Thread by @Diane4Neabsco

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is providing the following update regarding changes caused by the COVID-19 shutdown. Please note PWCS staff members are working daily to coordinate key information and develop guidance based on new information.

Your patience and support are appreciated during this extraordinary time.

March 27, 2020 Updates

NEW INFORMATION –

1. STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY – the highest priority now is to stay healthy. Parents and guardians should follow CDC Guidelines for physical distancing of children.

If children meet outside of school in bigger groups, it can put everyone at risk. Please visit the Prince William County COVID-19 website to see additional local guidance.

2. PWCS AND PARENT PARTNERSHIP FOR HOME LEARNING – STUDENT LEARNING CONTINUES - Although our school buildings and grounds are closed, learning is open, and staff and teachers are working daily.

First and foremost, we want all families to know that the continued learning of our students is important to us.
In the very limited time following the closure announcement,

PWCS has rapidly developed detailed plans to ensure continuity of learning through the remainder of the year. In support of these detailed plans, a variety of quality online and offline materials, resources, and supports have been quickly developed and put together for students,

families, and teachers. We have already implemented Phases 1-3, with Phase 3 beginning this week. This week your child’s teachers began to provide information, resources and/or assignments to support the review and/or extension of the learning standards in all curriculum areas

taught through March 13, 2020. It is important to note that the majority of standards students should master before moving to the next grade were a part of this instructional time period from August through mid-March.

Although, we are currently not grading this review learning, we have asked that teachers continue to provide specific growth-producing feedback to students.

Additionally, the Superintendent of Schools has shared that students are also able to work with their teacher(s) to redo assignments and/or retake assessments given or assigned prior to March 13.

These detailed continuity of learning plans also include Phases 4-6 of our learning support that will result in increased virtual instruction and learning time between teachers and students, as well as a movement toward increasing numbers of students utilizing other remote online

learning systems. These learning systems will be able to support both review and new learning. It is important to remember that our quick closure and rapidly increased remote learning bring challenges, and we are working to mitigate challenges such as device and connectivity

access for students and staff.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to visit the PWCS Home Learning Resources webpage for ideas and recommended schedules to keep students engaged in learning while at home.

3. FOOD SERVICE – PWCS will continue to provide to-go meals from 9 – 11 a.m. at locations across the County. USDA has created a waiver for parents to be allowed to collect meals without their children.

However, we are awaiting guidance from VDOE before we can implement this practice locally. More details about meal service.

4. SCHOOL BOARD MEETING – the School Board will hold an emergency meeting next Wednesday, and the Superintendent of Schools will outline plans for the remainder of the school year in the following areas

(details will be shared with all PWCS staff, students, parents, and guardians following the School Board meeting):

a. Grading: PWCS will present a plan that is fair and equitable, and will provide students the opportunity to graduate, progress to the next grade level,

and raise grades. It is important to note the Virginia Department of Education does not recommend any new graded assignments be developed for the remainder of the year.

b. Instruction and Distance Learning: Beyond the grading of student work received on or prior to March 13, we are working on a detailed plan to conduct ongoing learning and enrichment through June 14.

This plan will include use of a learning management system and enhancing technology access for students, as well as other forms of learning.

c. Graduations: The School Board will be updated on potential alternatives to High School Graduations.

Moving forward, PWCS will only provide updates when new, significant, Division-wide information is available. Previous updates and more information are available on PWCS.edu.