coronavirus

JUST IN: No In-Person Marine Corps Marathon for 2020

By ARLnow.com

The Marine Corps Marathon will be held virtually this year, race organizers announced today.

The October marathon usually involves miles of closed streets, tens of thousands of runners grouped together, and large festivals in Rosslyn and Crystal City. That will not be the case for 2020.

Due to the “ongoing public health concerns and the guidelines of local governments,” participants will instead be asked to run 26.2 miles on their own in order to receive their finisher medal, organizers said. Previously, the companion MCM10K and MCM Kids Run were made virtual-only, while the main event was still set to be run on Sunday, Oct. 25.

“We explored various approaches to safely execute a live event and held numerous meetings with Marine Corps leadership, local government and public health officials,” Rick Nealis, director of the Marine Corps Marathon Organization (MCMO), said in a press release today. “We understand this is disappointing news for many, but we could no longer envision a way to gather together in compliance with safety guidelines. While we are unable to celebrate in-person this October, we are excited about the opportunity to bring the 45th anniversary event to the homes of runners around the world through a rewarding and engaging virtual experience.”

“Health and safety are our top priorities during this challenging time,” said Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey. “The Marine Corps Marathon is a treasured event and tradition in our community that Arlingtonians look forward to each year. As we celebrate the race’s 45th anniversary this year, we will be enthusiastically and virtually cheering on each runner. We can’t wait to welcome these dedicated athletes and fans back to Arlington in person in 2021.”

More from a press release:

The virtual MCM Weekend events including the MCM, MCM10K, MCM50K and the MCM Semper Fun Mile must be completed between October 1 – November 10, the Marine Corps Birthday. All participants will receive the corresponding participant shirt, commemorative bib, patch and/or finisher medal. Runners will also have access to an online event program, personalized finisher certificate, the MCM Audio Experience and several new digital engagement platforms.

Further instructions and a link to the registration change form will be sent this week to the e-mail address provided by participants during registration. The deadline for currently registered runners to take action on the change form is August 5, 2020.

Runners currently in the live MCM or MCM50K category have the option to:

  • Defer entry to a future year (2021, 2022 or 2023) of the runner’s choice at no additional fee; These runners will have a guaranteed virtual entry available for purchase for 24 hours following initiation of the deferment process.
  • Request a full registration refund including carbo dining tickets and bib mail out, if purchased.

Runners who already deferred to a future year and paid a deferment fee will receive an automatic refund of the $30 fee and have the option to:

  • Remain deferred for 2021, 2022 or 2023; or
  • Request a full registration refund including carbo dining tickets and bib mail out, if purchased.

Runners who previously transferred directly from the live to the virtual event have the option to:

  • Request a partial refund of the registration fee minus the $45 virtual entry fee; or
  • Cancel registration and request a full registration refund including carbo dining tickets and bib mail out, if purchased.

Virtual event registration is open to the public. Entry fees are $45 for the MCM and MCM50K; $33 for the MCM10K; and $20 for the Semper Fun Mile.

Refunds of registration fees will be processed beginning on August 6, 2020 and may take between four to six weeks. Processing fees will not be refunded.

In addition to marking its 45th anniversary, this year’s MCM commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima by featuring actual volcanic ash collected at that site within the event medal.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Fox News in Arlington — “An apparently news-starved fox has taken matters into its own paws and has been spotted stealing copies of the Post from the porches of unsuspecting Arlington residents.” [Washingtonian]

In-Person Census Visits Starting — “To achieve a complete count, Census Takers will begin conducting home interviews. Starting the week of July 20 — nearly three weeks before the nationwide August 11 launch date — Census Takers will be visiting homes in Arlington, including an estimated 27,000 households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.” [Arlington County]

Longtime Local Mail Carrier Dies — Jesus and Luz Collazos “immigrated to the United States and settled in Arlington, Va., where he spent 25 years as a postal worker. They raised a family in a home he bought after admiring it on his delivery route. On June 6, about a year into his retirement, he died of covid-19 at 67.” [Washington Post]

