Fairfax County offers limited, in-person option for children this fall at six Annandale/Mason area schools
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| Mason Crest Elementary School in Annandale, one of 37 schools offering an in-person option this fall for a limited number of children. |
Fairfax County launched a new program, called Supporting Return to School
(SRS), to provide full-day, on-site childcare to children in kindergarten
through the sixth grade in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the FCPS plan
for virtual learning.
The program will be available 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. in 37 Title I schools,
including these elementary schools in the Annandale/Mason District area: Bailey’s,
Bren Mar Park, Camelot, Mason Crest, Parklawn, and Sleepy Hollow.
SRS, developed by the Fairfax County Office for Children, will support active and engaged learning during the FCPS virtual
academic day and promote children’s social, emotional, and physical
development.
Eligible
families will pay according to a sliding scale based on income. Details haven’t
been announced yet, but the first priority is expected to be families eligible for free and reduce-price lunches
Enrollment for the SRS program begins Aug. 24. Space is limited. Call 703-449-8989
to register. An online registration form should be available soon. Families can apply to any of the 37 schools; they are not restricted to their home school.
In addition to
participating in distance learning, children will have opportunities to
explore, engage, relax, and enjoy activities beyond the school day as part of
the SRS curriculum, “The Great Outdoors: Road Trips Through the Americas.”
Each classroom
will have a group of no more than 10 children who will stay together each day,
along with consistent staff to support their online learning and in-person
connections. Current CDC health and safety guidelines will be implemented.
12 responses to “Fairfax County offers limited, in-person option for children this fall at six Annandale/Mason area schools”
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New type of school. Genius.
This has to be the craziest thing that the County is doing. So, school is too dangerous for the children to be in and the County cannot do it — so we go virtual. BUT, you can PAY the County for the priviledge of a classroom environment (now all of the sudden they can make is safe???). You can't have it both ways and you cannot choose the money making option as being okay. Either you can do it in person or you cannot. Paying for it does not all of the sudden make it safe.
There needs to be a real level set here. The title of this article is very misleading, and to be honest, false. This is not an in-person option. This is a childcare option for essential workers.
In person would suggest there would be a FCPS teacher in the room. That will not be the case. They will be in FCPS classrooms, but they will be attending school virtually, and being watched over by people trained in childcare, not necessarily teaching and education (though there is some limited overlap and SACC does have an educational component). The point is, SACC staff do not replace a teacher.
Because this is providing childcare like SACC provides childcare, then yes, you are expected to pay. Because it is a SACC-extension, it will be pay according to your ability, with a sliding scale.
Not mentioned in the article is SACC will be targeting children who are on free and reduced lunches for this program. Also, these may be the sites that serve the program, but that doesn’t mean that children from other schools can not attend if there is space.
What the county is clearly trying to do here is provide a childcare option for essential workers who are on shifts and need to physically go to work and have limited or no ability to adjust their schedule to accommodate their kids at home. It’s not a perfect solution, but I for one applaud the county trying to make this work. I had personally advocated for SACC to expand use of FCPS facilities because they have wifi and are already suited for childcare, so I’m happy to see this come to some fruition.
The title is misleading – but I disagree with the point of this. The county did not offer any sort of in person schooling because it was dangerous to the teachers and students. Now, how can the county offer this service for fees? Why couldn't the county offer in person education (using the ten children per classroom model) for the most vulnerable that needed it? Other countries are having younger grades and at risk children deemed a priority. But the county did not opt to do that due to the risk. This program shows that the risk is not real or this is a population that it is okay to have put at risk.
They should offer this service for free and have a first come, first serve basis. Honestly it should be offered to every student in the county.
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anon 12:21- I’m hesitant to re-hash FCPS’s decision to go all virtual. I will point out that there were a few different reasons they made that choice. While the primary one was health/safety, there was a secondary concern about staffing ability. While I was never truly convinced about the health/safety aspect given our local expert testimony, the staffing issues were real.
In any case, that decision – which was made by FCPS, a different entity from the Board of Supervisors and the rest of the government, is done. That shouldn’t stand in the way of the fairfax government doing all it can to fill the child care gap that all virtual creates, and that is what they are doing.
12:22 – There are no funds to offer this service for free for everyone. First come first served is not equitable. Equitable is making sure you meet the needs of those who need it most first, then you attend to others.
Honestly this doesn't seem safe. And is no different than having kids in school.
They are going to be doing largely the same thing they did during Camp Fairfax, in which there weren’t any transmission clusters that I’m aware of. They are following CDC and local health official recommendations.
How is it not safe? Or rather, how is this more unsafe than potentially having essential workers leaving their kids at home alone for extended periods of the day because they have to go to work but don’t have childcare otherwise?
So where the County school system failed, we instead get "SRS, developed by the Fairfax County Office for Children, will support active and engaged learning during the FCPS virtual academic day and promote children’s social, emotional, and physical development." — i.e., stepping into the shoes that the school system should have been filling in the first place.
Regardless of the intent or the efficacy of this program, it is a violation of the Virginia constitution which requires the General Assembly to provide for a system of free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school through the Commonwealth. Charging for this program is uncontitutional.
And I say again: this is childcare. FCPS is fulfilling its constitutional mandate by providing education virtually. Children that take part in this program will still learn virtually – they will still be sitting in front of a computer to receive their education just like everyone else. Its just that where they sit will happen to be an Elementary School classroom attended to by Childcare workers (NOT teachers).