Stafford County will open its schools this fall for daycare. It’ll keep the buildings closed for teachers and students.
The county school division says it plans to house up to 675 students, across 13 different schools, as part of a daycare program hosted by the Massad Family YMCA on Butler Road in Falmouth. Children of Stafford County Government employees will get priority placement in the schools, while others will be placed at other sites as selected by the YMCA.
As Stafford County prepares to send its public school students back to class virtually, county leaders must decide whether to use federal money to subsidize child daycare.
The Board of Supervisors tonight will hold a public hearing to discuss the allocation federal CARES Act funding, some $600,000 of which could go to the Massad Family YMCA which would provide daycare in its new virtual learning center at one of six locations in the area. For $113 per week, children who cannot attend classes in public schools will be allowed to come to the Massad Family YMCA on Butler Road, with a laptop in hand, to attend virtual classes.
While it may be quiet on campus as students will return the classroom virtually this fall, construction is underway at two Woodbridge-area high schools.
Auxilliary gymnasiums are being added to Gar-Field Senior and Woodbridge Senior High Schools in Woodbridge and Lake Ridge, respectively. The new gyms at both schools will 21,000 square-foot large when completed.
Students in Prince William County will be headed back to class virtually on September 8 10.
In Manassas and Manassas Park, schools begin virtually on August 31 and September 8, respectively.
Prince William County high school students will be getting an extra hour of sleep this upcoming school year, as the division’s Superintendant, Dr. Steven L. Walts, has moved the schedule forward by one hour.
All high school students within the county regardless of their participation in online or in-person learning will now start school at 8:30 am, instead of the typical 7:30 a.m., and end at 3:30 p.m. instead of 2:10 pm. The decision took into consideration various parent and student surveys, the majority of which preferred a later school start time, as well as the health/academic benefits students, could reap, according to an email from the school division.
Stafford County Schools may be beginning the school year online, but they will still be providing meals to students.
During its August 11 meeting, the Stafford County School Board was presented with the division’s School Meal Distribution Plan for the 2020-21 school year. According to the plan, hot meals for all Stafford County Schools students, regardless of whether or not they qualify for free and reduced lunches, will be provided via curbside pickup and a community bus drop off service. The school division will also give free lunches to all students enrolled in the reduced-price lunch program.
After 15 years of service and a recent Twitter scandal, Prince William County Schools Superintendant Dr. Steven L. Walts announced that he is planning to retire on July 1, 2021, when his contract with the school division expires and his daughter graduates from high school.
This announcement was made to both the school board, as well as to parents and students via email. In his resignation announcement, he detailed his accomplishments.
Students in Prince William County Public Schools will not be returning to school for in-person learning in August — but they will line up for the SAT.
In August, September, October, November, and December, Prince William County high schools will be hosting the SAT and ACT tests in-person, with ‘guidelines for safety to include cleaning procedures, physical distancing, and the use of face coverings,’ according to Diana Gulotta, Prince William County Schools Director of Communications Services.
Prince William Education Association has chosen Maggie Hansford as its next president.
Hansford will begin in her new role after working for 10 years as a speech language pathologist at T. Clay Wood Elementary School in Nokesville. She replaces former president Riley O’Casey.
Prince William County Public Schools students will be learning from home during the first nine-weeks of the school year online, with exceptions for certain students with additional needs.
This, however, will be very different from the virtual spring semester that occurred during the beginning of the pandemic, as students will have structured schedules, regular start/end times, and learn new content, school officials said.