Should Route 29 Become John Lewis Highway? — One idea for the renaming of Lee Highway: name it after Rep. John Lewis, who died Friday. The civil rights leader grew up in Troy, Alabama, for which U.S. Route 29 is the main street. The highway also runs through his congressional district in Georgia. [Twitter]

Deer Rescued from Church Basement — “A huge thank you to Animal Services officers Schindler and D’Eramo from Humane Rescue Alliance for jumping in late last night to help our AWLA officers Ballena and Rose rescue a young deer.” [Facebook]

Synetic’s ‘The Decameron’ Project — “The Decameron, a series of 14th century Italian novellas about surviving the Black Death, is enjoying a surprising renaissance during the current coronavirus crisis… Now, Crystal City’s Synetic Theater, a physical theater troupe that specializes in literary adaptations, usually relying on music and movement to tell stories rather than spoken dialogue, has created a Decameron of its own.” [Washington City Paper]

Region Ascends Tech Rankings — Northern Virginia and the D.C. region are now No. 2 on a list of the top tech talent markets in the United States. [CBRE, Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman

School Start Pushed to September With Online-Only Classes

By Vernon Miles

It’s official: Arlington Public Schools will now open on Sept. 8, and classes will be held entirely online.

Superintendent Francisco Durán announced his decision to host online-only classes on Tuesday, at least for the first half of the fall semester, and spoke in more detail about the plan at a School Board meeting yesterday (Thursday).

School Board chair Monique O’Grady said that the decision to go online-only fell within the superintendent’s domain as an operational decision and would not be voted on at the meeting. What the School Board did unanimously agree to was pushing the start date back from Aug. 31 to Sept. 8 for students.

The change was suggested by Durán, who said that if the it was approved the teaching staff would still start on Aug. 24 for training and professional development. The implementation of a hybrid in-person model would be delayed.

“The health and safety of our students has driven our decisions,” said Durán. “Beginning virtually allows us to monitor COVID-19… I believe it is the right thing to do for the health and safety of our students and staff.”

Durán said APS is still committed to resuming in-school instruction as soon as it was safe, which he said the schools were currently eyeing as the beginning of the second quarter of the school year, provided the COVID-19 situation has sufficiently improved by then.

“As of Monday, there is still community-wide spread of COVID,” Durán said. “We are definitely far from normal. Given that information, really important we pause and ensure the safety of all is at the forefront.”

Durán said that instruction will all be live with students graded on their work and attendance taken. That contrasts with the last quarter of the 2019-2020 school year, when schools closed and students engaged in remote learning activities but were not taught new material.

While the School Board did not vote on Durán’s plan to go all-online, O’Grady said the decision had the support of the School Board.

“[The Board] honors and values experience the experience of the superintendent and has hired him to make those decisions,” O’Grady said.

The only concerns about the plans voiced by the School Board were from Reid Goldstein, who said he didn’t like the idea of putting out the information item and taking action in such a short timespan, but also added that he recognized that “sometimes exigent circumstances require taking action more quickly.”

Approval of pushing the start of the school year back to September was approved in a 5-0 vote.

More on the decision, below, from a School Talk email sent to APS families this morning.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Unemployment Update — “Over 1 million first-time claims for unemployment benefits have now been filed by Virginians this year, 97% of them since pandemic-related business shutdowns began in mid-March, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.” Arlington, meanwhile, reported 576 initial unemployment claims last week and 6,148 continuing claims. [InsideNova]

Google Satellite Images Updated — Google has updated its satellite imagery in maps. One can now see the line at Arlington’s drive-through COVID testing site and an empty Arlington National Cemetery parking lot, among other pandemic-specific sights. (Hat tip to Eric Dobson for spotting this.)

