Ballenger Creek Middle School was evacuated earlier today after an unknown irritant was released inside the school, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
The initial notice, which can be seen below, was updated to reflect that the school has now reopened.
“There is currently a situation going on at Ballenger Creek Middle School and the school is evacuated. All children are being held at the school right now and parents are not allowed near the school.
Parents and friends of students need to convene at Ballenger Creek Park until the reunification plan starts with their children.
More information will be coming out as it becomes available.”
UPDATE 1– An unknown irritant was released in the school and Frederick County (MD) Fire & Rescue has cleared the school to be safe at this time.
Children will be released back into school within the next hour. Any parent wishing to pick up their children will be updated by Frederick County Public Schools on a reunification plan.
UPDATE 2– Ballenger Creek Middle School is now open back up and parents can follow the reunification plan pushed out by Frederick County Public Schools.
Information and photo courtesy of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
Last night, the Frederick County Board of Education of voted to encourage face coverings but no longer require them inside all school buildings effective Friday, Feb. 25. Face coverings remain mandatory on school buses due to a federal mandate.
In a letter to the community, this was referred to as a “significant change fand a major step towards normalcy.”
Many questions are answered below, per the letter:
Why Now?
This year, face coverings have been required inside school buildings due to a mandate from the Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE). At its Feb. 22 meeting, MSBE allowed local school boards to adopt their own face covering policies.
School districts can make face coverings optional if at least 80 percent of the county’s population ages 5 and older are fully vaccinated per the Maryland Department of Health. In Frederick County, we have reached that threshold with 80.4% of eligible county residents ages five and above fully vaccinated.
With local COVID-19 case counts in rapid decline for more than a month, the Board voted to make face coverings encouraged but no longer required.
Does this mean face coverings will go away?
No. Health experts encourage face coverings as a mitigation strategy against COVID-19. FCPS is still welcoming mask use to minimize COVID-19 spread throughout the community. But this will be an individual family decision, with a few exceptions:
- Due to a federal mandate, face coverings will still be required on school buses for all drivers and riders.
- Individuals returning from isolation will also be required to wear face coverings from the sixth through the 10th day after their symptoms first appeared. Mask requirements when returning from isolation will be posted on FCPS.org later this week.
- In school health rooms or any clinical health setting where the CDC and other health guidance require all individuals to be masked.
What mitigation measures will still be in place?
Weekly COVID-19 screening messages will continued to be shared weekly via One Call Now and Schoology.
Isolation and exclusion of individuals with primary COVID-19 symptoms and those who test positive for COVID-19.
Implementation of applicable ASHRAE ventilation recommendations.
Use of air purifiers in all classrooms and school health rooms.
Continued emphasis on hand washing and sanitizing.
Continued use of cleaning products and protocols that are best practice for reducing transmission of communicable diseases including COVID-19.
Will contact tracing continue?
Case investigation and contact tracing will no longer be feasible by school staff following the lifting of the mask mandate.
Even so, contact tracing outside of schools will continue to be conducted by public health entities.
Individuals will still be expected to follow CDC guidance for quarantine if they have a known exposure to an individual infected with COVID-19.
Can I still track COVID-19 data in FCPS?
Absolutely. We will continue to update our Health Metrics Dashboard on a daily basis with updates on COVID-19 cases in each school community, schoolwide attendance rates and more.
We will also regularly share updates to our FCPS COVID-19 Health Response. We remain committed to sharing timely information.
While some families will be happy face coverings are no longer mandatory, other families will still want students to wear face coverings. All students and staff must respect the decisions of others as we transition to individual choices for face coverings. School staff will be vigilant in ensuring that students feel safe and comfortable regardless of their face covering choice. We will do our best to accommodate everyone’s decisions as we continue emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Thank you,
Mike Markoe
Interim Superintendent
The Frederick County Board of Health announced that its indoor mask requirement is no longer in effect, earlier today.
The Board of Health cited case rate in Frederick County falling below 20 per 100,000 residents.
The end of this regulation does not mean that masks will not be required in Frederick County Public Schools.
Earlier this week Governor Larry Hogan called on the Maryland State Board of Education to rescind its school mask policy, citing the state’s dramatically improved health metrics, the widespread availability of vaccines for school age children, and the growing consensus among medical professionals, parents, and bipartisan state officials.
