Safety Teams To Monitor Fairfax Schools' Coronavirus Strategies

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County Public Schools announced Monday it is implementing new safety teams to monitor schools' five mitigation strategies for COVID-19, which are set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The teams, made up of FCPS staff and retirees, will conduct random on-site spot checks, deliver education and resources, and report data back to administrators. These efforts will help the school district fully commit to tracking the CDC’s third key indicator for guiding school reopening decision-making.

"The role of these teams is to help protect staff and students, and to make sure we all know what we can do to ensure safe, clean, healthy spaces," said Jeff Platenberg, assistant superintendent of facilities and transportation services at FCPS. "We’ve been training teams and conducting checks in recent weeks across FCPS."

The three core indicators as identified by the CDC are the number of new cases per 100,000 people within the last 14 days, regional percentage of positive PCR COVID-19 tests within the last 14 days, and the ability of each school or center to adhere to the five mitigation strategies. The strategies include consistent and correct use of masks, social distancing to the extent possible, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, cleaning and disinfection, and contact tracing in collaboration with local health department.

FCPS said in a news release adherence to the five mitigation strategies could make it possible to return more groups of students to the classroom safely. The CDC indicates that strict adherence to mitigation strategies can reduce the risk of transmission in school even if community rates are high.

"These visits will help us document how consistently we are implementing all the health and safety strategies encouraged by the CDC and health officials," said Platenberg in a statement. "The data will help us immediately spot where additional education or resources might be needed. We want to make sure we are consistently implementing the CDC’s strategies."

The other two CDC core indicators currently show a high risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools. As of Tuesday, the total number of new cases per 100,000 people in the last 14 days is 461.2, which is classified as highest risk for transmission in schools. The 9.7 percent positive tests in the last 14 days is classified as being higher risk for transmission in schools. These metrics are updated daily on the FCPS dashboard.

A majority of students in the school district remain enrolled in virtual learning. FCPS has three groups of students returned to in-person learning, including some special education and English language learner students. FCPS classifies these groups as "students who might be experiencing the greatest challenges with distance learning."

On Nov. 16, FCPS delayed the return of its group five students, which includes Early Head Start, PreK 3 and 4-year-olds, kindergarten, and and select students who receive special education services. The return time to in-person learning remains undetermined for this group. On Nov. 23, the school district also moved its group four students back to virtual learning based on health metrics. This includes Burke School elementary program students and some students in specialized high school career preparatory programs.

Metrics for groups returning to in-person learning are outlined on the FCPS website.