No High School Football This Fall — “High school football will not be played this fall in Virginia. Football will be either played in the winter or spring or not at all, based on which of three plans the Virginia High School League’s executive committee approves July 27 for the 2020-21 high school sports season.” [InsideNova]

Lane Closures on I-66 This Weekend — “Overnight lane closures and traffic stoppages are planned for I-66 East in Arlington near Patrick Henry Drive this weekend, weather permitting, to implement a traffic shift as part of the I-66 Eastbound Widening Project. This work will split the two I-66 East travel lanes for more than a half mile.” [Press Release]

Trade Association Moves to Arlington — “The National Automatic Merchandising Association has relocated its headquarters from Chicago to [Arlington] Carla Balakgie, president and CEO, announced.” [Vending Times]

Nonprofit Gets Donation from Local Race — “Bridges to Independence has received a $10,000 grant from the Arlington Bunny Hop 5K and Clarendon United Methodist Church to support the housing of Bridges’ local homeless families.” [InsideNova]

ICYMI: Update to Pool Outbreak Article — In an email sent to members last night, the Overlee Community Association confirmed that three people have tested positive for COVID-19. They, along with other cases still not revealed to the membership, all became sick after a intrasquad swim meet on Saturday, a source tells ARLnow. Thus far, swim coaches and pool management have tested negative, according to the email. [ARLnow]

Flickr pool photo by Vincent

Overlee Pool Closes Amid Reports of COVID-19 Outbreak

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Updated at 10:20 p.m.) The Overlee Community Association pool closed after a reported COVID-19 case and possible outbreak this week.

The private swim club was shuttered last night, with a sign on the door saying: “Closed, see email from Board coming soon.” Multiple sources tell ARLnow the closure is due to COVID-19. Members are reportedly being told that the pool was closed as a precaution after one person who recently visited the pool tested positive.

Two people independently described the situation to ARLnow as people getting COVID-like symptoms following a swim meet over the weekend.

“Overlee pool has a big outbreak on their swim team with coaches, kids and parents with symptoms and positive tests,” said one tipster, whose children work at another private swim club in Arlington. “We’re worried COVID cases are being concealed, endangering pool staff and guests.”

“Seems like Overlee pool has had a significant COVID outbreak after holding an intrasquad swim meet on Saturday,” said another tipster. “Lots of cases in the community. Expecting a message this afternoon.”

Thus far, neither the association nor the county has provided additional information about the situation to ARLnow.

An email to the Overlee Community Association’s board president last night has not been returned. A spokeswoman for Arlington’s public health department declined comment.

Arlington’s seven-day rate of new coronavirus cases rose to 124 today, the highest point since June 13. Two of the county’s indoor public pools, in Washington-Liberty and Yorktown high schools, reopened on Saturday.

Coronavirus is believed to spread primarily through respiratory droplets in the air, not in the water.

A number of readers have criticized ARLnow following the publication of this article, which has since been updated with new information provided to us.

“I implore you to remove the Overlee swim club article. It is not accurate,” wrote one. “There is no outbreak. The county worked with the pool to notify individuals that may have been at risk after one member reported a positive test.”

“Most of the facts and anonymous tips were completely untrue and unbelievable as member of Overlee and a member of the swim team I am hear to tell you that all these anonymous tips are actually just straight false information from other rival swim teams,” wrote another person, in an anonymous tip. “The meet held on Saturday was very small and everyone was social distancing and was required to wear masks.”

Overlee members were subsequently sent an email Thursday night, referencing “a local website’s erroneous article,” but also revealing that three Overlee members have tested positive.

A person with knowledge of the outbreak, who spoke to ARLnow on the condition of anonymity, said that even that number is understated — multiple members of multiple families have tested positive, we’re told. The positive cases appear to be linked to an intrasquad swim meet on Saturday, the person said.

The Overlee email is below.

Overlee Membership –

Due to concerns regarding a local website’s erroneous article about Overlee, we are providing the information below as clarification and to be as transparent as possible to our Overlee Community members.

