FOX 5 cameras tour a Montgomery County middle school a week before students are set to return
Montgomery County Schools’ readiness to return
For the first time since July, news cameras got to tour a Montgomery County public school with safety measures implemented ahead of the March 1 return for some students.
ROCKVILLE, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - For the first time since July, news cameras got to tour a Montgomery County public school ahead of the start to phased in-person instruction come March 1, which is in less than a week away.
MCPS leaders showed some of the social distancing measures, signage and technology implemented at William H. Farquhar Middle School in Olney on Tuesday. Officials also shared the school system has spent over $15 million to prepare the county’s over 200 schools for in-person instruction in the pandemic.
Next group of students will return to buildings March 15
February 23, 2021 | 9:05 pm
March 8, 2021
William Farquhar Middle School Principal Joel Beidleman demonstrates in February how in-person classes will look at the school in Olney. MCPS provided members of the press a tour of the school in advance of the first small group of students returning to buildings on March 1.
File photos by Caitlynn Peetz
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools across the state for what was originally expected to be a two-week “emergency” closure to slow the virus’ spread.
For most districts across the state, the closures extended through the end of the academic year. Some, including MCPS, remained closed into the fall and have not reopened since.