As the start of the new school year gets closer, COVID-19 infections in some areas are again on the rise. Some school systems around the country have moved to hire more workers to limit disruptions. But many are hoping for the best without doing things differently compared with last year. Even some school systems that had severe outbreaks are making few changes. Among those is Baltimore County schools in the eastern state of Maryland. The number of days that Baltimore public schools could not offer in-person learning totaled 116 from January to June of this year. That number comes from the private research firm Burbio. It tracks over 5,000 school districts nationwide. School officials said they did not see a need to take more measures. Charles Herndon is a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson. He said he does not think there will be “significant” disruptions this coming school year. “What we’re expecting to see is waves of COVID in 2022 and 2023, and I’m sure there are going to be times when more folks are going to be absent and there will be times when everything is OK.” But the school district is prepared to move classes online if necessary. Teacher shortages remain a major concern, even bigger than COVID-19 itself, said Dan Domenech. He is the director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. Superintendents are the leaders of school systems. “That is the greater concern that they will have the necessary staff to man all the classrooms, to man all the programs,” he said.
