Heather Curtis
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Some students in D.C. Public Schools will be leaving their living rooms and heading back to classrooms in November. Pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students will be returning to classrooms for in-person learning Nov. 9 Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said Monday.
“Learning at home is not working for every student, and we particularly know that our youngest students have been the most challenged, and so as we think about term two and learning in person we have prioritized our youngest learners,” Ferebee said at a press conference Monday.
Students in grades six through 12 will return to school buildings in the third term according to Ferebee. Parents who do not feel comfortable sending their kids back to school in the second or third term will be able to have their kids continue to do all remote learning.
Ferebee said the younger children will be learning in small groups with a schedule similar to a tradition school day.
The Washington Teachers’ Union said in a statement teachers want to go back to their classrooms, but a survey done last week found that fewer than 3 percent believe it will be safe to return for in-person learning Nov. 9.
“The Mayor and Chancellor Ferebee have failed to share the details of what COVID 19 safety measures have been instituted in each school. Their secrecy is a major part of our concern,” WTU President Elizabeth Davis wrote in the statement.
Before returning to in-person learning, Davis said the union would like to see the mayor and chancellor: agree to a safety checklist for school facilities, agree to a memorandum of agreement that covers school operations and develop specific staffing plans and guidance for teachers at each school, and work with the union to create clear protocols for cleaning and sharing information about COVID exposure.
Ferebee Tweeted schools are getting detailed guidance on how to develop individualized plans before reopening along with a photo of a DCPS school building readiness checklist.
In another Tweet Ferebee said if there is a confirmed, positive COVID-19 case in a school building, the school system will notify students and staff and tell people who were exposed to self-quarantine.
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