Public schools in Arlington County would begin classes on an online-only basis Sept. 8, under a plan previewed Tuesday by the head of the school system.
In a message to parents, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Durán says he will officially propose the plan Thursday to the county’s school board for approval. Although Durán is calling for teachers and other school staff to return to work as scheduled Aug. 24 so they can prepare for full-time distance learning, students would start classes more than a week after their originally slated start date of Aug. 31.
“Throughout our planning, the health and safety of our staff and students has been our top priority, and beginning the year with a virtual model allows us to continue to monitor the situation until we are confident it is safe to return,” he says in his message.
The proposal appears to the thread the needle of what has become a contentious debate over whether schools should reopen for in-person classes this fall. While some parents have been pining for schools to reopen, recent polling has shown that other parents believe it’s still too risky for their children to return to school, and some teachers are expressing concerns about their own safety. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have threatened to deny federal funds to school systems that don’t completely reopen.
Arlington Public Schools would aim to restart on-site classes for some students in early October, pending COVID-19 statistics for September. Durán, who is set to host a virtual town hall for families Tuesday night, says the school system would transition to “hybrid” in-person and online classes “for all families that have selected that model” by the second quarter of the school year.
Some Arlington families are still deciding whether to send their children back to campus once possible, and Durán is asking them to inform the school system of their choice by July 20. He adds that more details about the plan, including on “Special Education, English Learners, and Gifted Services,” are forthcoming.
Earlier this month, Arlington Public Schools announced that all its students and staff would be required to wear masks upon returning to school buildings, and that it would order cloth masks for them in bulk, ARLnow reported. The hybrid learning model proposed by the school system at the time would have most students attend campus two days a week and other students do all-distance learning, with a dedicated set of teachers leading the all-distance program.
“On order to maintain that six-foot distance [to keep the coronavirus from spreading], we have to reduce the number of students on buses and in classrooms,” Durán said during a presentation July 1, according to ARLnow. Arlington Public Schools also previously said it would regularly check students’ and employees’ temperatures with infrared thermometers and conduct frequent cleanings, among other precautionary measures.
Other school systems in the region are in the midst of planning for the fall semester as well. Fairfax County Public Schools, which will start classes Sept. 8, is offering families full-time virtual instruction or a mixed on-site and online learning model. Montgomery County Public Schools is planning a blend of in-person and virtual schooling. Neither Prince George’s County Public Schools nor D.C. Public Schools have shared their reopening plans yet, though announcements are expected soon.
