WASHINGTON — Get ready for school through the summer.
Gov. Ralph Northam (D-Va) on Thursday teased a plan to extend school into time when many families take vacation, all to make up for ground lost during the pandemic.
"One thing I think is very important that we will be announcing tomorrow (Friday) is that we want to extend our classroom to this summer to allow our children to catchup so everyone will be ready in the fall. We are working with our teachers, school boards, superintendents, it has to be a top priority for all of us to get our children back into the classroom,” he said during a live interview with the Washington Post.
The details remain murky, and we're still waiting for responses from Northern Virginia school administrators, but the governor said, "Our children definitely learn better when they’re in a classroom. The social interaction is important. We have seen higher rates of depression, which is so unfortunate."
The governor has hinted in the past about year-round schooling. “Our kids need to be back in school — our parents need a break, too,” Northam said. “We’ve asked a lot for the past year from our children and our families, and now it’s time for us to help them — to give them some extra time this summer, to get them prepared, will be in everybody’s best interests.”
It's unclear at this point whether the plan would apply to all students.
Fairfax County schools, one of the largest districts in the nation, has been almost entirely virtual since coronavirus hit in March. The county is now prioritizing teachers for vaccinations, as it tries to gear up to reopen classrooms.
Fairfax schools says at least 92% of its staffers have now scheduled or requested their first shots, and it's working to ensure second doses are available in the next few weeks. Inova health says it has already vaccinated at least 7,000 teachers, and plans to vaccinate thousands more.
Virginia teachers unions have been reluctant to head back to classrooms without vaccinations, extensive safety measures and personal protective equipment.
Parents and students have been split, with some reluctant to go back until the pandemic is under control, but others, especially parents of special education students, arguing that virtual learning has failed their children.
A Fairfax County Schools survey found a dramatic increase in the number of children receiving two or more Fs while learning virtually.