HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: A preview of the Cedar Run District teams. SPORTS, Pages 13-14
August 19, 2021 | Vol. 20, No. 33 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Potomac Shores Middle School features several group learning spaces to allow students to work together on projects and assignments.
TIMES FILE PHOTO
According to the most recent census data Prince William County, like the rest of the United States, is becoming more diverse.
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
Census: Prince William among fastest growing, most diverse counties in Virginia
County opens Potomac Shores Middle 3-story school built to facilitate project-based learning By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Potomac Shores Middle School is ready for the new school year and is expecting 98% of its 1,060 students to attend school in person – including nearly 100 more students than were initially anticipated. That’s according to Principal Joe Murgo, who says the new middle school is getting an influx
masks, such as in the lunchroom. The school division also recently clarified when students and staff will have to quarantine due to COVID-19 cases; unvaccinated students and staff will have to quarantine as a result of an exposure in most instances -- unless they have remained masked and maintained at least 3 feet of distance from the person being treated as having COVID-19. Conversely, vaccinated students and staff will not have to quarantine in most instances unless they are showing symptoms of COVID-19.
In the last 10 years, Prince William County added about 80,000 new residents, keeping its place as the second most populous county and the most diverse county in the commonwealth of Virginia, according to 2020 United States Census data released on Aug. 12. “We’re continuing to grow pretty quickly and we’re seeing a continued increase in diversity, and a decrease in the non-Hispanic white population across almost all areas of the county,” Brian Engelmann, Prince William County’s demographer, said in an interview with Prince William Times on Monday, Aug. 16. The U.S. Census is conducted once every 10 years to count every resident in the United States. The data collected by the census is used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to adjust or redraw electoral districts based on where populations have increased or decreased. The results of the census also inform decisions about allocating hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding to communities across the country—for hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads and other critical programs and services, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
See COVID, page 5
See CENSUS, page 6
of students, mostly from military-connected families who are purchasing or building homes in Potomac Shores, one of the largest newer communities in eastern Prince William. The new students are an early sign of the draw of the county’s 17th middle school – one of two new schools opening in Prince William this year. The county is also opening its 13th traditional high school – Gainesville High School – near Jiffy Lube Live. See POTOMAC SHORES, page 4
Schools update safety protocols as COVID-19 cases rise By Cher Muzyk
Contributing Writer
More than 60% of Prince William County students between the ages of 12 and 17 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the start of the new school year, which begins on Monday, Aug. 23. Meanwhile, the school division is responding to concerns about rising COVID-19 rates by clarifying school safety protocols that now include the goal of maintaining 3 feet of distance between students; mandating near universal mask use, and minimizing time that students are not wearing
By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
Vote for Readers’ Choice! See Page 12
Kline property gets a fresh look. See Page 3
88 DULLES, VA
It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com