As stated in Tuesday’s email to members and due to HIPAA restrictions, Overlee is not allowed to divulge any information, including date and time of possible exposure, to entities other than health departments and healthcare officials. Overlee is working with the Arlington County Health Department and providing them with information as requested, which includes the day and times the individual(s) were at the pool. The ArlCo Health Department will contact any members they determine to be a “close contact” during the investigation. Please cooperate with their investigation, if contacted.

Upon notification on Tuesday by the first member testing positive for COVID-19, and out of an abundance of caution, we closed the pool immediately. Subsequently, we’ve been notified by 2 other members about their positive results (neither of whom were at the pool after it was disinfected).

The entire facility was disinfected and deep-cleaned several times and reopened Thursday. The ArlCo Health Department has been entirely supportive of the Overlee pool remaining open and of the protocols Overlee has taken and continues to take for the health and safety of staff and members, to include the masks/face coverings and physical distancing policies.

Management and swim team coaches have been tested and their results are all negative. The staff has been following Overlee’s strict safety procedures at all times.

If you and your family members were following the protocols while at Overlee – more than 6 feet of spacing from others, conversations less than 15 minutes, and mask/face covering on at all times – your exposure level is considered “very low” and you are not considered a close contact, according to the ArlCo Health Department.

We thank these members for being forthcoming with their results regarding the health and safety of our staff and members. We send them our best wishes and hope each of them has a quick and full recovery.

Editor’s note: ARLnow previously reported on COVID-19 outbreaks at local long-term care facilities, with the help of anonymous sources. We made the decision to do that reporting, despite repeated refusals to release information by county and state authorities, in the interest of providing a fuller picture of the spread of the virus in the community. Reports of large outbreaks at such facilities turned out to be accurate. As an organization, we will continue to provide information on COVID cases we believe to be well-founded, even in the absence of official confirmation, which has unfortunately proved nearly impossible to receive in most cases. 

Coronavirus Cases Keep Climbing in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s coronavirus curve continues to trend upward.

While the county is by no means in Florida territory, the rate of new cases is quickening. The Virginia Dept. of Health reported 14 new cases in Arlington overnight, bringing the trailing seven-day rate of new cases to 124, the highest point since June 13.

Arlington’s one-week case growth rate reached a low of 42 on June 29. Virginia entered Phase 3 of its reopening on July 1.

Arlington’s test positivity rate, meanwhile, is now 6% — the highest it has been since June 14, when the rate of new cases was dropping.

The regional picture is similarly one of an increase in the rate of new cases.

“D.C., Maryland, and Virginia all reported their highest COVID-19 case counts since early June on Wednesday,” DCist reported yesterday. “D.C. tallied 80 new cases, its highest caseload since June 9. Virginia recorded 1,084 new cases, its largest since June 7. Maryland’s 756 new cases marked its highest count since June 5.”

At a news conference on Wednesday, his first since June 25, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam cautioned that reopening guidelines could change if cases continues to rise. (See statewide case count, below.)

At the press conference, officials introduced new workplace safety rules and called for stricter enforcement of social distancing guidelines and mask requirements, particularly at restaurants and bars.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Va. Adopts New Workplace Safety Rules — “Today, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board acted to protect the Commonwealth’s workers by adopting emergency temporary standards, which set forth enforceable, common-sense requirements that employers must follow to protect their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic… Key requirements, such as those for physical distancing, workplace sanitization, and information sharing, will apply to all workers.” [Commonwealth of Virginia, Legal Aid Justice Center, Twitter]

Witness Helps Apprehend Robbery Suspect — “Two employees followed the suspect outside and attempted to take back the items, at which point a physical altercation ensued. The suspect assaulted the employees and threw the items at them. During this time, a witness heard commotion outside the business and went to investigate, but was struck by the suspect as he fled on foot. Arriving officers, with the assistance of the witness, located the suspect nearby and took him into custody without incident.” [Arlington County]

