Loudoun County Public Schools

03/12/2020

www.lcps.org

Dear LCPS Families and Staff:

Since our announcement this morning ( https://bit.ly/33d1jlq ) that schools are closed through Friday, March 20, we have received questions about many topics that we are continuing to review.

The following updates include information on several items, including the continuation of meal services at our schools, the status of the SAT tests scheduled to occur on Saturday, March 14, educational assignments, the teacher workday, and pick up of personal items.

We will continue to provide more information as it becomes available and encourage you to refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page ( https://www.lcps.org/COVID19 ) for the latest information.

Continuing Meal Service
Loudoun County School Nutrition Services (SNS) is supporting families by continuing to provide meal service in our school communities while schools are closed. SNS staff will serve free breakfast and lunch daily at all schools during the period of school closure.

Meal service will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meals will be available at each school and students will be allowed to receive two meals daily (a breakfast and a lunch) and can choose to take both meals simultaneously. Meals will be distributed outside school buildings in a designated area that will vary from school to school.

Friday’s menu:

Breakfast
General Mills Cereal w/Cheese Stick
Fruit Variety
Fruit Juice
Choice of Milk

Lunch
Breaded Baked Chicken Sandwich OR Yogurt, String Cheese & Bagel OR Sunbutter & Jelly OR Salad
Fruit & Vegetable Variety
Bag of Chips
Choice of Milk

SATs Scheduled for March 14 & 15
Loudoun County Public Schools is postponing the SAT examinations scheduled for Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15. SAT sites included: Briar Woods, John Champe, Dominion, Freedom, Heritage, Independence, Riverside and Woodgrove high schools. Dates and locations for makeup offerings of the SAT are currently being scheduled by LCPS and the College Board, which administers the test. The College Board will notify students who signed up for the March 14 or 15 test sessions about new locations, dates and times as soon as information is available.

Educational Assignments
LCPS is developing plans for potential distance learning experiences (digital and non-digital) for the purposes of continuity of education. School administration has advised teachers to refrain from making mandatory assignments with deadlines to students. If it becomes necessary to extend the school closures beyond March 20 and begin distance learning, we will provide more details to students, families, and staff regarding expectations.

Teacher Work Day
The teacher workday scheduled for Friday, March 20, will now take place on Wednesday, March 18. All instructional personnel to include teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and student assistance specialists will be provided with more detailed information and resources then, and we will provide additional information regarding distance learning if the closure period is extended beyond March 20.

Pick Up of Personal Items
As a reminder, although Loudoun County Public Schools buildings are closed, buildings will be available for short visits tomorrow, March 13, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., to accommodate requests from families, students, and staff members to retrieve medicines, laptops, and other personal belongings. Since buildings are not officially open, visitors must check-in at main offices upon arrival and plan to spend as little time as possible on campus while retrieving essential belongings.

LCPS acknowledges that families are inconvenienced by our decision to close schools and appreciates the understanding many people have expressed. We are working to provide as much information as we can, as quickly as we can, and will continue to update you as more details are available.

Thank you again for your support and understanding.

Eric Williams, Ed.D.
Superintendent

03/12/2020

School Buildings Available to Retrieve Critical Items

Notice to Families and Staff:
Although Loudoun County Public Schools buildings are closed, to accommodate requests from families and students to retrieve medicines, laptops, and other personal belongings, buildings will be available for short visits today, March 12, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and tomorrow, March 13, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Since buildings are not officially open, visitors must check in at main offices upon arrival and plan to spend as little time as possible on campus while retrieving essential belongings.

As we announced earlier today, LCPS classes and all other activities in LCPS facilities have been canceled through March 20. While Loudoun County has not experienced the extent of presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 as some other areas within our nation or globally and has not had cases that meet the definition of community transmission, we made this decision out of an abundance of caution. We will announce next steps by the end of next week.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Loudoun County Public Schools

03/12/2020

LCPS-TV/ Webcast / Live Webcast

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Superintendent Eric Williams will hold a press briefing today at 11 a.m. regarding the closure of schools from today through Friday, March 20.

The briefing will be streamed live on the LCPS website at https://www.lcps.org/Page/140009.

