Families face July 10 deadline for deciding whether to send children back to school
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| School board member Rachna Sizemore Heizer (left) Assistant Superintendent Frances Ivey speak at a virtual town hall. |
No one seems to be happy about the Fairfax County return to school plan.
During a virtual town hall session co-hosted by school board members Rachna Sizemore Heizer (at-large) and Ricardy Anderson (Mason) June 29, there were many comments from people who said they don’t have enough information to make a decision about the 2020-21 school year.
Families were given a deadline of July 10 to choose among two options: (1) all-virtual learning, or (2) in-school face-to-face learning two days a week with social distancing and online instruction the rest of the time. Once they decide, that will be it for the rest of the year.
Many questions
“This is just an untenable position we’re in,” Anderson said, noting that many people want full-time school in person. “This is causing a lot of anxiety.”
“No one is happy where we are,” Anderson said. “We are attempting to make lemonade out of some very, very sour lemons.”
“People want a choice as much as possible,” Sizemore Heizer said. And because FCPS can’t work out every detail until they know what people want, it’s a chicken-and-egg situation.
Related story: Teacher unions want FCPS to continue virtual instruction
The July 10 deadline is important because “it’s going to take a real coordinated and massive effort” to build two different schedules – one for online learning and one for in-school learning, Assistant Superintendent Frances Ivey said during the town hall.
Some families don’t feel comfortable sending their children to school, and “we have families and students who need and want face-to-face instruction,” Ivey said. “By offering choice, we hope we can meet the needs of both.” Students with special needs or who need social and emotional development are served best with face-to-face learning, she said.
During a discussion on the Fairfax County return-to-school plan on the “Kojo Nnamdi Show” on WAMU88.5 June 29, Shawna Garrett, vice president of outreach for the Fairfax County Council PTA, said “there are still more questions than answers, and parents are not feeling necessarily ready to make those decisions.”
According to Garrett, parents are worried about how the school system will be able to ensure classrooms are sanitized, whether students will be able to receive special education and participate in immersion programs, and “how realistic it is to expect children to wear face masks seven hours a day.”
Many teachers are also parents, and they are concerned about being in a classroom four or five days a week, Kimberly Adams, president of the Fairfax Education Association, said on the Kojo Show. “Our risk is significantly higher.”
While students will attend school two days a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays or Wednesdays and Fridays – teachers will be there all week.
Many issues are still unresolved, Adams said, including how health screenings will be done and how students will maintain social distancing at bus stops.
A massive scheduling job
For families who want in-person instruction, the goal is to keep students and teachers at their base school, Ivey said during the town hall. If that isn’t possible, FCPS will look at keeping them within the pyramid.
Anderson urged FCPS administrators to ensure families with children at different schools can have them attending school on the same days.
“We recognize that would be beneficial for families,” Ivey said. “We are trying to determine the best way to do that.”
According to Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Fabio Zuluaga, the coronavirus pandemic has been traumatic for many kids and they might feel anxious when they come to school, so “we have to dedicate time to make sure kids feel safe.”
Related story: Fairfax County school officials provide more details on return-to-school alternatives
FCPS hopes to incorporate “specials,” such as music and art into the schedule, as well as AP, IB, and honors courses at the high school level and advanced academics at the elementary level, Ivey said, but is still trying to figure out how to do that.
If there aren’t enough students at a high school for a particular course, she said, the course might be available at a neighboring school or it could be offered online.
A lot of those decisions on scheduling will be driven by how many parents choose each of the options on July 10, Zuluaga said.
If parents fail to make a decision by July 10, FCPS will assign the children to face-to-face learning. That is the default, Ivey said.
Teachers will work either virtually or in a classroom, Ivey says. “We want to provide them with a preference.” Teachers with health needs or with family with health needs will get a priority for virtual classes.
There could be some circumstances where a teacher could do both, but that won’t be the norm, she said.
Regarding the SOL standardized tests, Zuluaga said FCPS plans to seek a waiver from the Virginia Department of Education.
Ivey acknowledged that childcare is “a tremendous issue for families and teachers.” She said FCPS is working with Fairfax County to expand the School Age Child Care (SACC) program but the first step is to determine how much space is available in school buildings.
In response to questions about recess, Ivey agreed that elementary students need breaks. Outdoor recess “will have to be very structured and monitored.” Lunch will be brought into the classroom, and there will be regular breaks for hand washing.