ACPD No Longer Working With Ring — “Amazon.com Inc.’s doorbell camera subsidiary Ring Inc. has partnered with more than 1,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, but it appears it won’t be making a similar arrangement with the HQ2-area police force. Despite quite a bit of interest last year, the Arlington County Police Department said it is no longer ‘actively seeking a partnership with Ring,’ which would have provided its officers access to a special police portal of the company’s Neighbors app.” [Washington Business Journal]

Amazon Delaying Return to Offices — “Amazon said it is allowing employees who can work from home to do so until Jan. 8., once again extending the timeline on a return to work for many of its employees.” [CNBC]

Hope Gets Primary Challenger — Political operative Matt Rogers has announced that he will be challenging Del. Patrick Hope (D-Va.) in next year’s Democratic primary. [Twitter, Blue Virginia]

Local Stage Star Offers Singing Telegrams — “Her title role in ‘Porgy and Bess’ was postponed at the Kennedy Center this summer. Instead, Alyson Cambridge of Arlington, Virginia, is participating in Sing for Hope grams… The idea is to give personalized singing grams from Broadway and opera stars.” [WTOP]

ACFD Battles Falls Church House Fire — Arlington County firefighters were joined by firefighters from Fairfax County in battling a house fire on Robinson Place in the City of Falls Church yesterday. [Tysons Reporter]

Memo: Many County Employees to Continue Working Remotely Through October

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County employees who are currently teleworking will likely continue doing so well into the fall, County Manager Mark Schwartz said in a memo last week.

The internal memo, obtained by ARLnow, announced that the county will continue its current approach to operating during the pandemic — which includes an emphasis on telework for non-front-line workers — through Oct. 1.

“I am fairly certain that our current approach to doing business will continue much longer into the future beyond October 1,” Schwartz added, noting that the “need to allow space for absentee voting for the upcoming Presidential election… will most likely make a return prior to November 3 infeasible.”

Telework among county employees is up 15-fold since the start of the pandemic.

“County employees logged nearly 118,000 telework hours in late May/early June compared with about 7,700 hours in late February,” Arlington County spokeswoman Erika Moore said in response to an inquiry from ARLnow.

The county has been working hard to provide services to residents as safely as possible, Moore said.

“County employees have continued to work at a high level throughout the pandemic, providing government services to the community using virtual and other innovative and creative strategies,” she wrote. “Many services are available online and virtually, including permitting, inspections, and our call center operations. Arlington Public Library has developed many virtual options, along with e-books and grab-and-go services.”

“There are some important services that cannot be done virtually, including street and water maintenance, trash and recycling services, and public safety operations,” Moore added. “Those continue with specific public health protocols in place to protect both employees and the community.”

The full memo from Schwartz is below.

From: EmployeeUpdate
Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 2:07 PM
To: All County Employees
Subject: Memo from the County Manager: Update on COVID-19 & County Operations

Thank you. Thank you for your commitment to serve our community throughout this pandemic. I am inspired every day by the creativity you have demonstrated over the past four months — allowing us to continue to serve our community in new and innovative ways. I wanted to update you on County operations and offer thoughts on what the next months may look like.

As of today, our public health officials note that there is still community wide spread of COVID in Arlington, in Northern Virginia and the wider region. While the number of patients in our hospitals infected with COVID continues to drop, we are far from “normal.”

I am announcing that we will continue our current approach to providing services through at least October 1. Knowing what has
happened over the past four months, I am fairly certain that our current approach to doing business will continue much longer into the future beyond October 1. We also will need to allow space for absentee voting for the upcoming Presidential election — and this will most likely make a return prior to November 3 infeasible. I will be back to you with more direction on how the rest of the calendar year is looking as we get closer to October.

(more…)

BREAKING: Superintendent to Propose Online-Only Start to School Year

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools would start the new school year a week later than originally planned, and with full time distance learning, under a new plan being proposed by new Superintendent Francisco Durán.

That’s according to a School Talk email just sent to APS families.

Durán says he will present his proposal to the School Board on Thursday. If approved, it would scrap the previous plan to start the fall with a hybrid model that would have most students in classrooms two days per week, while others could opt for online-only classes.

