Allow PWCS parents choose virtual before school starts
Allow PWCS parents choose virtual before school starts
Why this petition matters
PWCS parents need the option to choose virtual learning before school starts on August 23, 2021.
Former PWCS Superintendent Dr. Walts painted a rosy picture of in-person learning during the May 5, 2021 school board meeting (in my opinion). One of his presentation slides showed the possibility of 6 feet of space between students at lunch. Another of his slides reassure parents that their in-person students would receive live virtual instruction if students were required to quarantine. This was the information parents were going on when they had to choose in-person or virtual learning by the May 28, 2021 deadline.
In reality, the upcoming school year does not look so promising. Elementary lunches will be at pre-pandemic capacity. I heard this directly from a PWCS elementary principal when I attended a webinar during the first week of August 2021. Unvaccinated, unmasked students will be shoulder to shoulder while they eat if pre-pandemic lunch is the goal. Despite what Dr. Walts said in May, students may or may not receive live instruction when they are inevitably quarantined at home. In-person instruction isn't looking so fun for some people.
On May 28, 2021, the deadline for choosing virtual instruction for PWCS, the Covid situation in northern Virginia was looking promising. However, that is not the case today. The UVA Biocomplexity Institute forecasts that Covid cases could exceed 100 per 100,000 people as early as September 12, 2021.
Some parents are comfortable with the increased risk to their children. Many are not. Please give the parents who want to opt for virtual instruction a way to make it happen before August 23, 2021.
Decision Makers
Dr. LaTanya McDadeSuperintendent of Prince William County Public Schools- Dr. Babur LateefChairman of the Prince William County School Board