Education

Affluent DC Suburb Makes Last-Minute Decision To Keep Certain Students In Online School

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Fairfax County Public Schools have postponed in-person learning for some students and staff due to coronavirus, according to a school official.

The school district has delayed resuming classes for students at kindergarten-level and below, and those in special education services, Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced in a statement. New pilot programs and classes were intended to start Tuesday.

“This decision was made because the daily health metrics (CDC and VDH) that we monitor rose above the threshold,” Fairfax County Public Schools Director of News and Information Lucy Caldwell told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“It was not due to other issues; we are using health data as well as other operational readiness metrics to inform our return to school decisions. The decision to pause was made as soon as these new VDH health metrics were released on Monday,” Caldwell continued.

Fairfax County Public Schools is the latest local school system to delay part of its reopening plans. https://t.co/H6IGRmShpP pic.twitter.com/1sBzJ8PoHK

— DCist (@DCist) November 16, 2020

“We apologize for the last-minute pause and acknowledge that there was not very much planning time for parents/families to make alternate arrangements,” Caldwell said. “This is not an easy time for our students, staff, nor families and we continue to try to communicate as clearly and fully as possible during this ongoing pandemic.”

Some teachers associations, including the Fairfax Education’s Association, demanded Monday that Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam designate when it’s safe to be online or at school in-person, WUSA 9 reported.

The Fairfax Education Association didn’t immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.