LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — A Loudoun County School Board meeting Tuesday was contentious, with parents and students protesting over the lack of in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the school board did approve unanimously to start stage two of in-person hybrid learning.
As parents and students spoke about the troubles they have encountered personally due to the lack of in-person learning, it was also a meeting that the school board used to look at long term projections for its hybrid in-person learning curriculum.
This hybrid model includes a gradual return of in-person learning between the beginning of October, through November.
Grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade will be the first to experience hybrid learning, according to the district. Families in these grades who chose in-person learning will be able to start doing so by October 27, 2020.
Students with disabilities are among the next group of students that would enter classrooms, according to a plan discussed by the district in the latter portion of the meeting that still continued into the late evening.
While furthering hybrid in-person learning was voted on unanimously by the board, parents and students voiced frustrations that in-person learning needs to happen across all grade levels, not just some.
Some parents spoke about the challenges their kids face learning from home, including large amounts of homework, too much screen time and concerns about the quality of the education children get through distance learning
“The first ten years over being a parent I spent actively limiting my children’s screen time, now I am forced to have them in front of a computer all day long. I urge you to present a clear plan to Loudoun County parents for return to school as soon as possible,” said the mother of three students that a part of LCPS. “Kids all over the country, world and even here in our county, have returned to school. The longer this goes on the longer our kids will be left further behind. I worry for the day my kids stop begging to return to school and want nothing to do with it.”
Students also spoke at the public school board meeting, which was done with social distancing and gave speakers only one minute to talk.
One high school student in Loudoun County said that she was concerned about the mental health of her fellow classmates, especially those not able to be a part of sports and club organizations, and the inability to get out of their homes.
“I understand that the circumstances this year are very unique that has allowed us to go online, and that the top priority of Loudoun County Public Schools is to keep everyone safe. However, for the sake of the education and wellbeing of my fellow classmates, it is essential that we go back to school. I spend hours a day online, staring at a screen. I now get headaches from looking at screens and bright lights – and I cannot learn. I am genuinely concerned for my classmates that do not have extracurriculars or sports to get out of the house. It is not safe, said a student who is a junior from Dominion High School.
While many faced the school board with harsh criticism, there were a few that praised the efforts of district leaders and pleaded with them to continue distance learning.
One librarian in the district who spoke at the school board meeting said she is concerned in a spike of cases when the holiday season approaches and people congregate together.
And while things were continuous, above all else, people wanted answers. But a heavy dose of thanks was directed towards teachers and all they have done to help kids virtually.
Some students that spoke virtually said they are thriving via virtual learning due to the commitment of teachers and staff at their schools.
Loudoun County School Board raised major concerns its dealing with to keep people safe, including having enough PPE, what if transmission of COVID-19 is vast at one school and not another, and how to put plans in place for both in-person and virtual learning, which can spread teachers and school staffs thin.
WUSA9 will continue to follow developments from LCPS and its in-person hybrid learning model amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
To see the for Loudoun County School Board meeting, click here.