Gianna Jirak, Author at Potomac Local News

Fredericksburg public schools votes to be completely virtual this fall

Published July 25, 2020 at 3:44PM

Following in Prince William County’s and Manassas City’s footsteps, Fredericksburg City Public Schools (FCPS) will be completely virtual in the fall.

During its June 23 meeting, the Fredericksburg City School Board unanimously approved a plan to begin the school year with 100% virtual instruction for at least the first nine weeks of the year, beginning August 17 and ending October 16. All students will be participating in this plan, even those who are English-language learners and participate in alternative education programs.

News

Stafford School Board considers going fully virtual this fall

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 23, 2020 at 12:18AM | Updated July 23, 2020 at 8:48AM

Stafford County Public Schools (SCPS) students may no longer begin their year with a mix of virtual and in-person learning.

During its June 21 meeting, the county’s school board reviewed and postponed its vote on an amended return to learning plan, presented by Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner, in which most students would spend the majority of fall participating in virtual learning.

Features

Updated: Summer of Sunflowers begins at Burnside Farms

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 22, 2020 at 10:35PM | Updated July 26, 2020 at 10:46PM

The sunflowers are in bloom and ready for picking at Burnside Farms in Nokesville.

Every summer in the middle of July, when the sunflowers bloom, Burnside Farms holds the Summer of Sunflowers: a sunflower festival that allows guests to pick sunflowers and participate in various fun activities. While certain portions of the event will be different this year due to the new coronavirus, namely their famous ‘sunflower maze,’ an abundance of sunflowers will still be available for guests to pick and take home.

News

Prince William to conduct virtual learning in fall, transition later into hybrid model

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 16, 2020 at 2:07PM

Prince William County Schools (PWCS) students won’t be headed back to the classroom to school in fall, but they will likely return later in the school year.

During its six-hour meeting on July 15, the county’s school board unanimously approved a return to learning plan in which students participate in solely virtual learning for the first quarter, starting on September 8 and ending October 30. A goal of transitioning into a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning later in the school year remains in place, with the option for students to stay virtual.

News

Stafford County educators show overwhelming support for law enforcement on campus

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 15, 2020 at 11:52PM

Stafford County teachers overwhelmingly support police officers in the schools.

A Stafford Education Foundation survey found that roughly 90% of county teachers surveyed want school resource officers, while 5% surveyed were neutral, and 5% were anti-SRO.

News

Stafford approves both in-person and virtual learning for fall, but is open to change

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 15, 2020 at 8:41PM

Stafford County Public Schools (SCPS) students will be attending school both in-person and online.

During its July 14 meeting, the county’s school board approved SCPS Superintendant Dr. Scott Kizner’s return to learning plan, which has students attending school both virtually and in-person when school resumes August 31. Parents, however, do have the option for their children to attend school completely virtually if they so choose.

Schools

Manassas schools to conduct full-distance, virtual learning for upcoming school year

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 14, 2020 at 11:51PM

Manassas schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Newman

Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS) students will not be returning to school in-person this fall.

During its July 14 meeting, the city’s school board approved in a 4-3 vote to conduct school virtually with an ‘evaluation of all options once a month.’

News

Manassas schools propose denying students entry unless good health is verfied

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 13, 2020 at 11:46AM

Manassas City Public Schools students may be barred from going to school in the fall unless their parents verify their health.

During a July special school board meeting, Dr. Melissa Saunders, executive director of student achievement for the school division, presented a school reopening plan to the School Board. That plan, which was created by the division’s school reopening task force, proposed requiring ‘parents to attest daily as to the health of their children prior to entry to their respective school by completing the health survey.’ If the parents refuse to do so, according to the presentation, students will be ‘denied entry to the school until completed – no exceptions.’ This rule would also require staff to attest to their health daily before entering their school building.

News

Stafford high school students could see later start times

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 12, 2020 at 10:40PM

High school students in Stafford County Schools may no longer have early school start times.

During a July school board work session, Stafford County Schools Superintendant Dr. Scott Kizner presented options and suggestions for reopening the county’s schools, one of which was changing and staggering school start times.

Prince William

Prince William schools consider reopening plans, delayed start date

By Gianna Jirak

Published July 9, 2020 at 10:31PM | Updated July 9, 2020 at 11:25PM

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.