Public schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore County went virtual for a couple of days this week as both systems ran out of snow days, but some teachers The Baltimore Sun spoke with Friday indicated things went smoothly despite fears of a repeat of pandemic-era virtual instruction.

After exhausting its three allotted inclement-weather days, Baltimore County Public Schools moved to virtual instruction on Thursday and Friday. This was the first time the system has had to use two virtual learning days since implementing them in the 2021-2022 school year.

Virtual instruction in the latter portion of the week went well for former county school board member and current middle school business/computer science teacher Lily Rowe.

“The level of activity and engagement and work completion that I’m seeing is very similar to what I would see if we were in person,” Rowe said. Her students are working on a writing-intensive internet safety unit ahead of a presentation they’ll give later, as well as on touch-typing skills.

Low temperatures throughout the school week prevented the snowfall, between 8 and 11.3 inches in Baltimore County, from melting. That much snow is hard for grounds workers to move, school district spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala wrote in an email Friday. “Due to the volume, it also became difficult to safely pile or place the snow/ice,” she said.

The district has employed the use of “over 110 trucks, 7 front end loaders, 12 skid steer, 4 backhoes, and 9 large tractors addressing parking lots, sidewalks, etc., in addition to 70 mowing/tractors with plows or snow blowers doing sidewalks and over 25 walk-behind snow blowers,” to clear the snow that blanketed the county last weekend, according to Onijala.

Though the school system hasn’t made any calls for next week yet, Rowe said she was preparing to teach in person or virtually, just in case.

“They’re doing the best they can in a situation where they have no choice,” Rowe said of the district.

Teachers Association of Baltimore County President Kelly Olds said she’s been busy fielding questions from educators amid the transition to virtual learning.

“Although it’s been the plan for a while, it’s not something that we’ve actually had to use much,” she said. The district used its first virtual learning day last February. Distributing devices to students last week before the snowstorm “wasn’t a super smooth process,” Olds said. “Reports that I’ve gotten are that it felt very last-minute.”

As far as what’s going on in the virtual classroom, “I’ve mostly heard positive feedback about how things have been going for actual classes,” Olds said, adding that that feedback was anecdotal.

“It’s not perfect, and there are challenges, there are challenges with virtual in general … but that’s where we are. It seems to have happened for a lot of people,” Olds said.

Not all feedback on either district’s virtual instruction was as positive on social media. Some parents cited difficulties with technology or the nature of virtual instruction itself. The Sun contacted several commenters, but many did not respond by Friday.

Outside of the county, Baltimore City Public Schools announced Friday afternoon that, absent any additional inclement weather, schools will open on Monday.

“As we recover from one of the worst snowstorms in 10 years, we appreciate everyone’s patience and collaboration during this week’s school closures and transition to virtual learning. We are thankful for the grace and flexibility that our students and families have demonstrated,” the district said in a notice on Friday.

Baltimore City Spanish teacher and parent to a sixth grader in the system, Valerie Torres, said she was surprised at the high levels of attendance and participation in her virtual classes at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.

Over the past couple of days, “maybe one student per class” has had technical difficulties. One student who couldn’t log on got a classmate to Facetime him so he could still access the class, Torres said. Any students who missed the material will have it retaught to them next week during coaching sessions, she said.

Though Torres’ daughter had some initial issues logging on, she eventually signed in successfully. Once she did, she knew exactly what to do, according to her mom.

“I know the kids are ready to go back,” Torres said of the announced reopening of school buildings on Monday. Some students in class said they were bored being stuck inside, although others were grateful not have to face the cold.

“Even though it went so well, they’re ready for in-person learning,” she said.

Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.