On January 7, 2022, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced that they will no longer use a threshold of 5% or more of unrelated students and staff in a school who test positive in a 14-day period to consider a transition to virtual learning. This announcement came as 126 schools, over half of the schools in MCPS, surpassed the 5% threshold. 

In a single day, MCPS went from having 11 to 126 schools classified as having a significant number of positive COVID-19 cases. As of January 5, over 10,000 staff and students have tested positive. The real number of positive cases remains elusive as COVID testing and reporting remains optional. Additionally, almost 90 bus routes have been canceled due to a bus driver shortage, forcing students to find their own way home. At many schools across the county, classrooms suffered a shortage of teachers and substitute teachers, leaving students unattended and confused. 

With such large numbers of cases, it is easy to become desensitized to the sheer magnitude of the problem at hand. But these numbers are more than just a statistic. Each case represents a life upended and a person having to battle against a deadly virus. A staff member who can’t hug their child, a student who is unable to visit their grandparents, a nurse who can no longer see the people they love, every one of us is affected by this pandemic.

In light of the exponentially growing COVID cases, having all students return in-person is unreasonable at best. Instead, give students and parents the option to return to virtual learning. Those who wish to may go in person, but let those who feel unsafe to return to school remain at home. Precedence exists, as this hybrid model was implemented successfully last year.

MCPS undermines their core value of establishing a "community to support learning" when students are forced to engage with education in an unsafe environment. Sign this petition to tell the Montgomery County Public School System that they should at the very least allow students the option to feel safe while learning.