Prince William County Public Schools moving forward with reopening plans
The Prince William County School Board met in a work session on July 8 to consider multiple reopening plans for the 2020-21 school year. The options were developed by task forces comprised of hundreds of school-based and central office employees, and after receiving direct input from nearly 23,000 parents and 6,000 teachers via surveys. The options developed consider social distancing and capacity requirements of the Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Department of Education.
After several hours of discussion, the Board reached consensus in directing School Division staff to move forward with “Plan 3.” A final vote is scheduled for July 15.
In Plan 3, or the 50 percent model, most students will attend school in-person two days per week. Specific subgroups would attend four days. In this plan, students will do at-home work three days per week. The fifth day would be used as a virtual workday, allowing for additional cleaning and virtual office hours for staff members to provide support to students. PWCS would provide an all-virtual option for students whose parents or guardians choose to opt-out of in-person learning.
The School Division also recommended moving the first day of school for students to September 8. Teachers would report as planned in order to provide additional planning and training time. Due to flexibilities offered by the State in scheduling, the end of the school year would likely remain unchanged. The School Board will vote on July 15 to officially amend the 2020-21 calendar.
Other key points from the Division’s health plan proposal include:
Face coverings will be required for all staff and students aged 10 or older when six feet of social distancing is not possible to include:
- In hallways between classes;
- In common areas;
- In classrooms when an activity requires students to be situated closer than six feet; and
- On school buses.
Parents/students will be asked to complete a daily health questionnaire and a temperature check prior to reporting to school. Staff will also be asked to complete a daily health questionnaire and a temperature check prior to reporting to work.
School Transportation will be placing students in every other seat to maintain as much distance as possible during transportation to and from school.
The exact details of the plans are subject to change as they are further refined and finalized.
Visit the website for more information on reopening plans.
More information on the July 15 meeting, including ways patrons may address the School Board on the reopening plans.
We know that none of the plans perfectly meet the needs of all staff, students and their families; however, the Board and staff have done their best to balance critical health and learning needs as safely as possible. Frequently asked questions and answers will be posted to the website in the next few days.
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