FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — As parents and school districts debate over whether or not to send students and staff back to schools in the fall, three local education associations voiced concerns on Sunday about reopening too soon.
The Fairfax Education Association, the Association of Fairfax Professional Educators, and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers all hosted a virtual town hall bringing together speakers to discuss questions and issues facing Virginia's largest public school system during the pandemic.
With coronavirus still ravaging parts of the country, some voiced issues with rushing back to the classroom despite plenty of unknown elements with the disease.
"No one knows how it’s going to affect any individual and that’s really scary," Fairfax Education Association President Kimberly Adams said. "This is the most uncertain it’s ever been as to when school will start and how learning will be conducted."
Following an announcement late last month from the superintendent, parents in Fairfax County have until July 10 to decide whether to enroll their children in virtual learning for four days a week or in-person learning at their respective school twice a week.
With the spread of the virus still evolving, Adams said the pressure of needing to make a choice so soon continued to cause stress for parents and staff.
"This is a hugely personal decision and really difficult," she said. "Everyone really wants to be back in teaching. My husband wants to be back in teaching as well as my students and my children. To know that there is a potential for any of us to get sick, or for us to not be able to see our aging parents for a number of months after we start going back to work is another personal problem we're facing.”
In particular, Adams told WUSA9 that plenty of questions continued to be asked regarding guidelines for personal protective equipment, social distancing, and testing.
During the town hall on Sunday, keynote speaker and scientist Jeff Hester did not mince words.
The virus would dictate the rules, not parents or politicians, he said.
According to Hester, reopening too soon would cause even greater issues.
"Fairfax opening up schools would in all likelihood be a public health disaster," he said. "Public health as a whole, something like Fairfax schools going back in-person, is like hand grenade except it’s a lot bigger than that.”
Hester added that virtual learning likely would stick around for months.
"The only thing responsible that we can do is to actually pay attention to the virus and do what the virus allows us," he said. "We need to start figuring out how to do distance learning right."
For the parents who may choose to send their children back for the reduced in-person teaching, Adams said big changes awaited inside the schools.
"It's classroom libraries probably being boxed up and not being in circulation for our students. Not having shared materials such as pencils, crayons, and markers. Not having carpets where students sit in small groups in circle time," she said. "All the things that we know are best practices around learning and strategies we use to encourage students to be the best they can be and social models for each other, all of that is in question right now.”
The school system will gather more input from staff and parents in the days ahead.
On Monday, Superintendent Scott Braband will hold a virtual town hall to answer questions about the return to school plan.
On Tuesday, a similar virtual town hall will be held with Braband and the Fairfax County Council PTA.
Moving forward, the Fairfax Education Association hoped a unified plan and more certainty would emerge.
"I think folks are having a tough time deciding because they feel like they don’t have all the information," Adams said. "All of it is up in the air and there are not enough good answers right now for anyone to make a great decision on what the best option is for them and their family at this time.”