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.
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.
Called the “Courageous Four,” Fannie Fitzgerald, Mary Porter, Maxine Coleman, and Zella Brown took teaching positions in county public schools in 1964, about 10 years after the U.S. Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education decision that struck down segregation in schools.
Until then, the county schools had largely been segregated.
Following their annual performance review of the Superintendent, on June 12, 2022, the Prince William County School Board voted to approve a one-year extension of Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) Superintendent Dr. LaTanya D. McDade’s four-year contract, with a revised contract end date of June 30, 2026.
“The contract extension unanimously approved by the School Board is an affirmation of the exceptional leadership of Dr. McDade. Following a tumultuous period in PWCS she has brought clarity, vision, and a steadfast focus on improving teaching and learning,” said Prince William County School Board Chairman At-Large Dr. Babur Lateef. “Public education is at an inflection point in history, the pandemic has left its mark on our students’ learning and wellbeing. Dr. McDade is the right person, at the right time, to ensure our students, teachers, employees, families, and community accelerate our work together to achieve the educational outcomes that every child deserves.”
Parents and children are invited to come to the Route 234 Commuter Lot for a back-to-school event.
The event will feature free food and snack boxes, food trucks, live music, games, and free school supplies.
