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Root says Schools Could Institute Every other Day Schedule to Return

April 29th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

After a conversation with Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon, Allegany County Board of Education member Ed Root says his level of confidence that students may actually be able to return to school before the end of this academic year increased dramatically.  In response to COVID-19, Salmon announced two weeks ago that Maryland schools would remain closed until at least May15th.  During Tuesday’s meeting of the school board, Root announced that Salmon had reached out to him to discuss the situation last week, and she is now considering an alternating every other day concept that he proposed. A spokesperson for Superintendent Salmon contacted WCBC News and emphasized that no decisions have been made regarding the possible re-opening of schools.

27 Responses to “Root says Schools Could Institute Every other Day Schedule to Return”

  1. April 29, 2020 at 5:17 am, Beth said:

    Just letting you know that my kids won’t be there. You shut down the entire country for this virus. The virus that is still here. There is no vaccine, no treatment and no cure. There aren’t even proper testing procedures. None of this makes any sense.

    Reply

    • April 29, 2020 at 9:04 am, mac said:

      > That makes you a responsible parent concerned for the health and welfare of your children.

      Reply

      • April 29, 2020 at 11:50 am, LRH said:

        > Careful, no room in this county for THAT kind of behavior and thinking.

        Reply

  2. April 29, 2020 at 7:51 am, Charlie said:

    It is beyond the pale to think we can send children back to school before businesses can reopen and society returns to normal gatherings. Lord help the elementary teacher who has to handle keeping her 2nd graders separated. This is a very poor ill-thought out idea. Board members need to return from the Land of Oz!

    Reply

  3. April 29, 2020 at 9:18 am, Peter said:

    Opening schools soon would be a good way to increase the infection rate in Allegany County. Thanks a lot BoE.

    Reply

  4. April 29, 2020 at 10:07 am, Bob said:

    A plan so lame, it could have only been conceived by some “doctors” of educashion. Alternating whole days would be a bit less so as the busses would only need sanitized once a day but still daft. The local school’s forte, sports, have been canceled for the rest of the year so there is little point in resuming classes.

    Reply

    • April 29, 2020 at 10:28 am, Jay said:

      Hell yeah, if you can’t play ball then why go to school? Studying math, science, language arts, foreign languages, or music and art is just used to fill out the rest of the schedule until football, basketball, and baseball practices start.

      Reply

      • April 29, 2020 at 10:35 am, Bob said:

        > Yup, that’s the way it is ’round these parts. A local grad got into the NFL recently but none into MIT. Frostburg is about it for local grads, though one did get into Georgetown a few years back, on a football scholarship.

        Reply

        • April 29, 2020 at 10:47 am, Kevin said:

          > Trust me, more people from Allegany county got into MIT this year than the NFL. Graduates from here go to colleges all over the world. Seriously. Frostburg and AC are good schools, but hard working kids who never took a snap have excelled at some of the world’s finest schools. We rarely hear about it, but it is true. Talk to any high school guidance counselor.

          Reply

          • April 29, 2020 at 11:07 am, Bob said:

            > One can expect statements that follow “trust me” to be mendacious and yours are no exception. What a hoot!

          • April 29, 2020 at 11:39 am, Jay said:

            You are correct Kevin. I taught 2 students who attended MIT. One is there now. Or, probably home because of the pandemic right now. A pretty respectable percentage of our students attend colleges all over the country. WVU, U of MD, Penn State, Penn, and Pitt along with Shepherd, IUP, and Towson are just a few of the schools that former students have attended.

  5. April 29, 2020 at 10:24 am, mac said:

    And Ed Root is proud of himself for coming up with this ridiculous idea.

    Reply

    • April 29, 2020 at 10:29 am, Jay said:

      Well Mac, it’s a plan but I don’t see the practicality of it. The big issue is day care for the kids who are home if the parents have to go to work.

      Reply

  6. April 29, 2020 at 10:32 am, Welchy said:

    There have been zero fatalities in Maryland of anyone under the age of 20. The comments on here are ridiculous. I guess the solution is keep everything closed for 18 months until there’s a vaccine?

    Reply

    • April 29, 2020 at 11:40 am, Jay said:

      So what would you do Welchy? Here in Appalachia we have had well over 100 cases and 6 deaths. The virus is everywhere.

