are no plans for most of these places,” said Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union. “People are panicked and parents should be panicked.”

And:

“Our educators are overwhelmingly not comfortable returning to schools. They fear for their lives, the lives of their students and the lives of their families,” said Tina Williams, the president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, last week.

Kimberly Adams, president of the Fairfax Education Association, said the community “should not return to in-person learning until a vaccine or treatment is widely available for Covid-19.”

Ongoing outbreaks are already beginning to upend school reopening plans.

County’s chief administrative officer found guilty of ethics violation: Kleine must pay $5,000 to county

...On July 1, Kleine signed a “proposal to cure,” which mandates that he pay $5,000 to the county within 30 days of acceptance of the proposal by the ethics commission. Kleine also must direct the county’s chief procurement officer to make sure the county doesn’t buy any more copies of his book.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/countys-chief-administrative-officer-found-guilty-of-ethics-violation/

The Kids ARE alright, it’s MCPS that’s NOT alright.

By A.J. Campbell.

After a week where students who have been victimized on MCPS campuses have come forward to tell their truth on Instagram about abuse, harassment, predation, and rape, we need a moment to reflect on how we are going to approach and honor the victims.  I choose to do so by standing up, reading their stories, and hearing their pain.

Others have chosen to deride and dismiss the students' statements by standing up for predators whom one person alleges might be falsely accused.  Our students are screaming out in pain because no one is listening. Skeptics needs to sit down and listen.

There are not two sides to this.

Some students have been forced to take down their posts because of harassment, threats of legal action, and intimidation.  We have to stand with the students who are moving their stories from one Instagram account to another.  Trying to keep their stories alive.

Supporting victims is not denying accused predators of their rights, it just means they can use their First Amendment rights to speak about their experience.  An accused right to due process is the role and the duty of the state and has nothing to do with a victim speaking out.

MCPS has to take ownership of any action that they have taken or not taken that has caused these students to believe that coming forward might result in further trauma, or that they would not be taken seriously, or that the accused would just be given a few days off.  Sometimes victims are further victimized on social media for reporting. This is hard work and uncomfortable conversation.  MCPS must own their role in all of this.

As a reminder, some of the incidents have been reported to MCPS already. I don’t recall a single statement where MCPS says that all of these incidents are new. I will happily apologize if I am wrong.  But some of the student statements on social media do say that students have reported.  This student says, she reported, and MCPS did nothing.

One student talks about a freshman boy who sold nude photos to the boys on the basketball team.  At a time when porn is easily accessible, this transaction among young men was about power and predation.

We blame victims for speaking out while forgetting that the perpetrators have had access to the internet, to spread child pornography, and misogyny for some time now.  

Here is another story from a survivor who did report and a teacher did nothing but bemoan that Boys will Be Boys.  Read the room, this thinking should be left in a classroom that still had inkwells. 

MCPS has had massive problems with predator teachers preying their students.  Every time it happens MCPS says that they had no idea, but that only worked the first 20 times or so.  Will MCPS post on this page that they want to find out who this creepy AF teacher is so they can show them the door?

Some people, including candidates for the Montgomery County School Board, choose to take an All Lives Matter approach by standing with the predators and calling for due process, I refuse to do so.  The accused will always have their due process rights, MCPS assures that they do.  I don't need to advocate on their behalf.  

We need to have strong leadership at MCPS who puts the victims first.  

We can see by some of the comments directed towards Principal Renay Johnson, that she has, through her actions or inactions, fomented animosity by current and former students, who are organizing against her, forming action committees, circulating petitions.  Leadership matters on the school board or with the principals. 

Here are just some of the posts that have accused Principal Johnson at Montgomery Blair High School of not taking action.  These kids knew there was a problem:

We can't defend or decry due process and pretend these predators don't get their full measure of rights while our students who are victims don't get any protection.  Many are forced to go back to school after the predators get a stern talking to and a few days off of school.  I am sorry but this is not a two-sided argument.  I will never align myself with the teen Harvey Weinsteins of the world.  

