Letter: “What is school going to be like if students need to practice social distancing?”

Greetings,

My name is Sebastian and I will be going to the seventh grade this fall. My question is what is school going to be like if students need to practice social distancing? I am also a Boy Scout for local troop 581 and would like to get your opinion.

Best regards,

Sebastian V. Reola

Gainesville Middle School

Hi Sebastian,

I can’t answer your question definitively, as many school divisions have not released that information. I can, however, tell you what is likely to happen.

It is currently unknown if students will even do in-person learning in the fall, where they would need to practice social distancing measures. Each school division in Virginia is currently saying something different, most of them without concrete plans. It seems likely, however, that students will be doing a mix of virtual and in-person learning, which would require increased sanitation and social distancing measures.

If students do in-person learning, there would likely be reduced classroom (and possibly school) capacity, as well as reduced bus capacity. This reduced capacity would allow students to have six-feet of space between themselves, and most likely force schools to increase the number of buses and classrooms they have. In Stafford County, they are already planning to increase their amount of buses from 462 to 571.

Students may also be forced to eat their lunches in their classrooms, consistently wear face masks, and go through temperature checks/health screenings. All of these measures would be implemented to keep students as safe and healthy as possible.

No plans are concrete, but there will be more information released by the school divisions as we get closer to the new school year.

Thank you for your question.