FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — The summer is officially over for students and parents. School districts around the metro region will fire up their chrome books and start their virtual school year.
The largest school district in our area, Fairfax County Public Schools will begin their academic year on Tuesday. You might remember the district faced a number of challenges with distance learning in March when the pandemic forced many to stay at home.
The district has been transparent about the difficulties they faced with distance learning in March. On their website, they explain how the 2020-2021 school year will continue using their Blackboard system, and said many upgrades have already taken place in an attempt to avoid it from crashing again.
The school system also partnered with Cox Communications to ensure each child has a MiFi device to give them access to the Internet at home. The district also said they now have a Cloud Gateway system allowing them the capability to push security updates remotely.
One of the biggest upgrades this school year is the Parent Technology Help Desk, parents can call when they need help. Like many of us have at work, there’s also a system where parents can submit a help desk ticket.
The free lunch program will also continue until the end of December, officials said. The website said students can pick up breakfast and lunch at the same time from 8:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Buses will also be dropping off meals in many neighborhoods.
Learn more about the district's plan here.