FCPS should offer all elementary students a virtual school option

THE REAL COST OF FCPS EDUCATION: STUDENT LIVES

FCPS should provide virtual options for elementary-aged students

TARA PANDEY REPORTER

As the most recent wave of COVID-19 is appearing to subside, the rise of cases in elementary school children serves as a reminder that this uphill battle is long from over. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, children made up 22.4% of reported COVID cases during FCPS’s first week back at school and represented 14.8% of cumulated cases since the beginning of the pandemic. These new student cases only heighten parents’ fears in making the impossible decision of sending their children to school.

As of Oct. 14, 1,078 FCPS students self-reported testing positive for COVID, 727 of which were elementary school students, meaning they comprise about 67% of these self-reported cases. Because they are currently unable to get vaccinated, elementary students are at very high risk.

Yet, even with this available information, FCPS is not currently offering a virtual schooling option for the majority of its students. The lack of such an option is unethical and should be reconsidered.

The rise in children being infected has sparked fear and outrage amongst Fairfax and Loudoun County parents. Notably, on Aug. 30, mobs of concerned parents gathered outside McNair Elementary School in Herndon, staging a silent protest. Parents are understandably worried; the data reflects that sending their children back to the school building was a mistake.

Even with the online accommodations FCPS has made for immunocompromised students, not everyone is accounted for. Only a small group of students qualify for virtual learning.

Their eligibility is determined by whether or not they have a document that states they have a medical need related to COVID. Those who are medically prone to getting more severe cases of COVID yet do not satisfy the requirements are overlooked.

With rising concern because of the Delta variant, many parents were not in favor of sending their students back to school. As cases rose over the summer and mask mandates were put back into place, they feared what going back to school fully in person meant for their children.

This has especially increased anxiety levels among lower income families. Because Fairfax County is so wealthy, the silent minority of those in poverty are often overlooked.

Often these parents cannot afford basic healthcare for their child, let alone the overwhelming amount of money it would take to cover COVID costs. Additionally, lower income parents are less likely to be able to take time off of work to take care of their sick children.

There are a multitude of other reasons why parents may opt their children out of in-person learning.

“I think that [virtual learning] can give flexibility. If someone is sick or something like that, it’s very easy for them to just tune in and out,” said Stacy Wei, a first grade teacher at Chesterbrook Elementary School.

Although Wei is a teacher, as a mother of children under 12 herself, she has a multifaceted perspective on in-person learning.

“One of my kids [is] now in seventh grade, but she didn’t want to go back at first either...there’s some sort of social pressure being back in school,” Wei said.

Even at the high school level, the possibility of transmitting COVID is inevitable. The contact tracing methods employed by the county fall short, as they fail to consider packed hallways and lunch periods, during which students go maskless.

“We say, ‘Have two [hallway] tiles between the person in front of you and behind you’, but they are kids, so that doesn’t always happen,” said Nellie Williams, a sixth grade teacher at Haycock Elementary School.

Especially with younger children who do not fully grasp the concept of the protective nature of masks, there is a difficulty with keeping masks on.

“I see younger kids sucking [on] their mask,” Williams said.

FCPS has high educational prestige, which is what draws parents to the county. Without a virtual option, this level of education is inaccessible to many students. FCPS has made clear that they are offering public education at a high price: the price of their students’ safety.

I WAS REALLY NERVOUS TO COME BACK ... AFTER NOT BEING [IN PERSON] FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.”

- NELLIE WILLIAMS SIXTH GRADE TEACHER