Education

School District Pushes For In-Person Classes Despite Teacher’s Union That Wants To Keep Learning Remote Until 2021

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The Fairfax County Public Schools is pushing for in-person learning despite a teachers union petition demanding the schools stay virtual for the rest of the academic year.

Scott Brabrand, superintendent of schools, said the district is collaborating to make sure students can go back to in-person learning safely, the Fairfax County Public Schools said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Fairfax Education Association shared a petition on Twitter on Sept. 30, calling on the Fairfax County School Board to keep the district’s public schools virtual for the rest of the academic year, but according to the district, numerous “teachers, families, businesses, and the community at large” supported the “return to in-person learning.”

“We firmly believe that while virtual environments are necessary at the current time, students learn best in-person. That experience cannot fully be duplicated on a screen,” the district’s statement said.

The Fairfax Education Association also called for additional measures “Should very limited return to buildings be attempted for high needs students and families,” according to the petition. The petition had more than 1,000 signatures as of Tuesday evening.

“​Science and Health Safety data support and require that no one should return to in person instruction until there is a widely available scientifically proven vaccine or highly effective treatment. The metric for Safe Reopening should be 14 days of zero community spread,” the petition said.

The Fairfax County teacher’s union wants all public schools closed at least until August 2021. @FCPSSupt pic.twitter.com/CuLCXRCGOV

— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) October 20, 2020

“Since none of the requirements for safe return are likely to be met in the foreseeable future of the 2020-21 school year, we reiterate: Keep Fairfax County Public Schools Virtual for the 2020-21 school year,” the petition said.

The Fairfax Education Association did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.