Fairfax County Public Schools officials are working on contingency plans in case the school system needs to stay closed longer than originally planned.
Already some school systems in other parts of the United States have thrown in the towel, canceling school for the rest of this year. However, those school systems tend to end their academic year earlier — Kansas, for example, ends classes in May.
Some parents have started to express concern through social media that students are essentially heading toward a 5-month summer vacation.
On Friday, March 13, FCPS and Alexandria City Public Schools officials announced that public schools would be closed through the end of Spring Break, which ends Monday, April 13. The academic year ends in mid-June for most students.
Since then, new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is that all gatherings of more than 50 people be suspended through the middle of May.
Covering the Corridor reported that Fairfax County Public Schools soon will be training teachers on distance education in case the school system is not able to reopen on Tuesday, April 14. In the next two weeks, FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand said, teachers will begin distance-learning training.
However, not all students have access to technology or internet access, making equity a concern. (Comcast and other Internet companies are offering free internet access for low-income families.)
“We need to acknowledge the reality that this is not an optimal situation for any of us here in Fairfax County Public Schools,” Brabrand said in a Facebook session with parents. “We need to do the best we can with the hand we’ve been dealt.”
FCPS is keeping its Coronvirus Update webpage updated with information for students and parents about food, learning continuity and other information.
Alexandria City Public Schools is working on multiple contingency plans, as well, though specifics were not available.
The school system is already hosting daily information sessions for parents and staff, and students have received take-home work. Students in grades 3 through 12 have brought home their Chromebooks for online learning, though equity of internet access is a concern in Alexandria as it is in Fairfax.
On a state level, the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests will very likely be canceled for this academic year. The state is also working with the federal government to ensure students can progress to the next grade level and high school seniors can graduate as planned.
More information on how ACPS is handling the coronavirus outbreak and continuity of learning is available at www.acps.k12.va.us/acps-at-home.