I stand with the victims.

‘Hate-based’ graffiti found at Montgomery Co. school

Police in Montgomery County are investigating who posted “hate-based vandalism” on the Wilson Wims Elementary School in Clarksburg, Maryland.

A school employee discovered “racially-themed words” were spray-painted into a sidewalk near the side of the school on Thursday, June 18, according to a Montgomery County Department of Police statement...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/06/hate-based-graffiti-found-at-montgomery-co-school/

WBAL: Study: Americans who stayed home before they were told to saved lives

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/study-americans-who-stayed-home-before-they-were-told-to-saved-lives/33061340

DC Public Schools, teachers at odds over return to work order

The Washington Teachers’ Union has instructed its teachers not to respond to a letter from D.C. Public Schools seeking an answer as to whether they are comfortable returning to work in the fall.

DCPS sent a letter to its teachers Tuesday to provide details for reopening schools, which includes a mix of in-person and virtual learning, The Washington Post reported. Teachers were reportedly given two options: Return to work in-person, or a convoluted second response many teachers interpreted as them needing to take leave if they opt not to return to the physical school building...

https://wtop.com/dc/2020/07/dc-public-schools-teachers-at-odds-over-return-to-work-order/

As COVID cases rise, Miami-Dade Schools will require mandatory masks when school begins

On the same day authorities took new steps to address the recent surge in Florida COVID-19 cases, Miami-Dade County Public Schools signed off on a plan Wednesday to reopen schools this fall, calling for smaller classes, a mix of in-person, online and hybrid teaching models and masks mandated for all.

The nine-member School Board unanimously approved the district’s reopening plan, which depends on the county transitioning to Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan by Aug. 24, the first day of classes. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho characterized the plan as “nimble” and a “work in progress.” He said the district will prepare for a fully online fall if necessary, due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

Miami-Dade County reported 1,141 new cases of COVID-19 and nine new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the county’s total to 37,961 cases and 1,000 deaths, the highest in the state...

...The district will install plastic barriers “where appropriate” and implement one-way hallways. The plan mandates schools to increase cleaning during the school days; Carvalho said the district will allocate more resources to pay for additional cleaning supplies and pay for overtime work...

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article243924812.html

Goldman Sachs: Nationwide mask mandate could prevent more lockdowns, avoid $1 trillion economic loss

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/goldman-sachs-nationwide-mask-mandate-could-prevent-more-lockdowns-avoid-dollar1-trillion-economic-loss/33014283?fbclid=IwAR16V1vO2IPRiVLYsmLjVz2ji2tN5I8nCmUb169V1R6lbHU0zYEVLzBe20M#

Going to School Amid a Pandemic

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-06-24/israels-schools-struggle-with-reopening-amid-coronavirus-pandemic

Miami-Dade School Board Unanimously Passes Reopening Plan

California: More than 40 School Principals Exposed to Coronavirus at In-Person Meeting

https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-07-02/more-than-40-school-principals-in-quarantine-after-coronavirus-exposure-at-in-person-meeting?fbclid=IwAR1cuiSAEo9o4Sa4nbjqwiVLmT26x1WWHKgrVWOiDAj8O1RYwnO2ZHJ71q4

Montgomery Co. schools announces plans for fall classes, amid the coronavirus pandemic

Students in Montgomery County, Maryland, will resume school in the fall but school officials are trying to figure out exactly what that will look like, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Montgomery County Public School staff members discussed the possibility of full-time remote learning or a hybrid of in-person and at-home classes, with students attending on alternate days, during a meeting Monday...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/07/montgomery-county-announces-plans-for-fall-classes/?fbclid=IwAR2AjD-Ep25G1EbVb_akJptzp3wQxpdEpCyXj2YMSkx0pIpJuU5UP4hAwok