Prince William County Public Schools

Now you see it. Now you don’t.

Prince William County School Board Chairman At-large Dr. Babur Lateef deleted a post to a Twitter account he uses to communicate with constituents. In the Tweet, he encouraged people to “never forget” and to “never forgive” politicians, press, and public health officials for, in his words, providing misinformation that led to an extended closure of public schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

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 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.

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.”