Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic schools will remain closed until May 15

Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic school campuses will remain closed and remote instruction will continue until at least May 15 as Maryland continues to see an increase in cases of COVID-19, officials said April 17.

The move by Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens and Chancellor of Education James Sellinger followed a similar decision affecting public schools by Maryland Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon.

Maryland public and Catholic schools have been closed since March 16 to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. The school closures are one of many steps taken by state and health officials to keep hospitals from being overwhelming with patients. As of April 17, Maryland had reported 11,572 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, along with 425 deaths.

The state is currently under a shelter-in-place order and all non-essential businesses have been closed. On Saturday, people inside retail stores or riding public transportation will be required to wear a mask or face covering.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he would discuss plans on how to reopen the state next week, but cautioned any easing of restrictions would have to come after a 14-day period where cases have decreased.

While the campuses of Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic schools will remain closed, teachers and students will continue classes with remote instruction. Hargens and Sellinger said the school system has made “tremendous progress” in the abrupt transition to digital learning. In many cases, they said, the transition had been seamless and credited the hard work of the system’s administrators and teachers.

More than half of U.S. state public systems – including those in Virginia and the District of Columbia — have made the decision to end the school year completely, but like Maryland public school officials, Hargens and Sellinger said would wait for before making that call.

“It is our hope to be able to reopen our school campuses before the end of the current school year,” Hargens and Sellinger wrote in a letter to parents. “Any decision we make about the reopening of our school buildings will be based on the guidance of experts in the field of health and on our overall priority: having a learning environment that is as safe and healthy as possible.”

Email Tim Swift at tswift@catholicreview.org

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