School Board Approves Plan to Make Up 14.7 Hours of Missed Instruction

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The Prince William County School Board unanimously approved a plan to make up 14.7 hours of missed instruction time due to weather-related closings and delays. According to the plan, which Associate Superintendent of Student Learning and Accountability Tim Healey presented at the Feb. 19 Board meeting, Mar. 31, originally a teacher workday, will become a full day of instruction for students at all levels. Furthermore, the School Division will make June 17, the current last day of school, a full day of instruction; add a half day of school for elementary students on June 18, currently a teacher professional development/workday; and beginning Feb. 24, shorten elementary recess to 10 minutes per day from the current 15 minutes.
Other than adding Mar. 31, no significant changes to the calendar will be necessary at the secondary level. Middle and high schools stay above the 990 hour requirement since they have no recess and have one additional day of instruction.
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Dumfries Magisterial District Representative Betty D. Covington suggested that some teachers recommended adding minutes to the day prior to the SOL administration for more instruction and to prepare for tests.
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"This will be as popular as each and every weather call," Superintendent of Schools Steven L. Walts said referring to the backlash the school division received the last time additional minutes were added to the day to make up missed instructional time due to weather-related closings.
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President's Day
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While Fairfax County students attended school on Feb. 17, President's Day, which originally was a school holiday, Walts said that families and teachers, anticipating the three-day weekend, may have made long-range plans that would be a hardship to change.
"Whenever you have a long-established holiday, and people know that it's is a three-day weekend, there are a lot of families and staff members who make plans way in advance for those kinds of holidays," Walts said.
Waivers for Feb. 13 and 14
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Healey clarified the Code of Virginia permits school divisions to apply for waivers from making up missed instructional time due to school closures as a result of declared states of emergency, such as the snow storm last week that brought up to 15 inches of snow in some areas of the county. Healey warned that while historically the state reviews these requests, they often do not grant them.
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To successfully apply for a waiver, school divisions must demonstrate that they made "every reasonable effort" to make up lost instructional time.
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The Virginia Department of Education will release more details about the waiver process Feb. 21.
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Additional Weather-Related Closings
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Healey said that if further weather-related closings are needed, Walts would consider additional options, including:
  • Changing Monday, April 21, from a Spring Break day to another full day of instruction
  • Adding minutes to the instructional day
  • Adding instructional days at the end of the year
The school division said they would accommodate students and staff who need to be absent April 21. The Commonwealth of Virginia requires a minimum of 180 school days each year or a minimum of 990 instructional hours. The School Division began the year 50 hours above the state minimum.
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"The PWCS instructional day includes time beyond the state minimum [5 hours and 45 minutes at elementary school, excluding lunch and recess, and 6 hours at middle and high school, excluding lunch], which gave PWCS hours above the state minimum requirement," Healey said.
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