The
fate of
FALL Many students wonder
about the next school year
by Megan Gregoire
18 Washington FAMILY JULY 2020



More than 120 schools comprise the Association of
Independent Maryland and D.C. Schools (AIMS),
and right now they are “engaged in careful, deliber-
ative planning for the new school year,” says AIMS
executive director Peter Baily.

That includes making sure local and state regu-
lations are followed, along with best practices for
public health.

“Most schools are preparing for three possible
scenarios: full opening with on-site learning; a
hybrid model that would involve a combination
of on-site and distance learning; and full distance
learning, such as we have had this past spring,”
Baily says.

Some colleges, too, are holding out until they
have more information.

“I’m still waiting for Johns Hopkins to declare
whether next semester is going to be online, in per-
son, or hybrid,” says Smitha Mahesh, a rising senior
at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s a decision that
I really want them to make as soon as possible,
because it’s tricky to be signing on to a lease for the
fall semester. It’s a huge financial situation.”
Towson University’s (TU) administrators
decided that students will return to campus a week
earlier than their planned fall opening—and that
leaves rising senior Kazuri Polee with a decision to
make. Polee would have preferred online classes, so
she’s taking some time to consider whether to stay
home and take a gap year, or go back to school.

“Honestly, I don’t feel comfortable with going
back to school, and their plan for the process of
returning to TU is honestly very backwards,” she
says. “What sense does it make when there have
been no changes, but increases in the number of
cases of coronavirus? Yes, people are recovering,
but so many people have already died from it.”
WashingtonFAMILY.com 19
BULAT SILVIA / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
or many students in our region
and across the country, the fate
of their fall semester remains up
in the air, thanks to the COVID-19
pandemic. Nearly every local school system
has a team in place to evaluate options for
fall instruction, but many administrators
agree that it’s too early to know yet whether
learning will be in person or not.