Alexandria Superintendent Seeks Virtual Start To School Year

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Superintendent Gregory Hutchings Jr. is proposing a virtual start to the school year for Alexandria City Public Schools. The model called Virtual PLUS+ features 100 percent virtual learning with additional supports for students, staff and families. ACPS students will start the school year on Sept. 8.

Hutchings's proposal will go to the Alexandria City School Board for a vote on Aug. 7. The reopening plan needs to be sent to the Virginia Department of Education by Aug. 14.

The announcement comes as other Northern Virginia school districts opted to start the school year with distance learning. ACPS created Cross-Functional Planning Teams of staff, parents, students and community partners to test different scenarios to start the school year.

"At this time, there are many constraints to reopening school buildings, including the complexity to comply with CDC guidelines as they relate to transportation, our facilities, personal protective equipment (PPE), and the number of available staff — many who live in neighboring jurisdictions and have school-aged children," ACPS stated in a news release.

According to the news release, the virtual learning approach will feature a bell schedule, daily live instruction with teachers, and additional academic supports for the most vulnerable students, like one-on-one or small group tutoring.

All pre-K through first grade students will receive electronic tablets, and second to 12th grade students will receive Chromebooks. ACPS is coordinating with community partners to offer child care options for families. Meal distributions will continue.

"After much careful consideration of the facts as they stand today, we feel confident that Virtual PLUS+ will provide a quality educational experience worthy of our children while keeping the health and safety of our students, staff and families in mind," said Hutchings in a statement. "This model places equitable access for all at the heart and ensures that we can build a framework that addresses the needs of specific groups of students to ensure they stay on course this fall."

A survey of ACPS families from July 6 to 12 found 60 percent supported a hybrid model of in-person and virtual learning, and 40 percent preferred virtual-only learning. A similar survey for staff found 32 percent "very likely" to return to in-person work with a hybrid approach, 31 percent who were "somewhat likely," 18 percent who were "somewhat unlikely" and 19 percent who were "very unlikely."

ACPS says a committee will reassess the reopening constraints every nine weeks depending on the pandemic's impact in the DC region.

More information is available at www.acps.k12.va.us/virtual-plus.