The briefing will also stream on LCPS-TV, which is available on:
• Channel 18 on Comcast Cable system
• Channel 43 on Verizon FIOS system

Given the rapidly evolving situation with the COVID-19 virus, Loudoun County Public Schools announced earlier today that schools are closed from Thursday, March 12th through Friday, March 20th. All activities are also cancelled at this time.
More information about LCPS response to the COVID-19 virus are available on the COVID-19 Preparedness at LCPS

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03/12/2020

Dear LCPS Families and Staff:

I sincerely apologize for sending you a message regarding school closure with minimal time to make adjustments; however, given the rapidly evolving situation with the COVID-19 virus, Loudoun County Public Schools are closed today, Thursday, March 12th through Friday, March 20th. All activities are also cancelled at this time. Administrative Offices will open at twelve today with regular office hours on other days during the school closure.

As you may know, the World Health Organization declared the novel Coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic yesterday, travel between the United States and Europe was recently suspended, and some events and large gatherings have been postponed or cancelled in our region, state, and nation. Loudoun County has experienced at least one presumptive positive case of COVID-19. While Loudoun County has not experienced the extent of presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 as some other areas within our nation or globally and has not had cases that meet the definition of community transmission, we are making this decision out of an abundance of caution. We plan to announce next steps by the end of next week.

The safety and well-being of Loudoun County Public Schools’ students, staff, and families is our highest priority; therefore, we need time as a school system to reassess this rapidly evolving situation by taking time to:

•continue our daily consultation with the Loudoun County Health Department to consider the latest information regarding presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Loudoun County as well as recommendations based on that information to determine whether to reopen schools on March 23;

•review recommendations from other experts, such as the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC;

•consider the community mitigation strategies for school systems recently set forth by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as well as any related follow-up recommendations; and

•develop specific mitigation strategies to implement when schools reopen, as early as March 23.

While we are unaware of any presumptive positive cases of individuals connected to schools, schools will be thoroughly cleaned before they reopen.

Please continue to exercise proper hand washing with soap and other universal preventive actions such as covering your cough, sneezing into your elbow or tissue (throw away tissue), avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth, and clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces at home.

We will provide you with multiple updates during the closure. Among numerous issues, we are considering different ways of supporting students who rely on our school meals program due to food insecurity. We are also developing guidance to principals and teachers regarding potential distance learning options and expectations in the event that the closure is extended.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we balance proactive measures of caution and timely communication.

Eric Williams, Ed.D.
Superintendent

03/11/2020

Public Information Office / COVID-19 FAQs

Dear LCPS Families and Staff:

Given the rapidly evolving situation with the COVID-19 virus, I wanted to update you with new information about our continuing preparations.

Teacher Workday in Preparation for Possible School Closures

Friday, March 20, will be a work day for teachers to prepare for the possibility of distance learning and to provide educational experiences in the event of extended school closures. To support this, the School Board authorized the transfer of $5 million to potentially accelerate the completion of our 1:1 rollout of Chromebooks in grades 3 through 12. On March 20, all teachers will participate in training and structured planning time regarding distance learning options.
There will be no school for students on March 20. After school activities will proceed as scheduled.

Domestic Travel

Out of an abundance of caution for our students, staff and families, we decided today to cancel all in-state and out-of-state overnight field trips, effective immediately. Any overnight trips scheduled from March 11 through April 30, 2020, are canceled. Any trips scheduled to New York state, including day trips, are also canceled. All other day trips will proceed as scheduled. Participation in instructional field trips, athletic trips and other student activity trips is optional, and schools will provide an appropriate alternative for students who do not participate in an instructional field trip. LCPS will continue to collaborate with local and state officials and will modify plans as appropriate in the future. We recognize that the decision to cancel overnight field trips is disappointing, however, we believe it is appropriate based on the rapid evolution of the virus situation.

School Board Presentations

Tuesday evening, an update on our emergency preparedness in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was provided at a meeting of the School Board of Loudoun County. Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services Dr. Asia Jones was joined by Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend in delivering the presentation to the School Board. Their presentations and a video replay of the board meeting are available through the COVID-19 Preparedness at LCPS webpage at https://www.lcps.org/COVID19 .