The hybrid model drew criticism from teachers and parents who said there would be no way to ensure the safety of students and school staff. On Monday the Arlington Education Association, which represents APS teachers, released a statement saying that “it is not prudent to re-open schools.”

“We believe, this fall, all learning should continue online from home,” the association said. “This is the only way to keep all educators and students safe and healthy.”

Earlier today, Arlington recorded its highest single-day total of new coronavirus cases since May.

Other parents, however, have called for a full-time return to in-person schooling, saying that online classes would disadvantage low-income students and single-parent households. A recent ARLnow poll found that about 30% of respondents supported five-day-per-week classroom instruction in the fall, while slightly more called for online-only instruction and a plurality preferred the hybrid model.

Under Durán’s new proposal, the school year would start on Sept. 8, rather than Aug. 31, to allow teachers more time to plan for online-only instruction. After the first quarter of the school year, some students may return to classrooms.

“We will continue to monitor the health data in September, with the goal of beginning to transition some students to in-person instruction in early October, which is the mid-point in the first quarter of the school year,” Durán wrote.

Over the weekend Montgomery County (Md.) Public Schools released a similar plan, with an online-only start to the school year.

A tipster tells ARLnow that the decision was reached yesterday.

“Rumor has it APS administration and principals met today and agreed to start the first quarter of the school year online only,” the tipster wrote on Monday.

More from the email:

APS Families,

As we continue to see an increase in positive cases for COVID-19 nationwide, over the past several days I have taken time to re-evaluate our plan and path forward. I have met with both County leaders and School Board members to review current health data for Arlington and the state. Yesterday, we reviewed the APS health and safety plan with our Return-to-School Task Force to address concerns we have received from teachers, staff, parents, and the community.

Based on these discussions and our monitoring of local and national trends in COVID-19 cases, I am proposing to the School Board on Thursday night to postpone the start of the academic year to Tuesday, September 8, and begin our school year virtually in the full-time distance learning model for all students. Throughout our planning, the health and safety of our staff and students has been our top priority, and beginning the year with a virtual model allows us to continue to monitor the situation until we are confident it is safe to return.

(more…)

Arlington Sees Highest One-Day Coronavirus Case Total Since May

By ARLnow.com

Thirty-four new cases of COVID-19 in Arlington were reported overnight, a one-day case total that’s the highest since late May.

The new cases bring Arlington’s trailing seven-day case total to 110, the first time that figure has been in the triple digits since mid-June. No new hospitalizations nor deaths were reported overnight, however.

Arlington has now recorded a cumulative total of 2,660 coronavirus cases, or about 1.1 cases for every 100 residents. That compares to 1.6 and 1.3 cases for every 100 residents in neighboring Alexandria and Fairfax County, respectively, according to an analysis of Virginia Dept. of Health Data.

Meanwhile, a clear picture is emerging of who has been getting sick in Arlington in recent weeks: younger people.

In late May, the number of cases among those ages 20-29 and 50-59 was nearly the same in Arlington. Since then, 2.5 times as many people 20-29 have tested positive as those 50-59.

That follows a nationwide trend of new coronavirus cases in cities skewing younger. While younger people are generally less susceptible to the most severe COVID-19 complications, they can easily spread the disease to those who are older and more at risk.

In Arlington, the prevalence of the disease remains especially high among the Latino population: 51.6% of cases in which patient ethnicity is known are among Latinos, who comprise 15.6% of the county’s population.

The pandemic recently struck close to home for ARLnow. A positive case was reported in our coworking space in Ballston, though ARLnow’s employees have all been working remotely since March and will continue to do so through 2021.

Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington’s Public Health Director, said in an interview Monday afternoon that while new cases appear to have ebbed regionally, the disease is still spreading locally. Residents, he said, should continue to wear masks when in public and remain “safer at home” whenever possible.

“The virus is here,” Varghese said. “We’re going to have to do things in a safer manner.”

