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Harford Co. parents are pulling their kids out of public schools due to concerns over the district’s reopening plan

Posted at 11:22 PM, Sep 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-28 23:25:56-04

HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Some parents in Harford County have decided to homeschool their kids or send them to private school due to concerns over the school district’s reopening plan.

Harford County parent Alicia Adams said virtual learning was ”horrible” for her kids when schools first shutdown in March because of COVID-19.

She said she felt she had no other choice, but to look for other options for her kids after the county decided not to allow kids to return to the classroom full-time.

Adams said she enrolled her four kids into a Florida based homeschooling program because she couldn’t afford private school. She said September 1st was their first day.

“At least I know with this program they’re learning something,” she said. “I can see them learning it. I can choose what they learn. We want them to be educated.”

The county opted for a hybrid-learning model, which started the fall semester off virtually and will eventually bring students back for one day a week. But, Adams said she doesn’t see the point because majority of each class would still be online.

“Apparently, the governor said, hey, if you can get these kids back in school , we’re going to give you some grant money…. I think it’s there way of pushing the kids in saying oh they’re going back to school. They’re in person learning. Now can we have our money,” she said. “It’s not in-person learning.”

Adams said Harford County’s plan has led other parents to remove their kids from county schools as well. We also heard from several parents who enrolled their kids in private school.

“They don’t like it. And they’re like, yup. We pulled our kids out, we pulled our kids out, we pulled all four of ours, we did three,” she said.

While many people are concerned about COVID-19 and don’t think it’s time to go back to in-person learning, Adams believes it safe enough for students to return full-time. She said until that happens her kids will continue to be homeschooled.

“I just wish they come up with something else. This is our kids' education you know. They deserve better than this. We pay our taxes. We go to work hard. We’re supposed to have that education and this is not an education.”

According to the county’s plan, a phased approach is contingent on how well the county is controlling the virus. If the key metrics remain low, some students will return to class for one day a week starting October 19th. All students would be back on a part-time basis by mid-November.