The Maryland State Board of Education wrote a letter in response, stating that the school mask policy will not be dropped until a vaccination level of 80% is reached and transmission levels drop.
The full press release from Frederick County can be seen below:
FREDERICK, MD – As of today, February 12, 2022, the COVID-19 case rate in Frederick County has fallen below 20 per 100,000 population. This was the threshold set in Frederick County Board of Health Regulation 02-2021, so effective immediately Regulation 02-2021 is no longer in effect. Any future mask regulation would require a new Board of Health regulation.
All county residents are encouraged to continue taking steps to reduce the spread of illness in our community, such as getting vaccinated and boosted, avoiding crowds, keeping your distance, washing your hands, and getting tested when needed. CDC recommends that masks be worn indoors in public by everyone two years and older (including people up to date on vaccinations) in areas of substantial or high community transmission. Frederick County remains in high transmission at this time. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html
The Board of Health comprises the County Executive and the County Council. The County Health Officer serves as the Executive Officer and Secretary of the Board. Information on the Board is available at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/BoardofHealth.
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Regulation 02-2021: https://health.frederickcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7329/Board-of-Health-Regulation-02-2021-Face-Covering-FINAL
Frederick County, our neighbor to the north, held a Board of Health meeting last night at 7pm that lasted over 5 hours.
County Executive Jan Gardner declared a State of Emergency for Frederick County earlier in the day and the Board of Health voted to put an indoor mask mandate in place starting 5pm today.
Per the requirement to wear face coverings: All persons aged 5 (five) years and older are required to wear a face covering in all indoor public spaces accessible to the public where the person is unable to consistently maintain at least six (6) feet of distance from individuals who are not members of their household.
The full presentation from last night’s meeting can be seen here.
Frederick County Public Schools also sent out a contingency plan for what the school system has prepared during high Covid transmission.
Frederick County continues to experience high transmission of COVID-19. To continue our instructional program for students, FCPS is prepared for any eventuality.
If a school needs to pause its in-person instructional model, FCPS has contingency plans in place for:
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A hybrid instructional model
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A virtual instructional model
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A model in which schools temporarily shift to virtual instruction for 1-2 weeks
The full plan that was communicated yesterday can be seen here.
A Frederick County Press Release from earlier today, announcing a meeting of Frederick County Board of Health, on Thursday, December 30 can be seen below.
FREDERICK, MD — The Frederick County Board of Health will meet in an emergency meeting on Thursday, December 30 at 7pm. This meeting is called to discuss current level of risk, an indoor mask requirement, and a limit on public events over 25 people.
The agenda may be obtained from the Board of Health’s webpage on the Frederick County Government’s website at frederickcountymd.gov/BoardofHealth.
Individuals can watch the live meeting on FCG TV (cable channels 19 and 1085 in HD), on the County’s Video Service webpage at http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/FCGTV or by calling 855-925-2801, and provide the appropriate meeting code (8751).
Members of the public will be given three (3) minutes per speaker via telephone.
The public is reminded that all comments, both written and oral, will be made part of the public record. Public comments will be accepted on a public portal at https://www.publicinput.com/H2716, or by calling toll-free 855- 925-2801, entering meeting code 8751 and pressing *3 to enter into a queue for live public comment during the meeting.
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More information: https://go.usa.gov/xtq29
Montgomery County firefighters are paying their respects to Green Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Joshua Laird (Frederick County), who died on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, while responding to a two alarm house fire in the 9500 block of Ball Road in Ijamsville, Maryland.
The ceremonial procession transferring Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services fallen firefighter, Station 25, Green Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Joshua Laird, started at noon today and many will see Montgomery County Fire and Rescue paying their respects on highway overpasses between noon and 1pm.
The first phase of the procession will start at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 401 East Street SW DC and will end at the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home, located at 136 East Baltimore Street, in Taneytown, Maryland.
The second phase of the procession will start at the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home and end at the Monahan Funeral Home, located at 27 East Main Street, Fairfield, PA.
Below are a few pictures, taken by a passenger, of MCFRS on overpasses on I-270.