Ivey expects some high school sports without physical contact might be offered. The Virginia High School League is allowing individual practice and conditioning for athletes with strict guidelines. Students who choose all virtual learning will be able to participate in sports and extracurricular activities.
According to Ivey, FCPS will be working with the Health Department to monitor absences and track COVID in the community. If there’s an outbreak, there will be extensive cleaning and contact tracing, and FCPS might have to close one or more schools.
I have said it before and I will say it again – FCPS is too big for one school system. It makes every decision a logistical nightmare, and because it is so big, the county cannot actually provide adequate responses to various constituencies. FCPS should be broken into several school districts to meet the needs of the various parts of the county. It's not a one-size fits all matter.
I’m OK with the way FCPS has moved forward on this. They are dealing with a huge range of people’s comfort levels and individual risk tolerances, and so the choice they are offering is prudent. They have explained in my opinion pretty well how they are going approach sanitization. I for one will be sending my kids back without much fear of the virus. I hope they can explain to the teachers unions the precautions that are being taken adequately – obviously schools without teachers aren’t a very effective school. Seems to me though FCPS has done a good job making reasonable and responsible changes for safety.
My biggest concern is SACC. For the parents who are sending their kids in, they likely also need childcare help on the asynchronous learning days, and there is no way the in school SACC space will be able to handle those capacity demands. I’ve suggested to staff and leadership that they look to county property and/or vacant commercial office space that is already “built out” and could easily and affordably be transitioned to child care space quickly on a short term lease.
Just an idea, but in any case I’ve been a proponent of SACC looking big to fulfill the need for childcare on asynchronous days.
SACC Will also be limited by numbers to probably only essential families. With the limits on space, numbers, mask wearing, etc SACC should be a last resort. Childcare is going to be an issue for everyone.
FCPS should delay this decision and take note of the The American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on responsible reentry at schools. Lots in there but a few key takeaways are that the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school. Lengthy time away from school and associated interruption of supportive services often results in social isolation, making it difficult for schools to identify and address important learning deficits as well. Evidence suggests that spacing as close as 3 feet may approach the benefits of 6 feet of space… Schools should weigh the benefits of strict adherence to a 6-feet spacing rule between students with the potential downside if remote learning is the only alternative. This last point is consistent with the WHO one meter rule, which the CDC arbitrarily rounded up to 6 feet. To the extent there is concern that AAP is not cautious, remember this is the same organization who thinks kids should be in car seats into their teenage years. Much much more in there which I commend to the reader's of this blog.
I read that guidance and felt it was really comprehensive, reasonable, and placed kids health (physical and mental) at the front of the list.
Yes, I did, as well. Hope FCPS takes it into consideration. Or at least puts off the 7/10 decision. I thought it also took into account reasonable steps for faculty. Notably, that the virus is not spread by kids to each other or to adults. Of course, adults will need to take precautions. But all of this is a balance with tradeoffs that need to be evaluated at the lowest level possible.
Perhaps if they allowed for the possibility that things may change and the July 10 decision by families could be adjusted under extenuating circumstances. Or that there will be an option to reevaluate for the second semester.
I really feel for all of the school systems trying to deal with this right now. It's just an unwinnable situation and what we know is constantly changing. No one wants to put students or teachers in danger, but they also want to make sure that all the students get the opportunity to learn and socialize and have as much of a normal life as possible.
The article says that once you make a choice, that's it for the rest of the year. Is that for real or did I not understand that properly? If for real, it seems crazy that FCPS will not adjust as the situation adjusts. What if a vaccine is found next month? Kids could then be back 100% by January.
The issue is resources. If a vaccine comes out they cannot course correct half way through easily (see the comment about the large county) a smaller country might, but not with this many moving pieces.
You're conflating FCPS adjusting with families adjusting. If a vaccine is found and all kids can go back to in-person school in January, then FCPS would clearly adjust for all students.
What they're trying to prevent is individual families gaming the system…choosing online learning, for example, then if there is a month without any COVID outbreaks, demanding to be switched to the in-person option. That sort of adjustment would negate all of the planning and resource allocation they are trying to do.
Also, there is a very good chance that a vaccine will not be in effect in the next year (or possibly ever) and that this will be the new reality for the next few years. Normal is going to be a while.