      Reply

    • April 29, 2020 at 2:39 pm, Peter said:

      > By Age Range and Gender in MD:

      Age/Gender Cases
      Deaths
      0-9 256
      10-19 539
      20-29 2,393
      (7)
      30-39 3,511
      (14) 1*
      40-49 3,696 (24) 2*
      50-59 3,792 (65) 7*
      60-69 2,927 (152) 11*
      70-79 2,035 (234) 12*
      80+ 1,700 (413) 49*
      Age Data Not Available
      (76) 11*
      Female: 11,130 (483) 52*
      Male: 9,719
      (502) 41*

      https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/

      I’ll just leave that here without further comment

      Reply

  7. April 29, 2020 at 11:03 am, Ed Dodrill said:

    They better not cancel football. That’s our right. Don’t take from us our rights. I bleed red blood. FH forever!

    Reply

    • April 29, 2020 at 11:44 am, Jay said:

      For God’s sake please don’t cancel HS football. What would all the FH season ticket holders do on Friday nights in the fall? Just my opinion but I don’t see fall sports opening up as per usual. Social distancing will likely still be in effect throughout the summer which means no group practices. It’s very possible that public schools will open up the fall term online. This is also a contingency plan that the NCAA is looking at in terms of moving college football to the spring.

      Reply

      • April 29, 2020 at 12:46 pm, Kevin said:

        > Don’t worry, the season ticket holders will still go to the stadium, eat the pizza (God Bless it!) and watch the last 10 FH – Alco games on a widescreen on the 50 yard line.

        Reply

  8. April 29, 2020 at 11:25 am, Brenda said:

    This could be one of the stupidest ideas ever. You wont catch it in 4 hours only in 8. This is like the Michigan governor who thinks its ok to go to walmart for groceries as long as other depts, like paint, etc, are closed. My child wont be there. Mark her absent, we can fight it out on court.

    Reply

  9. April 29, 2020 at 11:47 am, Paolo Primavera said:

    Whatever happened to hiring and voting Sensible, Tactful, Educated, and Mature (STEM) Candidates to positions of responsibility? Why not just let the chilldrun take the school bus in to pickup their free lunch and bring them home again? That way their folks can stay home and collect all the benefits that are being handed out. WHATEVER HAS HAPPENED TO OUR WORLD AND IT’S PEOPLE? HELP!

    Reply

  10. April 29, 2020 at 11:57 am, Paolo Primavera said:

    I’m an AMERICAN CITIZEN and SOMETIMES THE TRUTH HURTS. I THINK THEREFORE I AM!

    Reply

  11. April 29, 2020 at 3:05 pm, Jeff said:

    Why would Dr. Salmon, “reach out” to Eddie Root rather than Physicians, Epidemiologists and public health experts. What plans does Root have for social distancing, routine disinfecting of every surface touched on buses, classrooms, and restrooms. What protocol did Root propose for all individuals wearing masks? What mechanisms did Root propose for taking temperatures upon arrival of all persons daily? What protocol did Root propose for children who become asymptotic and then transmit the disease to adults? What plans did he propose for testing and contact tracing?

    Reply

  12. April 29, 2020 at 4:42 pm, Snuffy Smith said:

    Let me see, I can name ACPS graduates who graduated or are currently attending the following colleges or universities in recent years: Duke, Harvard (2 at the moment), Yale, William and Mary, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western University, UMD, Georgetown, Rose Holman, Syracuse, Emory, Pitt, Notre Dame, University of Binghamton, Providence, etc. Do I need to continue? Also, for economical reasons I know of multiple students who were accepted to very reputable institutions of higher ed. who decided to go to Frostburg or ACM.

    Reply

  13. April 29, 2020 at 6:00 pm, Ed Dodrill said:

    If Turmp tells people to drink Lysol or Clorox one more time, I’m gonna be pissed.

    Reply

    • April 30, 2020 at 6:08 pm, Kortez said:

      Does anyone care if older teachers die, for whatever reason the isolated people in their Ivory Towers are so detached from reality that they do not care what happens to teacher?

      I have more faith in Governor Hogan than you unconcerned people. However you should be ashamed of yourselves. I know you will not be.

      Reply

  14. April 30, 2020 at 8:02 pm, Joe Wellberg said:

    How about send back seniors who will actually graduate.

    Reply

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