Some say that policy change was not clear. The decision comes as some school systems have considered reviving their mask mandates as coronavirus variants have led to rising case numbers. In the classroom: Amid a teacher shortage, states desperate to fill teaching jobs have relaxed job requirements as staffing crises rise in many schools. All Rights Reserved. One D.C. school is using COVID relief funds to target students on the verge of failure. To date, more than 10.5 million children have lost one or both parents or caregivers during the coronavirus pandemic. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. Dr. Frances Toni Draper announces retirement from pastorship at Freedom Temple AME Zion Church, 130 years of excellence: AFRO Gala set to kick anniversary celebration into high gear. Mask Mandate Returns To Prince George's Schools Effective Aug. 15. Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here. The Maryland school district is among the 20 largest in the country, with more than 136,000 students and nearly 22,000 employees. <> Of the policy shift announced Monday, Goldson said families have varied on whether children should wear masks in schools. When the school year ended in late June, students and staff were still required to wear a mask inside all school buildings. WTOP has obtained a short. Like WTOP on Facebook and follow WTOP on Twitter and Instagram to engage in conversation about this article and others. Higher education: College and university enrollment is nowhere near pandemic level, experts worry. Students will return to school in Prince George's County on August 29. Goldson has previously said she exercises an abundance of caution when making decisions about coronavirus protocols. Bradley Beal hits season high as Wizards fight to the finish in Atlanta, For Ovechkin in winter, a deadline sell-off makes sense this spring, Commanders cut Carson Wentz and Bobby McCain, clearing cap space, coronavirus booster shots are now available for children as young as 5, 10.5 million children have lost one or both parents, students test scores have even plummeted, ACT and SAT testing have rebounded modestly, Prince Georges students are scoring below grade level, D.C. Public Schools new reading curriculum. Accessibility. Before then, the school system briefly had a mask-optional policy in place in July. John H. Murphy, Sr., a former enslaved man founded the AFRO in 1892 with $200 from his wife, Martha Howard Murphy. Help us Continue to tell OUR Story and join the AFRO family as a member subscribers are now members! In schools with a COVID-19 outbreak, students and staff identified as close contacts of a positive case must quarantine, regardless of vaccination status or the presence of symptoms. She said that she personally hasnt received a lot of feedback from community members yet on the issue. Students can now benefit from free virtual medical visits with Hazel Health! Report a Website Problem /QuickLinks.aspx. For Read Across America Week, check out our many resources that encourage a love of reading. Prince Georges County was a center of the pandemic, reporting the most cases among counties in Maryland. 3 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 23 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> There are no language selections available at this time. Elected Officials. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. Fentanyl-related overdoses among teens are rising. Prince George's County Public Schools announced Friday that masks will once again be mandatory at all schools and facilities starting on Monday. Other school systems in Maryland elected to drop mask mandates last school year, but Prince Georges kept a requirement in place until the county reached over an 80 percent vaccination rate for the coronavirus. Con la disminucin de las tasas de positividad de la COVID-19 a nivel local, la Dra. Prince George's County Schools (PGCPS) are requiring masks again starting Aug. 15, citing the spread of COVID-19, according to the district. Chevy Chase, MD 20815. It ended up being one of the last times county leaders would publicly discuss lifting the mandate. "The decision was recommended by the Prince George County Health Department. In Prince Georges County, the virus is at a low community level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In one, a massive study of more than 340,000 residents of rural Bangladesh, the study found that mask programs that promoted but didn't mandate masks "increased mask usage and reduced . The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Aug. 11 is no longer recommending people quarantine when exposed to someone with COVID-19, and is also dropping its guidance for people to stay 6 feet apart. 4 0 obj "AGu_zs_=v21>] Yfy2eV*L.Fq|x7\p#~{/T#=D?6CqV$+c('id;\8G|y+K/pUK6fD2?D)1'N9"VG+*C#j=IS+\bL/a2XLiKQGFmp ']vUn1]xOpV\(r'(gBm@Ib'ngMm*/!z6H1t{Jo[kf&vvVVdHwmE+gY$1f TGAP~ /?'}TGY~ @`~)>Zboip?__ww?DN*X. DMV news: Most of Prince Georges students are scoring below grade level on district tests. All staff, students and families are encouraged to support personal decisions on mask-wearing. DMV news: Most of Prince Georges students are scoring below grade level on district tests. Dancers in the Suitland High School Center for Visual and Performing Arts take a master class with the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater! ,;=d!DEJ\0 Juanita Miller, chair of the countys school board, directed questions about the new policy to CEO Monica Goldson, who is in charge of day-to-day operations for the school system. Home. Say something. Earlier this month, the county announced plans to reinstate its indoor mask mandate,noting the high transmissibility of the omicron subvariant. Masks will be required inside Prince George's County Public Schools again starting Monday, Aug . In late February, PGCPS CEO Monica Goldson wrote an email to parents stating, I anticipate easing our mask mandate by the end of the school year, once 80% of the countys population was vaccinated. Prince George's County is the only D.C.-area jurisdiction that had a mask mandate on the first day of classes. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Prince George's County Public Schools the last system in the D.C. area that required students and staff to wear masks lifted that mandate in early July. Contact Information. He is a reporter and photographer focusing on politics, political activism and international affairs. Prince Georges County schools to end mask mandate Sept. 6. WTOPs John Domen contributed to this report. Now they're the first to bring it back. The PGCPS website recently notified parents that masking is now required of Prince Georges County Public Schools (PGCPS) students and employees. Learn about the latest metrics from our county, building closures and more. Related: CDC Eases COVID Restrictions: What Remains In Maryland. Students who meet PGCPS criteria for TAG identification may apply for the lottery. Instead, the agency is recommending those exposed to someone with COVID-19 wear a mask for 10 days and test for the virus on the fifth day. Mask policy is subject to change according to local and/or state health department guidance and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, PGCPS said in the email. 