I was sent the following information about Northwest Middle School in Taneytown:
Due to the number of positive COVID cases and close contacts at Northwest Middle School, the school system, has collaborated with the Carroll County Health Department and, at their direction, Northwest Middle will be closed for all in-person learning for two days beginning Tuesday, September 21, through Wednesday, September 22. It is our plan for students who have not tested positive or have not been quarantined to return to in-person learning on Thursday, September 23.
According to the Health Department, closing the school temporarily will ensure that we are doing all we can to reduce the spread in the school and the community. The Health Department will provide an on-site mobile unit on Wednesday, September 22, from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Northwest Middle School to test students from Northwest and feeder schools, including Elmer Wolfe, Runnymede, and Taneytown Elementary and Francis Scott Key High School. Testing will be by appointment only; call 410-876-4645 on Tuesday, September 21, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to make an appointment.
This testing site is only for students at these schools. Other people who need testing can find sites and other information at https://cchd.maryland.gov/covidtesting/
Students will attend class virtually beginning with their Period 1 class at 8:25 am. The link to Google Meet can be found in the banner of each Google Classroom. These links may not be activated until tomorrow morning. Attendance for the day will be taken during Period 1. Students who are currently on quarantine should be attending classes virtually during this time.
Sixth grade students who are attending Outdoor School this week should accept the invitation to the Outdoor School Google Classroom in their landing page. Students will attend virtually until school is back to in-person learning.
The 7th and 8th Grade Back to School Night scheduled for Wednesday, September 22, at 6:00 p.m. will now be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
School administration will be in contact with families regarding the return to in-person learning the day prior to reopening. We appreciate your cooperation as we work through this process.
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I attempted to reach out to CCPS to confirm this information but was unable to reach anyone in the school system. UPDATE: I did hear back from CCPS staff:
I can confirm that this information is correct. The text is from the communication we sent to parents this afternoon. Northwest had 18 positive COVID cases as of this afternoon, as well as close contacts in quarantine. We do not have a number for students in quarantine.
Just to add some additional numbers to the discussion:
It was projected (per the FY22 budget - page 15) that the enrollment in Northwest Middle School for the 2021-2022 school year would be 626 students.
Scott E
