For the 2022-2023 school year, all students shall attend school, in person, five days a week. If in collaboration with the local health district and the Virginia Department of Health, it should become necessary to temporarily shut down classrooms and/or schools due to COVID-19, the information outlined below describes how Frederick County Public Schools will continue to support student learning.

Instructional Plan for Student Quarantines and Class, Grade Level, and/or School Closures for COVID-19

FCPS Attendance Policy (410P/R) allows for students to make up work when absent from school.  Based upon policy, should a child be absent for more than 10 days under a doctor’s order, parents should request homebound instruction for the student through their child’s school administrator. Additionally, students who must be absent for COVID-19-related illness may qualify for additional support, such as before or after school tutoring, online tutoring, or Virtual Virginia summer program support, based upon situation, needs, and availability.  Parents can contact their school administrators regarding possible options. 

Whole-class, Grade-level, or School Closure

Frederick County Public Schools will work with the Lord Fairfax Health District and the Virginia Department of Health in the event it becomes necessary to shift a classroom, grade level, or whole school to remote learning due to incidences of COVID-19. In the event of a closure, a blend of synchronous (live through Google Meet) and asynchronous (assigned by the teacher, completed independently by the student) online instruction will occur. None of the impacted students will physically attend school on the school day immediately following the closure announcement, but will work on assignments made available to them. The school day after the closure is announced will be a planning day for staff to allow time to transition, plan and organize for the shift to online instruction.

Recognizing the importance of maintaining a consistent schedule for students and families, students will keep their daily/weekly schedule. Students will be required to complete daily learning experiences according to the schedule set by their instructor(s), and attendance will be taken. Students are required to participate or be marked absent. The typical school day for students will be as follows:

• Pre-K will engage in 5.5 hours of daily instruction, including 2 hours of synchronous/asynchronous learning, 1 hour of health and wellness, and 2.5 hours of additional learning opportunities (social-emotional activities, reading with family members, fine motor and art activities, play-based opportunities, etc.).
• Grades K-2 will engage in a maximum of 80 minutes of synchronous learning for all grade-level instruction (English/reading, math, science, social studies) and resource classes, with an additional 45-60 minutes of asynchronous learning time for the remainder of the day.
• Grades 3-5 will engage in a maximum of 110 minutes of synchronous learning for all grade-level instruction (English/reading, math, science, social studies) and resource classes, with an additional 60-90 minutes of asynchronous learning time for the remainder of the day.
• Students in grades 6-12 will engage in a maximum of 30 minutes of synchronous learning time per teacher or class daily, with an additional 30 minutes of asynchronous learning time per subject for the remainder of the day.

In addition to the daily class schedule, schools will also communicate:

• Procedures for picking up any needed materials from the school, including Chromebooks if necessary.
• Directions on how to find resources/videos that provide support to enable parents to help their students access Google Classroom and/or SeeSaw.
• How to contact teachers.
• How and where to access wireless internet at various school sites.

During synchronous learning, teachers deliver instruction in a “live” (virtual) setting, and all students practice and apply content together. During asynchronous learning experiences, teachers assign content that students complete on their own within the time constraints set by their teacher. These lessons may involve reading, viewing, or listening to content, and responding individually. To address weak or non-existent Internet service, students are able to access digital content offline on their Chromebook so they can continue their learning while at home. Additionally, a limited number of wireless hotspots are available. Requests for a wireless hotspot should be made through the school principal. Digital citizenship and how to engage in online learning are explicitly taught to students so they have a clear understanding of expectations, procedures, and norms when they are participating in learning away from the school building. For consistency and ease of use, a single, online portal will enable students to access materials and resources in the same place (Google Classroom) regardless of their school, grade level, or course.

Addressing and Closing Learning Gaps

Using data is essential to knowing what learning gaps exist and making a plan to address them. However, the collection of that data from students must be reasonable. The emphasis shall be on teaching, not assessing, students. Ongoing, formative assessment, combined with minimal formal assessments if needed, shall provide the data needed to identify learning needs. State-required assessments, including the required growth assessments for reading and math in grades 3-8, will be administered under in-school supervision only.

Frederick County Public Schools follows a Virginia Tiered Systems of Support (VTSS) approach to ensure student needs are met. This approach will remain in place. Student learning needs are best met through research-based, high-quality (“Tier 1”) instructional practices. Students requiring additional Tier 2 or Tier 3 support will follow a plan as outlined by school-level teams. 

Intervention and remediation are provided in a variety of ways and are student-specific based on individual needs. Remediation may be offered during the school day, embedded into current learning experiences, or provided outside the normal learning day. Additionally, a Summer Academy enables identified students to continue remediation and/or practicing of skills to reduce continued learning loss during the summer months. School teams determine the best approach to remediation based on student needs and resources available within their school community.

Social-Emotional Supports

In addition to having impacts on the physical health and well-being of students, teachers, and families, the COVID-19 pandemic may also have had an impact on the emotional well-being, behavior, and/or mental health of some students and adults.

Frederick County Public Schools remains committed to making social-emotional well-being, behavioral support, and mental health a top priority. Virginia Tiered Systems of Support, an intentional and systematic approach to establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships between and among students, staff, and families, is used. To further support students’ social-emotional well-being, additional supports such as social workers, and school psychologists have been added using ESSER funds. These positions will be dedicated to supporting the mental health and social-emotional needs of our students. 

Family and Community Engagement

To maximize student learning and safety, families and the larger community must be involved and engaged. In the event that a classroom, school, or the division is required to return to virtual learning, Google Classroom and/or SeeSaw will continue to be the common learning platform for students. Additional learning tools may be used, but access to those tools shall be through a single entry point.

For parents, the common access point for information on student learning will be Parent/Student 360 through the Tyler Student Information System. This single portal of information assists parents in helping their students and allows for more effective communication between home and school.