Fairfax County Schools Pivot to Distance Learning
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Fairfax County Schools Pivot to Distance Learning

Students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members reflect on new realities.

By Mercia Hobson

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Students in Fairfax County Public Schools will begin Distance Learning on Tuesday, March 14, in response to COVID-19. It is a historical and transformational change in education. Scott Brabrand Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools closed schools for all 189,000 students in the system beginning Friday, March 13. Ten days later, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ordered all schools in the Commonwealth to remain closed for the remainder of the school year.

With the announcements, teachers and administrators in the county immediately worked to shift from face-to-face education with their students to nonphysical communications instead. The website banner for Aldrin Elementary School in Reston said it all: "Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes. Announcements Distance Learning Dashboard-24/7 Log On/Coronavirus Information/@Home Learning Links." In a letter to families, Brabrand wrote, "Our Distance Learning Plan provides for students to continue learning in developmentally appropriate ways... The plan includes paper learning packets, video broadcasts, lessons/assignments and learning materials posted to Blackboard and completed individually or collaboratively, along with scheduled web chats… Please be assured that this plan was created with the understanding that some of our staff and families may face challenges participating in distance learning, and we will all need to work together in the best interest of our students.”

Viewpoints: Students, Parents, Educators Discuss Distance Learning

The Connection asked students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members to reflect on Distance Learning before the plan kicked off. The following is what they said.

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Asha Das, grade 7, Herndon Middle School: I think it's gonna be really different from regular school. It might be harder, because we don't have a teacher there with us to help us with specific questions and needs each day.

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Gavin White, grade 9, Herndon High School: Distant learning will be fine for me. I have been self-tutoring myself on YouTube all year. My age group is digital. The problem I have is the lack of sports. I became friends this year with new people from the football, track and lacrosse team. Each sport and each person has taught me more about myself and how hard I can push myself. I am already missing that.

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Ava Klein, grade 2, Armstrong Elementary School, Reston: If I can't see my friends or go to recess, I do not want to do school.

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Emily Snowden, grade 8, Herndon Middle School: I think they (FCPS) have a lot of ambitions, but it's gonna be a bit messy, if you know what I mean.

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Pri Cherian, grade 7, Herndon Middle School: I think it's going to be horrible. A train wreck for everyone, but it can only go up from here!

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Andrew Das, grade 5, Armstrong Elementary School, Reston: I don't think it's going to go as planned. I think we can get some learning done, but it won't be as good as it would be in the classroom.

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David Dadley, grade 5, Armstrong Elementary School, Reston: It's going to be complicated. How are the teachers going to control the kids, so we are not all screaming at the same time? And how about kids that don't have a computer, and, and, and...Ugh! Too many questions.

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Photo by Mercia Hobson

Amy Emmatty, Herndon Middle School PTA Member: The Herndon Middle School PTA is working like crazy to secure devices for all kids who do not currently have the tools needed for online learning… We’ve all written checks to the PTA to purchase Chromebooks for students who do not have them, but there are not enough devices. It's become a search for donations of old laptops and/or money to purchase Chromebooks for kids.

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Photo courtesy of FCPS

Elaine V. Tholen, Fairfax County School Board Member, Dranesville, Great Falls: A quote from the Langley High School pyramid principals. I could not say this better: “Along with your ongoing support of this dynamic change in instruction, we ask that you remain flexible and understanding as we continue to evolve and gain traction with online teaching. Our teachers are learning alongside their students while trying to balance their commitments at home, and your presumption of positive intent during this time is greatly appreciated! Collectively, we all care about our students' growth and progress, and intend to continue to do our best to make learning meaningful, engaging, and fun!”

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Photo courtesy of Shane Wolfe

Principal Shane Wolfe, Aldrin Elementary School, Reston: Aldrin teachers are meeting in their grade-level collaborative learning team to plan for our Distance Learning kick-off on Tuesday.

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Photo courtesy of FCPS

Rachna Sizemore Heizer, Fairfax County School Board Member-at-Large: FCPS' design of its distance learning plan focused on being as equitable and flexible as possible in these unprecedented times, with a realization that some students would have greater access to technology and support than others. FCPS high school students were given 1:1 devices at the beginning of the school year, with middle school planned for next year... FCPS has been handing out as many additional laptops as we can. As of April 10, we have handed out 13,422 laptops... However, many families are now discovering a greater need for access to technology with parents working at home and multiple children needing to access online learning...FCPS took this into account in our design of our online learning program... Therefore we created and will be mailing weekly learning packets to all students in kindergarten to eighth grade, with an opt out feature that allows parents to print these packets at home...We know that distance learning cannot fully replace in person teaching and know that we will need to provide remediation and additional supports when schools reopen. We are already discussing what those supports and remediation may look like.

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Photo by Karen Bolt/Fairfax County Public Schools

Melanie K. Meren, Fairfax County School Board Member Hunter Mill District: Shifting the learning model for our 188,000 students is a monumental challenge in the best of times, and one that our staff confronted head-on to produce resources as fast as possible. Beyond academic support to maintain and grow skills, the distance learning plan reinforces the social and emotional needs of children. The plan also assists parents as educators, while aiming to ease the pressure to exactly replicate an in-school experience in this stressful time.

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Photo by Maria Gospodinoff

Chrissy Kelley, Systems of Support Advisor, South Lakes H.S.: South Lakes H.S. staff members had reached out to families to determine who needed internet access in their homes. Appointments were made, and students and families came at the appointed time to pick up their MiFi devices. Students have also been able to pick up items essential for distance learning that they had left in their lockers, such as their laptops. The South Lakes Food Pantry has coordinated with these pickup times so that families could get a bag of groceries when coming to school to pick up their necessary technology.

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Jill Silton, Literacy Specialist and AVID Coordinator at South Lakes: At the direction of our administration at South Lakes High School, I have been assisting with personal outreach to some of our senior students who left school on March 12 with significant work still to do to meet graduation requirements. My role in this outreach has been to connect directly with families to ensure they are aware that teachers are "at the ready" to assist students and provide them with opportunities to achieve the necessary learning tasks to fulfill graduation requirements. Our message has been: we're here to help and support - keep working! We want you to succeed! Without fail, parents have been appreciative of these personal calls - it's what we do in the green and blue: connect and care for one another. I am proud to be part of a school community in which all of us are rooting for every student's success.

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