Teachers Call for Online-Only Return to School

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) An increasingly vocal group of parents and teachers are calling on Arlington Public Schools to scrap plans to have most students return to classrooms twice per week.

The current APS “hybrid” plan calls for two cohorts of students each going into school two days per week, while wearing masks and practicing physical distancing. It also allows parents and students to opt for online-only learning.

Nearly 2,000 people have signed an online petition that instead pushes for a “#OneAPS” model that starts all students with online-only classes in the fall and eventually allows a return to school for teachers and students who opt to do so.

“This will keep APS as one, united school system; protect the health and safety of students, teachers and staff; will not force teachers into options that might precipitate mass resignation; and support our most vulnerable learners,” says the petition, an excerpt of which is below.

Under the #OneAPS model:

  • APS will create a robust online learning platform and provide training for how to teach virtually. (See this article and Driver #3.)
  • All students begin school online and receive synchronous (live) online instruction four days a week (Tuesday through Friday) after Labor Day. The delayed start allows for intensive teacher training.
  • Mondays remain planning days for teachers, intervention days for small groups and asynchronous (independent) learning days for the majority of students.
  • When public health officials deem conditions safe to reopen, survey teachers to see who is comfortable returning to school for in-person support. NO teacher will be forced into this option.
  • Depending on the number of teachers available for in-person support, calculate the number of seats available. Allot those seats to our most vulnerable students

Other groups of teachers and parents have been organizing in opposition to a return to classrooms in the fall, similarly citing health and safety concerns.

One group — which is”advocating for a full distance learning model until Arlington County sees 14 days with no COVID-19 cases” — is planning a protest of Thursday night’s School Board meeting.

A Twitter account called “APS 14 Days No New Cases,” meanwhile, has been posting what it says are pleas from school staff not to reopen Arlington schools in the fall.

On the opposite side of the spectrum from the #OneAPS petition, a new group called “Arlington Parents for Education” has been formed to oppose the hybrid plan and push for five-day-per-week, in-person classes. The group argues that not returning to in-person schooling on a full-time basis disproportionately hurts low-income and single-parent households, and carries “economic and educational performance” risks.

A recent unscientific poll conducted by ARLnow found that a plurality of respondents — just below 40% — support the APS hybrid plan, with the rest nearly split between those favoring five-day-per-week classes and online-only classes.

(The “APS 14 Days” account, mention above, criticized ARLnow for conducting the poll. “Shame on you for farming the reopening crisis for clicks,” the anonymous account tweeted.)

A recent Arlington Public Schools survey found that only 7% of school staff were comfortable, with no reservations, about returning to school on a normal schedule, while 39% were “not comfortable at all” and 54% were either “comfortable with concerns” or “somewhat comfortable.”

The top concern of APS staff, according to the survey, is “public health regulations not being followed.”

Among other major D.C. area school systems, Montgomery County public schools are expected to start the school year fully online, while Fairfax County public schools are planning a hybrid model but facing teacher pushback.

Monday afternoon, after the initial publication of this article, the Arlington Education Association, which represents Arlington teachers, issued a statement calling for remote learning to start the school year.

The Arlington Education Association Executive Board believes re-opening Arlington Public Schools this fall puts students, educators, and staff, at an exponential risk of COVID-19 that can lead to illnesses and death. We believe, this fall, all learning should continue online from home. This is the only way to keep all educators and students safe and healthy.

According to the recommended guidelines from the CDC and plans chosen by Arlington Public Schools the plans will not protect the health and safety of all students and staff. While the plans sound good, they and have not been proven safe and there are too many unknowns.

AEA further urges APS to look at professional development for all educators, to provide a consistent platform for virtual teaching and learning. Professional development is needed immediately, and instructional assistants must be included as it will be their responsibility to reinforce lessons and skills taught by teachers.

APS families have until next Monday, July 20 to select either the hybrid option or the distance learning-only option for the return to school on Aug. 31.

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