Updated Thursday, March 12, 8:55 p.m.
Local educators are preparing for the possibility that schools may need to close to slow the transmission of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
As of mid-day Wednesday, there were nine “presumed positive or confirmed” cases of the coronavirus in Virginia, according to the state health department.
According to the Virginia Dept. of Health’s advice for K-12 educational institutions: “Once COVID-19 is detected in a community, health department recommendations addressing any change in normal operations will depend on a number of factors such as the number of cases detected, the severity of illness associated with those cases and how widespread infection is or is predicted to be based on case histories.”
Suggestions for schools include keeping space between students, providing alternative options for students who may have special health needs, temporary school dismissals and more.
Many young students who have heard about the illness have been asking difficult questions. In response, Fairfax County Public Schools has developed information for talking to children about coronavirus.
“Helping children cope with anxiety requires providing accurate prevention information and facts without causing undue alarm,” according to the guide for parents and educators. “It is very important to remember that children look to adults for guidance on how to react to stressful events. If parents seem overly worried, children’s anxiety may rise. Parents should reassure children that health and school officials are working hard to ensure people throughout the country stay healthy. However, children also need factual, age appropriate information about the potential seriousness of disease risk and concrete instruction about how to avoid infections and spread of disease. Teaching children positive preventive measures, talking with them about their fears, and giving them a sense of some control over their risk of infection can help reduce anxiety.”
See more information about talking to children about coronavirus here.
Alexandria City Public Schools Prepare
In a statement released Tuesday, March 10, ACPS officials wrote: “We are finalizing our operational and instructional plan should we need to close for any length of time. If we are directed to close, we will utilize instructional options including online learning and printed resources. These are the tools that students already currently use to learn and are familiar with these instructional resources. More details on the options for each grade level will follow should we be required to close temporarily.”
Citing an “abundance of caution,” a handful of ACPS community members have chosen to self-quarantine after they had contact with confirmed cases of coronavirus or had recently traveled to high-risk areas.
Dr. Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr., ACPS superintendent, released this video message on Tuesday, March 10 with additional information.
At this point, there are no unusual or "out of the ordinary" absences in Alexandria City Public Schools. However, Dr. Hutchings in a Wednesday evening webinar said the school system will provide substitutes in the event that a teacher is quarantined due to a concern about coronavirus. Students who stay home due to coronavirus will be excused. School nurses are on the lookout for symptoms among students and teachers.
"We do not have anyone at this moment who has tested positive for coronavirus in Alexandria City Public Schools," Hutchings emphasized in the webinar. Anyone who was in an environment where they may have been affected by coronavirus is doing a self-quarantine, and there are individuals associated with five school communities doing that as of Wednesday.
On a webinar Thursday evening, Hutchings said the school system is working closely with the Alexandria Health Department. "Without any guidance to say that our schools need to close, we are remaining open with precautionary measures," Hutchings said.
The school system will be sending all students in grades 3 - 12 home with Chromebooks and at-home learning packets starting Friday in case the school health situation changes.
In a note sent to parents Thursday evening during the webinar, ACPS officials noted, "We are committed to providing food for our students who qualify for Free and Reduced Price Meals. We continue to work on the details of exactly how we can do this should we need to close schools for a period of time. We will share this information with you as soon as it has been finalized."
Alexandria has two webinars planned for residents:
- 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 - ACPS Q&A: COVID-19 Coronavirus Webinar
- 8 p.m. Thursday, March 12 - City of Alexandria Virtual Information Session on COVID-19 Coronavirus
More information about both webinars is available at www.acps.k12.va.us/coronavirus-webinars.
Fairfax County Public Schools Prepare
Fairfax County Public Schools are giving teachers a workday (and students a holiday) to allow teachers to prepare for the possibility of a switch to online learning.
After school activities will still happen on Monday, and SACC centers will remain open, as will adult and community education classes.
Like Alexandria City Public Schools, Fairfax County has been planning for the possibility of school closures (either a single location or district-wide closures). There are several unused “snow days” built into the FCPS school year calendar that could be used if schools need to be closed. In addition, the County has put in place restrictions on field trips and international travel.
“Our overall goal would be to do all we can to maintain continuity of operations while minimizing student and staff exposure,” Mount Vernon District school board representative and board chair Karen Corbett Sanders said in a statement.
FCPS also said it is also working on plans for distributing lunches to students who rely on the system for meals.
Fairfax County Public Schools officials released this video message with additional information earlier this week.
