ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Alexandria City Public Schools released its plan for a 100% virtual start to the 20-21 school year in what it calls a VirtualPlus+ model.
The proposed back to school plan would also include child care options with community supports, including age-appropriate technology in the form of tablets and Chromebooks.
“Virtualplus+ is so different, because there are a lot of lessons learned from the spring as well as the summer," ACPS Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Jr. said. "And the plus, which is really exciting to us, is ensuring that we are providing the additional supports that our students and our families and our staff need."
He said there are four specific areas they are working to encompass with the back to school plan; social, emotional and academic learning supports, technology enhancement, meal distribution, and childcare options.
“We know that with 100% virtual our families who have to work outside of the home are going to have some child care needs," Hutchings said. "We want to be able to partner with all of our community partners such as our child care providers in the area like Campagna, our Rec and Parks program, and some of our community partners like the Alexandria Soccer Foundation, just so that we're providing childcare options for our families."
The announcement brought some questions regarding how a school could open for child care but not for in-person learning.
“It's a bit surprising that they do think it's safe enough for kids to go to child care in their buildings, but just not with their teachers,” parent Jennifer Gibbons said. “Which then begs the question of what is it that these child care centers or providers are going to know or do that is different from the schools, and why can they make a safe environment if our schools can't."
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In regard to how child care will be different than children being in a classroom, Hutchings said they are still working through some things, but that social distancing guidelines would be followed. He also said that in-person learning wasn't feasible.
“We had to really look at the feasibility in regard to transportation to and from school. How do you do your health screenings at the schools, and then the major component for us was the staffing and how do we have adequate staffing?" Hutchings asked. “From all of those constraints that we discussed, as well as the input we received from our families and our staff members, and then also looking at the CDC guidelines and the Virginia Department of Education guidelines, we came to the conclusion that it is most feasible to offer the virtual plus.”
Hutchings said that the child care services offered wouldn't all necessarily be within school buildings, as certain child care facilities throughout the city of Alexandria may participate.
The superintendent also said that there would be a cap on the number of children who can receive child care.
“We’re going to be working with our community partners over the next couple of weeks in determining who are most vulnerable students at this point and trying to really serve those needs first,” he said. “And then getting into what are some of the additional supports that we can also provide. Our most vulnerable students are our students who have special needs, our students who are not English learners, as well as our students that are performing currently below a grade level. We want to make sure that we're trying to provide those services for those most vulnerable students first.”
The majority of parents who took the district's survey said they would prefer to send their children to school through a hybrid in-person option.
The superintendent said he is hopeful the proposed plan will be approved by Aug. 7 and then approved by the state the following week. The school year is set to begin on Sept. 8.
