As many school districts nationwide continue teaching remotely, military bases have mostly stuck with in-person classes.
The Department of Defense began putting plans in place to continue in-person learning last spring as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions hit the U.S. And there have been some concerns about that decision.
But Will Griffin, of the department’s Education Activity, said that because service members depend on the department’s education system, schools that meet health standards must remain open.
The Education Activity has been working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and military public health officials to follow proper protocols, Griffin said. These include weighing the level of concern at each school facility to determine both mitigation strategies and when closing might be necessary.
At Marine Corps Base Quantico, for example, the decision was recently made to implement remote learning for two weeks because of potential COVID-19 cases. They will re-evaluate whether another two-week period is necessary, he said.
Teachers who fall into Virginia’s Phase 1b vaccination group are currently in the process of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 as doses become available on each base, Griffin added.
“We certainly want to ensure our employees and teachers are in a safe environment and can continue teaching because we’re all in this together,” Griffin said.
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