5425 Wisconsin Ave Prince Georges County students go back to classes on Aug. 29. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. 2022 WTOP. The decision was recommended by the Prince Georges County Health Department. Prince Georges County school system will end its mask mandate Sept. 6. In July 2022, PGCPS transitioned from a mandatory mask-wearing policy to an optional-wear policy for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. The PGCPS website recently notified parents that masking is now required. While he got his on-air start at small stations in Pennsylvania and Delaware, he's spent most of his career in the D.C. area, having been heard on several local stations before coming to WTOP. Maryland did not reimplement a statewide mask mandate during the pandemic, but some jurisdictions took precautions. Highlighting Kenmoor Middle School counselor Dr. William Clay and Heather Hills Elementary School counselor Monique Bartley, NBCT, Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, 7:00 PM <> NEWS ALERT: California board denies parole for Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan, Alejandro Alvarez | aalvarez@wtp.com. John Henry Murphy Sr.; Slave. Help us Continue to tell OUR Story and join the AFRO family as a member subscribers are now members! Goldson cited improving coronavirus levels in her decision to make masking optional. Joinhere! A South Florida native, Scott graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019. John started working at WTOP in 2016 after having grown up in Maryland listening to the station as a child. "All staff, students and families are encouraged to support personal decisions. "PGCPS will continue to make health and safety decisions in consultation with health experts." The new policy for Prince Georges went into effect July 1. Some children who are learning English have struggled to keep up in classrooms because the masks prevent them from seeing their instructors mouths form words. "It's sad that what this truly is a distraction. The latest: Updated coronavirus booster shots are now available for children as young as 5. Its neighbor, Montgomery County Public Schools, dropped a systemwide mask mandate in March. The Maryland school district said Friday that it had returned to a mandatory mask policy in all schools and facilities until further notice due to the easily spread BA.5 Omicron strain, which has spread farther and faster than its predecessors and fueled a rise in community transmission rates across the country. Public Information Requests. 5425 Wisconsin Ave Site Map. During his time in College Park, he worked for The Diamondback, the schools student newspaper. Miller said the board of education hadnt discussed the issue yet, since it has been on break since early July. Like WTOP on Facebook and follow WTOP on Twitter and Instagram to engage in conversation about this article and others. This decision is personal; students and staff are asked to respect the choices of others. Parents were also notified in a newsletter the following week. Larry Hogan (R) and the State Board of Education weighed in on the move, but school system leaders argued that the extension was critical after consulting with the local health department. Children ages 2 to 5 must wear masks while indoors in Prince George's County unless they are eating or drinking, County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) announced Wednesday, citing a. American students test scores have even plummeted to levels unseen for decades. WTOP was the first to report on the policy change. Prince Georges schools will be mask-optional for 2022-2023. Numerous other parents posted in that same Facebook thread that they will be sending their students to school without masks. Mask policy is subject to change according to local and state health department guidelines and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, according to the PGCPS website. With the declining local COVID-19 positivity rates, CEO Dr. Monica Goldson announced the mask-optional policy will resume in all PGCPS facilities on Tuesday, September 6. D.C. Public Schools new reading curriculum is designed to help improve literacy among the citys youngest readers. Covid-19 is ravaging one of the countrys wealthiest black counties. "Once again, this is the county officials pushing their agenda of fear. But MCPS announced this week, when there are three or more positive cases in a class, students could be required to wear a mask.. With the declining local COVID-19 positivity rates, CEO Dr. Monica Goldson announced the mask-optional policy will resume in all PGCPS facilities on Tuesday, September 6. Montgomery County Board of Education drops mask mandate for schools WTOP was the first to report on the policy change. See something? Maryland Gov. I have known people who have taught in PG county and who are traumatized by the upper administration. The vaccination rate in the county for residents 5 and older is 81.5 percent, according to state health department data. Deadline to submit application is Friday, March 10, 2023. Students in Prince George's County will be required to wear masks when they return to school in late August, school officials said Monday. The schools do not have enough teachers to start in 2 weeks nor enough bus drivers. endobj The mandatory mask-wearing policy was put back in place due to the "highly contagious BA variant 5 COVID-19," the district said, and is a change from its mask-optional policy that took effect July 1. Staff are encouraged to exercise good judgment and are expected to be supportive of co-workers mask-wearing choices.. Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has re-instituted a mask mandate for the county starting Sunday August 8. School officials announced. As a parent that has a child in PG county schools, I would like it to make it my choice and their choice whether they choose to wear a mask," Facebook user Ray Abrams posted. Regardless, Goldson said, were not going to put any pressure on anyone who wants to keep their mask on.. NEWS ALERT: California board denies parole for Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan, John Domen | jdomen@wtop.com. 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