Virginia’s First Lady visits schools, no press allowed

Virginia First Lady Pamela Northam is visiting area schools today in Prince William and Stafford counties, and in Manassas Park.

The visits in Prince William and Stafford counties are closed to the press.

From the governor’s office:

First Lady Northam to visit Cougar Elementary School for “Back to School” tour

9330 Brandon Street
Manassas Park, VA 20111

12:45 PM
First Lady Northam to visit Rising Star Early Childhood Education Center for “Back to School” tour

610 Gayle Street
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405

1:45 PM
First Lady Northam to visit Kids’ Station for “Back to School” tour

1100 Sam Perry Boulevard
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401

“Because of the covid virus and our desire to keep our students safe, we did not invite any media to this visit. In addition, all of our students have special needs, so we did not authorize any photos of our students by the media,” Prince William schools spokeswoman Diana Gulotta tells us.

The Stafford County school system says it plans to release a press release about the event. We’ll post it once we receive it.

Public schools in the region have been in session since late August, holding only virtual classes for most students. Some school division in the region, to include Prince William and Spotsylvania counties, aim to have a hybrid model in place by November where students attend some classes online and some inside school buildings.

In the meantime, state officials say that beginning in April, child welfare calls from Virginia schools — usually the state’s top reporter for cases of suspected abuse or neglect — dropped by about 98 percent. Prior to the pandemic, the majority of the calls were for reports of neglected children.