How Should Virginia Schools Reopen This Fall? Take Patch's Survey

VIRGINIA — Some students may return to classrooms and others may use remote learning, but Virginia students will go back to school and learn new material this fall.

Earlier in June, Gov. Ralph Northam and the Virginia Department of Education released phased school reopening guidelines, giving school districts recommendations to adjust learning to the ongoing pandemic. When Virginia enters phase three of the governor's Forward Virginia reopening plan on July 1, school districts may also offer in-person instruction to all students with social distancing measures.

Among the recommendations are physical distancing in classrooms and buses, remote options for high-risk students and staff, face coverings, and daily health screening of students and staff. Patch wants to know what you think about school reopening; take our survey below.

School districts must submit a reopening plan to the VDOE, but reopening decisions are ultimately up to these individual school districts. Boards must balance the desires of families wanting their children back in the classroom with those of families afraid their children — and relatives — will be exposed to the virus. Schools must also tell VDOE how students will receive new instruction, how to address education lost to the March school closings, and how they could return to full remote learning should public health conditions require it.

So far, school districts in Northern Virginia appear to be favoring a hybrid model of in-person and distance learning. Fairfax County Public Schools, the state's largest school district, gave parents two options: full-time virtual instruction or a mix of in-person and virtual learning. Similarly, Arlington County Public Schools is preparing to let families choose from a hybrid or virtual model in July.

Loudoun County's school board decided on the blended model early Tuesday, but families can opt out to receive virtual-only learning, according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Prince William County Public Schools has not announced a decision, but the school board will vote on a plan on July 15.

In an informal survey last week about Virginia's reopening and coronavirus restrictions, we asked readers about what kind of reopening scenario they prefer. The most popular option was the hybrid virtual and in-person learning, which got 41.2 percent of the vote. An additional 23 percent support the traditional in-person school year, 18.7 percent prefer virtual education only, 10.4 percent support virtual education by medical need, and the remainder gave an "other" or "no opinion" response.

We wanted to give an opportunity for readers to complete a survey focused on school reopenings. This survey is not meant to be a scientific poll, but rather an informal way to gather readers' opinions. It will be open through noon on Thursday, July 2, and Patch will share results in the afternoon.

Take the survey below or click here.