Manassas Park joins neighboring Prince William County, which welcomed back more than 90,000 students today.
In Manassas Park, most students return to class today, while kindergarteners will return tomorrow, Tuesday, August 23. It’s the second year for Manassas Park Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Melissa Saunders, who joined the city in April 2021 after working next door at Manassas City Public Schools.
About 90,000 students will return to classes across the county. Except for the youngest children in the county’s Head Start program, who must continue to wear face masks, the start of the school year will feel more like pre-pandemic times.
No facemask or social distancing requirements are in place, and the school division won’t conduct contract tracing to identify who’s contracted the coronavirus.
Dr. Babur Lateef posted to Twitter today a message asking residents to “never forget” the school closures that led to students across Virginia falling behind in math, science, reading, and writing, according to the latest Virginia Standards of Learning scores released Thursday, August 18.
“NEVER FORGET what misinformed and misled public health officials, politicians, constituencies, and media did to stop the busses and close schools,” Lateef stated.
The Virginia Department of Education released new Standards of Learning data today.
The SOL tests measure student math, science, reading, and writing performance.
The state’s second-largest public school division, Prince William County, rolled back most of its coronavirus mitigation strategies.
When school starts Monday, August 22, schools will look and feel like the pandemic never happened, with a lack of masking, social distancing, and contract tracing requirements that were common last year.
The pathway program allows students to complete an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree online in about two-and-a-half years, saving time and money.
The ultra-accelerated route provided by the two schools starts with Germanna’s “College Everywhere” program, which allows students to earn a two-year associate’s degree remotely in just 12 months. Those who transfer to UMW can then finish the major in business administration, also online, within an additional 18 months.
A teacher who works at Rippon Middle School and lives at a nearby elementary school faces a weapons charge.
The suspect lives in an apartment at Covington Harper Elementary School near Dumfries, about six miles from Rippon Middle School, and had guns and ammunition inside the apartment, sources said.
Manassas will welcome back 7,600 students at five elementary schools, two intermediate schools, one middle school, and one high school.
It’s the first time in two years that students will return to schools without facemask or social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic.
