Return to school plan

TEACHING TAPESTRY — Erin Kreeger teaches her physics students online while standing in her classroom. She teaches in front of a background displaying physics concepts and refers to it often. (Photo by Marina Qu)

MARINA QU EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | MAYA AMMAN NEWS & COPY EDITOR

In mid-October, selected students began Dranesville District school board learning commitment for the year. In the the first wave of in-person instruction, representative Elaine Tholen recommended survey, McLean ranked second highest in the and additional groups of students will be that the school board prioritize returning student participation rate—more than 70% set to return every two weeks. According to students in transition grades, such as seventh, of students chose in-person learning. the current plan, high school students are ninth and 12th grade. Due to FCPS’s decision to go virtual, scheduled to go back beginning in February. “We’re about to have [seniors] graduate about 100 students did not return to

Starting on Oct. 19, about 30 special from FCPS, and we understand the McLean for Fall 2020, leaving McLean with education students and 20 teachers from [difficulty of the] college application process a returning number of about 2,300 students McLean returned to school four days a and finishing up your diploma. [It’s hard] to as opposed to the predicted 2,400 students. week. To ensure their safety, all students and help seniors virtually with those transitions,” According to Reilly, this number is uniform teachers are required to wear masks. The Tholen said. “Seventh graders just left their throughout the county public schools. McLean staff has equipped classrooms with elementary school, and now they’re going “Parents wanted their kids to go to school, hand sanitizer and students will be able to into middle school. Ninth graders are in the and private schools are allowing at least two clean their desks with wipes after class. same boat. They don’t really know how their days a week in person, so a lot of families

“The special needs kids will be using school works yet.” chose to go do that,” Reilly said. the red hallway,” Principal Ellen Reilly said. FCPS has taken measures to protect Reilly and Tholen acknowledged the “[Students and teachers will] be using rooms students and faculty as they come back. uncertainties presented with the current down that art hallway where the driver’s Schools have built plexiglass shields in back to school plan, but both of them education classrooms were and part of the offices, health rooms and some special assured that if students were allowed to go silver hallway. Everybody will be pretty well education locations. back, the school would move forward with spaced out.” “A lot of our air conditioning systems the proposed hybrid model of instruction.

The next few stages of the back-to-school have all been reviewed to make sure that “We’re spending quite a bit of money on plan include English language learners and they’re working properly and that we’ve got installing cameras in our classrooms. We will newcomers. Certain career and technical the highest grade filters possible to try to have the camera on in the classroom so that education students, who are mostly in mitigate any virus,” Tholen said. you might have a composition of kids that academy classes, will also be returning. Then, In early July, FCPS presented students are there in person and kids that are watching FCPS will target students by grades, starting and staff with the option to choose between it online,” Tholen said. “You might have a from pre-K and kindergarten in November. a two-day in-person model or an all-virtual teacher who is virtual, and you’re sitting at

McLean High School on your laptop for that particular class.

Teachers, however, have more concerns about returning to school. About 55% of McLean teachers said they were willing to teach in-person, according to the July survey. Teachers who said they would prefer to do virtual learning all year cited reasons such as childcare issues or personal and family health problems that would place them at high risk for COVID-19.

During the school board meeting on Oct. 15, parents and teachers voiced mixed opinions about returning to school. They expressed concerns about security issues that come with cameras in classrooms, struggles in online learning, hopes for bringing students back earlier and worries about teachers’ health and safety back at school. English teacher Anna Caponetti, as a single parent of a child with autism, said she was concerned about the selected groups of students returning to school in the gradual EMPTY CLASSROOM — Social studies teacher Joseph Dwyer instructs AP Psychology in an empty classroom at McLean. He chooses to teach at school despite virtual learning. (Photo by Marina Qu) back-to-school plan.

“I don’t think it makes sense to start now, kids, for over a year.” nobody can know that with any degree of right at the beginning of the cold and flu According to Caponetti, if schools were certainty.” season,” Caponetti said. “I think that there’s to go back, the hybrid back to school model The fear that students aren’t the most some political expediency in having students could also potentially increase COVID-19’s trustworthy when it comes to following return to school now in the court of public community transmission. Because teachers health guidelines is a prevalent theory. opinion. I think that that’s, unfortunately, a will still meet all of their students, they will “If I had a choice, I would not go back to heavy factor that’s implementing this return be more like to be exposed to the virus and school right now because it is so dangerous,” before it’s time.” could easily spread it to their students. Not senior Ari Ablyazova said. “I do not trust

Some students see the benefit of the all adults have been following the proper that the students would want to wear masks gradual back-to-school plan, especially health precautions, and it will be even harder at all times and social distance because the for students with learning disabilities and to enforce it among teenagers. halls are small and so are the classrooms.” children in lower grade levels. “Half of the time students are not Although online learning may not be ideal

“[COVID spread] is obviously going learning synchronously at home, they’re compared to in-person school, teachers have to happen. I think it’s inevitable based on going to be socializing with their friends. I adapted their curriculum to fit the needs and the amount of kids in the county,” junior think it actually opens up more potential for the constraints of the virtual world. Veronica Betancourt said. “But in the end, students to practice bad behaviors that are “I can record my revision conferences [going back to school] is still going to be worth putting us all at risk,” Caponetti said. “It’s with students and send them the link, and it because it can be incredibly damaging to like Russian roulette—people don’t know if then they can go back and listen to it,” put education on hold, especially for younger they are at risk of fatal consequences because Caponetti said. “If they miss class, they can listen to everything that has happened. FCPS Tentative Back-To-School Schedule I think I have more time now to meet with students in a way that’s conducive to their growth, so that it’s not a total loss in this

Nov. 16, 2020 Nov. 30, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021 Feb. 1, 2021 format—it’s not unilaterally inferior.” -Early Head Start With the increase of “Open FCPS” -Pre-K -Kindergarten -Intensive Support Needs -Specialized Center-based Programs -Grade 1-2 -Specialized Career Centers -Grade 3-6 -Secondary Public Day Programs - Special Education -Davis and Pulley Center -Grade 7-12 (and Davis and Pulley Career Centers) Students will be brought back based on the survey preference in July yard signs appearing across the county, the difference of opinion on the return to school plan continues, even as the transition is beginning to be implemented. “I hope everyone is trying their best to stay safe,” Ablyazova said. “I hope that people are trying to make the best out of this situation but not at the expense of others.”

*Data obtained from FCPS Townhall on Oct. 19, 2020