July 2 – 8, 2020
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D E D 1991 • V OL. X XX NO. 20
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F.C. Schools Plan August Reopening With Hybrid Schedule Alternating Days Where Students Switch Between Virtual and In-Person Learning Expected This Fall
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Banking on continued progress in the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic in the next two months, Falls Church City Schools will open on Aug. 24 with an initial alternating hybrid two day a week
face-to-face and online education plan, F.C. Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan announced in a newsletter to parents, students and staff this week, and reported to the F.C. School Board Tuesday night. In his newsletter issued earlier this week, “The Road to Reopening,” Noonan stressed that
F.C. School Board Starts Name Change Process for 2 Schools BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS
At a lengthy online work session Tuesday night that began with 120 public comments, the Falls Church School Board agreed by consensus to move forward with a process to consider whether or not to change the names of two of its schools, George Mason High and Thomas Jefferson Elementary, on grounds that the Founding Fathers the schools are currently named for both owned slaves. The School Board’s next step will involve retaining a consultant to begin gathering information. It may not be until Thanksgiving that a decision will be reached on whether or not to change one or both of the names, and then, if the result of that process is a “yes” on changing the names of one or both, a second process to
determined what the new name or names of the schools will be. In the case of George Mason High, a new $120 million campus is well into construction, and is expected to be available for occupancy next January. The school board’s decision Tuesday night comes in the context of name change efforts in surrounding school jurisdictions, with changes having already removed the names of Confederate generals in Fairfax and Arlington schools. Falls Church’s move, however, is the only one so far that could impact the names of Founding Fathers rather than Confederates who declared war on the United States. It took a lengthy time and a contentious debate for a studentdriven initiative to win approval
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everyone “continue to model and enforce appropriate viral transmission hygiene,” meaning that “as we enter Phase 3 reopening in Virginia generally, that everyone wear a mask and appropriately social distance,” stressing that “If we have a spike in cases, we could be at risk of not being able to
return to school face-to-face.” His plea comes amid dire reports of new surges in infection cases in a majority of the U.S. states, and the modification by Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia’s Phase 3 reopening scheduled to go into effect on July 1 this week. The modification involves no
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open bar environments in restaurants, which have been identified nationally as the most likely places for new transmissions of the virus. In ordering that policy, the governor followed suit for developments in the beach com-
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AS VIRGINIA ENTERS PHASE 3, some businesses have come up with new ways to maintain social distancing by moving tables into parking lots, such as Northside Social Falls Church. Read more about how the City is addressing concerns over reopening on page 4. (P����: N���-P����)
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
SEE STORY, PAGE 19
Bar areas inside Virginia restaurants have not been permitted to join the state’s next phase of reopening as of July 1, Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday, a reversal in policy that followed Delaware’s decision to shut down recently reopened bars in beach communities.
A group of high school students from Falls Church got creative while stuck at home due to the novel coronavirus by producing Rockfish Gap, a fictional mystery podcast that aims to keep listeners on edge as the series unfolds over eight episodes.
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Northern Virginia’s own “Rockin’ the Suburbs” podcast from Falls Church’s Patrick Foster and Ashburn resident Jim Lenahan will take their show to Jammin’ Java’s stage next Wednesday. SEE PRESS PASS, PAGE 14
INDEX Editorial............................................... 6 Letters.......................................... 6, 19 News & Notes............................10–11 Comment ............................... 7,12–13 Crime Report .................................... 12 Calendar ........................................... 14 Classified Ads ................................... 16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 17 Critter Corner.................................... 18
