Second- and third-graders in Prince William County, Virginia, public schools are returning to in-person learning Tuesday and Wednesday.
The students will be joining students pre-K through first grade, who resumed in-person learning in November and December.
While that may be welcome news to some students and parents, some teachers are concerned about the spread of COVID-19.
“We are not comfortable with the safety of the situation,” said Chuck Ronco, a calculus and geometry teacher at Unity Reed High School in Manassas and vice president of the Prince William Education Association.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, Prince William County’s seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 people is 57 as of Monday.
“Prince William County is the highest for both positivity and number of new cases in the Northern Virginia area, so it’s definitely of great concern. We have to be paying attention to those numbers. We can’t ignore the science,” Ronco said.
The association said that School Superintendent Steven Walts’ plan is a step in the right direction. Walts hopes to delay the return of students in grades 4 and higher until late April.
The Prince William County School Board will discuss Walts’ plan at a Tuesday night meeting.
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