Wicomico Recovery Plan 2020 -2021

6 Executive Summary: Decision Making for 2020-2021 School Year Return to Instruction In March of 2020, all schools in the state of Maryland were mandated to close their doors due to the outbreak of COVID-19. As a result of this decision, Wicomico County Public Schools designed a Continuity of Learning Plan to support the educational process while school buildings were closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. With this unprecedented public health challenge continuing, Wicomico County Public Schools, like all school systems across the nation, committed to the task of creating a comprehensive Recovery Plan to reopen our school system for instruction for the 2020-2021 school year, first with broad decisions followed by many other detailed decisions. The purpose of the Recovery Plan for Wicomico County Public Schools, as detailed in this document, is to maximize learning opportunities through virtual instruction and, when possible, face-to-face instruction. We are committed to developing and implementing a plan that will ensure there are no obstacles to accessing educational opportunities while providing every student equitable access to educational rigor, resources, and support designed to maximize academic success as well as social and emotional well-being for all. Recovery planning took place in alignment with the most current guidance from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the state of Maryland. The Maryland Together Recovery Plan for Education p lanning guide provides resources and useful information as well as specific requirements for reopening schools that must be included in local recovery plans to ensure a level of consistency throughout the state at the local school system level. That guidance was updated on August 27, 2020 in COVID-19 Guidance for Maryland Schools , from MSDE and the Maryland Department of Health, to include consistent statewide health metrics for the reopening of schools. The MSDE requirements for reopening schools and resuming instruction are embedded and clearly identified in bold headings throughout the Recovery Plan for Wicomico County Public Schools: Requirement #1 : Local school systems must have their recovery plans completed and posted to their website by August 14, 2020. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) will review all local recovery plans to ensure that the plans include and address all requirements for opening schools. Requirement #2 : The local school system’s equity plan must be reflected throughout the local recovery plan. Requirement #3 : Local school systems must establish a recovery plan stakeholder group that is representative of their schools and community. Requirement #4 : Early in the school year, schools must determine where their students are instructionally, identify the gaps in learning and prepare a path for instructional success and recovery. Requirement #5 : All local school systems must ensure that Maryland College and Career Ready Standards, Prekindergarten through Grade 12, are taught in all content areas and the state frameworks are followed for each content. Requirement #6 : Local school systems must follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Requirement #7 : Local school systems must follow procedures that are developed by the MSDE in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health and guidance from the CDC for an individual who tests positive for COVID- 19.