Prince William schools consider reopening plans, delayed start date

Prince William County Schools students may be staying home longer, and not just for summer vacation.

On June 7 and 8, the Prince William County School board held two meetings where they discussed school reopening plans for the 2020-21 school year and received input from the community. During the meeting, Prince William County Schools Superintendent Steven L. Walts proposed four reopening plans for the upcoming school years, delayed school start days, and the delay of the first day of school to September 8.

These proposals were made with the input of the school division’s Return to New Learning Task Force, which consisted of “90 representative leaders, teachers, and staff member participants” who “spent a combined total of hundreds of hours working together over the last five weeks to look at reopening from a multitude of lenses,” according to a presentation by Walts.

The four proposed plans are as follows:

Plan 1: An all-virtual model with live and recorded lessons.

If this model is chosen, students would receive their education from the learning management platform Canvas, which Prince William County is providing for free to students.  The platform allows teachers to conduct projects, quizzes, tests, and general lessons virtually. It also accommodates special, English-learner, and gifted education, as well as dual-enrollment and specialty programs.

The division also plans to use MasteryConnect, a ‘unified assessment system for elementary, middle, and high school’ that ‘allows for development and sharing of common assessments,’ according to a presentation by Walts.

“[Parents can expect] easily accessed course materials, recorded content, assessments, and resources. Differentiated support including written assignments and alternative forms of assessment for students as appropriate. Division and school supports for students and families needing a device or connectivity. Ongoing monitoring and adjustments to ensure high-quality experiences for all students” stated a presentation from Superintendant Walts.

In utilizing these online learning tools, each grade-level would have separate schedules with varying amounts of both live virtual instruction and independent virtual instruction. Elementary schoolers are required to have live instruction each day in either reading, math, science, or social studies, with staggered times for live teaching,  according to a presentation by Walts. Elementary school teachers will also be required to hold a set office hour each week.

For middle school students, there is a recommend twenty minutes of live-instruction daily, with school lasting from 10:15 am-3:30 pm on Tuesday-Friday. On Mondays, students will be given live support and be able to attend office hours in the following subjects: physical education, music, encore, counseling, English-learning, world language, social studies, science, math, and language arts.

For high school students, there is a required 30 minutes of live-instruction per class period, as well as 120 minutes of live instruction per week/per class, which will give students 3 1/2 hours of screen time a day. Similar to the proposed middle school schedule, there will only be classes on Tuesday-Friday, with Monday reserved for teacher office hours and student support.

Plan 2: The 25 percent model, provides instruction for students in-person, at-school, one day per week. According to the school division, off-line or on-line learning would take place four days per week, and a virtual office hour on the fifth day. Special education and other students with additional needs would attend for four days.

For each grade-level, there would be staggered schedules with alternating groups of students attending school. Parents who wish to only would have their child participate in online learning have the option to do so.

Plan 3: The 50 percent model allows most students to attend school in-person two days per week (including preschool), participate in online learning occurring three days per week, and attend virtual office hours on the fifth day.  Special education and other students with additional needs would attend for four days.

For each grade-level, there would be staggered schedules with alternating groups of students attending school. Parents who wish to only would have their child participate in online learning have the option to do so.

Plan 4: A return to school as normal.

While it is on the list of proposals, Plan 4 is not yet possible due to requirements from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), according to the school division. As of July 6, VDH guidance calls for six-feet social distancing measures in both classrooms and buses, remote learning, and teleworking options for students and staff at high risk of illness, and mitigation strategies that may impact capacity limits.

“The physical distancing, bus, and building capacity requirements, and health considerations of staff and students, will, unfortunately, make it impossible to have all students and staff in buildings at any one time. Therefore, we will have to implement some variation of distance learning, alternating schedules, and telework for some employees in specific categories,” stated a press release from Prince William County Schools.

To follow and promote these guidelines, Superintendent Walts proposed establishing a COVID-19 team within the division, which would have an appointed person at every school facility.

“The Prince William County Schools (PWCS) Pandemic Team, under the leadership of Denise Huebner, will oversee the Division level response for health considerations as students return to school. Each school will have a Student Health Response Team (SHRT) comprised of the school nurse, an administrator, and one other staff member of the school principal’s choosing. This team will meet monthly with the Student Health Services Leadership Team for updates about student health and wellness,” stated a presentation from Superintendant Walts.

He also proposed the requirement of face masks for all students over the age of 10 in hallways between classes, common areas, classrooms where students cannot have a six-feet distance, and on school buses. Staff and students will be asked to provide their own face covering if this plan goes into place, but the school will provide one if needed. Student Health Service staff will be equipped with medical-grade personal protective equipment throughout the school year.

Students may additionally be asked to complete a daily health questionnaire and temperature check before school each day, eat lunch in their classrooms, and participate in only virtual field trips and limited extracurricular activities.

“Our planning is based, first and foremost, with student and staff health as a top priority, and a focus on equitable learning for every child. We also recognize that children are best served in-person and that many of our families rely on the School Division for key services including meals and child care,” stated a press release from the school division.

That being said, parents of Prince William County Schools students indicated discomfort with sending their children to school due to concerns for their child’s physical wellbeing, social/emotional needs, and the quality of instruction, according to a survey conducted by the school division. The majority of parents (80%), however, do plan to send their children back to school in-person if the school board decides on that proposed plan, while 20% of parents either plan to conduct home-schooling or participate in online learning through the school division, according to the survey.

“I am extremely concerned that social distancing and meeting the CDC guidelines is going to be very difficult, particularly as we continue to see cases rising and rising nationwide,” said Luis Miranda, the parent of three Prince William County Schools students.

The American Academy of Pediatrics urges school officials across the U.S. to reopen schools as normal this fall. It insists school children should wear masks, and practice social distancing with desks spaced six feet apart, and suggests administrators build in flexibility to be able to change policies and practices that may not be working.

The school board will vote on the reopening plans during their July 15 meeting.