The Board of Education (BOE) of Carroll County met on Nov. 18, 2020 to discuss the major topic of whether to close all Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) in response to the rise in Covid-19 cases across the country. Their plan was to employ the Enhanced Virtual Model (EVM) to substitute for the absence of in-school teaching. 

The BOE discussed this topic in detail, and described what they wanted to accomplish by employing the EVM. The model constitutes teachers teaching online during the whole school day, so teachers can provide instruction and assistance to students. They hope this decision will  accomplish a decrease in Covid-19 cases over the next few months, as well as provide experience for teachers and students, in the case that we must continue to use this model in the future.

The BOE’s unanimous decision was to have all (non-special population) schools to close and begin the EVM beginning immediately. This decision excluded special population schools (Gateway/Crossroads, Carroll Springs, etc.), which is why Gateway/Crossroads is still open and running on a hybrid schedule. 

Unrelated to the BOE’s decision, the very next day pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna Labs submitted emergency petitions to the Food and Drug Administration to have their vaccine approved for emergency purposes over the next year (or more).

As we inch closer to a vaccine being administered to the public, this might be the beginning of a return to a more normal school year by as soon as next year. The BOE has already made the decision that CCPS will reassess the data regarding Covid-19 and aim to return to a hybrid schedule by Jan. 7, 2021. 

Watch the Nov. 18, 2020 BOE meeting where these topics were discussed.