National Review
Fairfax County Schools to reopen with ‘classroom monitors’ as thousands of teachers stay home
Schools in Fairfax County are expected to reopen classrooms for face-to-face learning this month, but thousands of teachers plan to continue working from home. Fairfax County Public Schools plans to have students and teachers back in class on February 16. However, 2,300 of the district’s 15,000 teachers, many teachers, will continue to teach virtually, even while their students are physically present in the classroom. Therefore, classroom monitors will be present in the classroom with the children during classes. So far, 645 classroom monitors have been hired and the school district needs 205 more, Fox 5 DC reported. Home-based teachers received approval for their requests for the American Disabilities Act, sent in the fall, before the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine to teachers in Fairfax County began. School unions across the country have refused to return to face-to-face classes, arguing that it is still not safe for them to return to work due to the pandemic. However, some data suggest that the fear of contracting the virus in a school setting has been exaggerated. A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics offered the surprising discovery that among the 90,000 students and staff observed in the study who returned to face-to-face classes, there were no cases of transmission from child to adult in schools. Among the 11 North Carolina school districts that participated in the study for nine weeks, there were 773 cases of coronavirus acquired in the community, and 32 additional infections were acquired in schools. The Fairfax County public school system, which enrolls 186,000 students, will prioritize vulnerable students for face-to-face learning, including those with disabilities and those who are learning English. The reopening plan, which will allow any student to come to school for two days of face-to-face classes per week until March 16, was unanimously approved by the county school council. “We recognize that no situation is risk-free, but the risks are greater in not returning students at this time,” said Fairfax schools superintendent Scott Brabrand. “Our president asked for it, and we must unite now.”