Schools will be opening in the fall, at least in some capacity.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced at his June 9 briefing that the schools will be opening in phases that correlate to the phases of general reopening.
“To be clear, all Virginia schools will open for students next year, but the school experience will look very different,” Northam said.
Most of the commonwealth is in phase two right now, with Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park entering the second phase at midnight Thursday.
In this phase, schools may offer in-person instruction to students in pre-kindergarten through third grade. In-person learning can also be made available for English language learners and students with disabilities.
Additionally, school-sponsored summer camps can take place as long as large groups are limited to fifty people.
In phase one for schools, special ed and childcare for working families can be done in-person.
“Phase one is relevant for a few jurisdictions now and will be relevant if we move back to a more restrictive environment due to public health restrictions,” Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane said.
By the time school starts in August, Virginia will likely be in phase three.
Under phase three, in-person instruction is allowed with physical distancing in place.
This means there would need to be six feet between desks, remote learning options for high-risk students and staff, and daily health screenings, according to Northam.
Staff will have to wear face masks if they’re within six feet of others, and Northam has encouraged the use of masks for students where physical distancing cannot occur.
Both public and private schools will need to submit plans to the Virginia Department of Education for how they’re going to follow these guidelines.
The Stafford School Board discussed plans for following Northam’s guidance at their school board meeting last night.
“We have to think completely differently when school starts,” Superintendent Scott Kizner said.
Stafford is looking at options for staggering student schedules and ways to maintain six feet of space.
“I really feel like we’re going to be reducing the instructional day, I really do. I don’t see any way around it,” Kizner said.
On school buses, in order to have six feet between students, there could only be about 10 students per bus, Kizner said. He further discussed the potential of disinfecting buses between each ride and having multiple shifts of students come to the school at different times.
Other options discussed were pushing the start date to allow for more planning/teacher training, have lunch in classrooms as opposed to the cafeteria, and putting plexiglass up in staff office areas.
Nothing is set in stone yet, though. Staff is aiming to have a final draft of the school divisions plan by this Friday.
A work session has tentatively been scheduled for June 15 at 5:30 p.m. for the Board to hash out the details of what school will look like in the fall.
