Superintendent Calls For Delayed Start To Arlington School Year

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington Public Schools' top official is calling for a delay in the start of the 2020-21 school year. He also wants to begin the year with virtual instruction to lower the risk of spreading COVID-19, the disease associated with the new coronavirus, to students, staff, and teachers.

In a letter to APS families, superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán said Tuesday he would ask the School Board to delay the start of the academic year to Tuesday, Sept. 8. Staff members and teachers will return as scheduled on Aug. 24, so that they can plan and prepare for full-time distance learning for students.

"The start of the school year will be fully virtual for all students," Durán said, in the letter. "We will continue to monitor health data in September, with the goal of beginning to transition some students to in-person instruction in early October, which is the mid-point in the first quarter of the school year. Our goal is to have hybrid in-person instruction in place for all families that have selected that model by the beginning of the second quarter, based on health data and in consultation with health officials."

At a town hall meeting Tuesday night, Durán described the delayed opening as a "pause" to allow APS time to determine how best to begin the school year.

"It is not a changing and it is not a taking away of what will happen for students and families on the model they have chosen," he said.

Durán encouraged APS parents to continue the process of choosing which learning model they wish their students to return to in the fall, the full-time distance learning model or the hybrid in-person and distance learning model. The selection process must be completed by July 20.

"We will use your feedback, along with feedback from our teachers and staff, to inform ongoing planning for reopening our school buildings," he said, in the release.

APS will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in the region and across the state, using that data to inform its decisions on reopening.

"There is still community-wide spread existing in Arlington and Northern Virginia and our wider D.C. metropolitan area," Durán said. "And yes, we're not seeing the spike and large numbers we're seeing in other parts of the country, but we're very far from normal on that."

Durán will submit his proposal to the School Board at its Thursday night meeting. He will also provide details on the plan, as well as information about Special Education, English Learners and Gifted Services.