Return to School, Town Hall, and Office Hours
Dear Providence District Families,
Thank you to those of you who have reached out with your thoughts about the Superintendent’s Return to School plans. My partner is an FCPS educator, so we certainly share many of the concerns you have raised. Getting back to a sense of normalcy while remaining flexible and prioritizing health and safety is essential.
As you can imagine, School Board members have been inundated with emails about the fall. I am reading each message personally and sharing it with FCPS leadership as appropriate. While the Superintendent and his team are still working out details for each option, many questions have been answered and posted on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) website, which is updated regularly.
I do not have to tell you that school will look different in the fall. We all wish that classes could begin on August 25 with every student and teacher back in their classrooms. The reality is that even with Virginia moving into phase 3 of its reopening plan, social and physical distancing will be required for the safe reopening of our schools. That is why FCPS is taking a flexible, tiered approach and most other local school systems are doing the same.
The FCPS website includes additional details about the virtual online and in-school Return to School options. As I have already noted, the FAQ page answers many of the questions that School Board members and staff have received, including information about face coverings, a daily health screening process, cleaning and disinfecting procedures, personal hygiene breaks, transportation, what happens if health conditions worsen or if there is a COVID diagnosis in the school, streamlined curriculum, technology access, and many other topics. These FAQs will be updated frequently throughout the summer.
From the beginning of this process, I have sought to impress upon the Superintendent and his team the importance of returning to as close to normal as is safe given the circumstances. There is no perfect option for the fall -- each has its strengths and weaknesses. That is why I have been advocating for these primary objectives:
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Focus on Details: The Superintendent must set our students and staff up for success by thinking through and sharing every detail so that implementation runs smoothly.
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Flexibility for Families and Staff: We must give families and staff with health concerns or worries as much flexibility as possible.
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Improve Distance Learning: For families that opt for distance learning, take what we have learned these past few months and improve the experience.
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Better Communication: One reason distance learning was difficult was because of the lack of concise and clear communication from FCPS. These shortcomings must be fixed.
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Access to Social/Emotional Supports: Distance learning has not been easy, and we need to make sure families are aware of these critical resources.
Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions I have received. Again, I encourage you to check the FAQ website regularly for updates and additional answers:
Why the July 10 deadline?
The one consistent message I have heard through nearly ten hours of public testimony and in hundreds of emails, is that parents and teachers wanted a choice. For FCPS to do that, something had to give. Families must choose an option by July 10 so principals can have the time they need to finalize the master schedule. This is a huge task that normally begins in February and we are asking our principals to do the nearly impossible job of finishing in less than two months.
Why Can’t We Open 5 Days a Week?
The Superintendent’s plans were developed in alignment with CDC and VDOE guidelines. Regardless of whether we move into Phase 3 or beyond, FCPS needs to ensure it balances a quality education with the need to keep students and staff safe. Right now, that balance requires in-person classes with physical distancing of 6 feet as much as possible, limited movement, and personal protective measures. We simply do not have the facility space to have all students in our school buildings 5 days a week.
Why Can’t We Have 2 Days In-Person and 2 days Synchronous?
The in-person option has students in the building two days a week but teachers in the building four days a week. Teachers will have half of the students on two days and the other half of the students on the other two days. They are not available to do both in-person teaching and virtual face-to-face teaching at the same time. We do not have the funding to double our staff, so some teachers will teach virtually while others do so in-person. Monday will be an intervention day and time for teacher planning.
Why the Year-Long Commitment?
I know first-hand how difficult it is to make a year-long commitment when we do not yet know how the public health situation will look next spring. My partner is a teacher and we are still weighing our options just like other families. The Superintendent and FCPS staff examined the options thoroughly and concluded that a year-long commitment is needed to successfully staff both virtually and in-person. If public health conditions improve that would allow FCPS to resume in-person instruction for all students, FCPS would obviously revisit the issue.
This is an unprecedented challenge, not just for FCPS but for school systems across the country. I am committed to working with you to get answers to your questions and making sure this transition goes as smoothly as possible.
If you would like to schedule a Zoom video conference or phone call to discuss the Return to Learn plans in more detail, please click here and select a date and time. I also encourage you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook for updates about these and other issues.
 Karl Frisch
Providence District Representative
Fairfax County School Board
Town Hall and Office Hours
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JULY 16 TOWN HALL: On Thursday, July 16 from 7-8 pm, I am hosting a town hall for Providence District families with my at-large School Board colleague Rachna Sizemore Heizer. Join us and ask questions on Zoom (register now) or Facebook LIVE (details).
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JULY AND AUGUST OFFICE HOURS: In July and August I have scheduled more than 80 hours for one-on-one or small group meetings by phone or Zoom video conference. To sign up for a slot, please click here and select a date and time at your convenience.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual School Board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© 2020 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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