School Attendance

Some parents have asked whether they should send their child to school if the child has an underlying health condition. In his presentation to the School Board, Dr. Goodfriend emphasized that, if there was no underlying medical basis to keep the child home during influenza season, it is unlikely that the condition would prevent the child from safely attending school. There also is no recommendation that well family members of people being evaluated for COVID-19 need to remain at home. LCPS will continue to monitor student and staff absentee patterns and maintain ongoing communication with the Loudoun Health Department.

International Travel

As mentioned in my previous update, all LCPS-sponsored international travel has been suspended through June 30. The Loudoun International Youth Leadership Summit has been canceled, and students will be offered a virtual summit experience instead.

Universal Precautions

Tuesday night’s presentation revisited the universal precautions students and staff should take to avoid getting sick, including staying home when sick, disinfecting frequently touched objects and washing your hands.

Cleaning Protocols

The presentation also reviewed the LCPS facilities cleaning plan, which emphasizes using LCPS-provided cleaning solutions that have been verified by the CDC and Virginia Department of Health. Additional cleaning supplies have been provided to schools. If a school or classroom experiences higher-than-normal absenteeism due to illness, the Facilities Department will conduct additional cleaning.

Ongoing Communication

More details about these topics and the most up-to-date information on the LCPS response is available at COVID-19 Preparedness at LCPS at https://www.lcps.org/COVID19 . LCPS will continue to share updates on COVID-19 through Blackboard Mass Notification and social media posts.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Sincerely,

Eric Williams, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Loudoun County Public Schools

COVID-19 (Corona Virus) Preparedness at Loudoun County Public Schools.

03/11/2020

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of students, families, judges and staff, has decided that the Loudoun County Regional Science and Engineering Fair (RSEF) scheduled for March 19 at Rock Ridge High School, will be held virtually.

The LCPS Department of Instruction is contacting science fair participants, judges, donors and sponsors with details about the virtual fair.

Some key dates for the virtual RSEF fair are:

•Students will be asked to submit their work electronically by 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18.

•Virtual judging for the 18 RSEF Category Awards and Special Awards will take place between 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 19, and 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 22.

•First-place category winners will be named on Tuesday, March 24.

•Judging for ISEF Finalists will take place on Friday, March 27.

Additional information for participants, judges, donors and sponsors will be sent by email today, March 11. The public will be notified about how to view the RSEF projects online when the judging process is completed.

Questions about RSEF may be emailed to [email protected].

03/11/2020

The Stone Bridge High School Mastersingers, under the direction of Daniel Jackson, have been invited to the Music for All National Choir Festival in Indianapolis.

Jackson submitted video of the 2018-2019 Mastersingers for the audio audition that secured the groups’ invitation to this amazing learning and performance event. The Festival will take place in Indianapolis from March 12 to 14.

The Music for All National Choir Festival is a non-competitive experience for outstanding high school and youth choirs. The festival is a celebration of musical excellence, combining world-class performance and evaluation opportunities with an exhilarating atmosphere of camaraderie in music. Twelve choirs of excellence were selected by audio audition to participate in the festival.

“It is such an honor to represent our school, community and county at this wonderful event,” said Jackson. “The 11 other high school ensembles selected to participate in this event represent some of the nation’s best examples of choral music in the schools. We are truly venturing in uncharted territory for our program, but our goal will remain the same: To inspire others by making passionate music that is emotionally transparent and to be an example of ‘Unity from Diversity’ instead of ‘Unity Despite Diversity’ ”.

03/10/2020

Loudoun Valley High School has been named one of 20 National Finalists in the 10th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest.

This contest encourages teachers and students to solve real-world challenges in their community using classroom skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). As a National Finalist, Loudoun Valley High School will receive $50,000 in technology.

The Loudoun Valley team noticed an increase in stop-sign violations in Purcellville and was concerned by the threat these violations pose to students as both pedestrians and drivers. The team designed and built an electronic add-on system for any stop sign called iStop that improves safety for students. The interactive system gives drivers feedback on their speed, rewards them with a surprise icon if they come to a complete stop and logs the number of good and bad stops.

Members of the Loudoun Valley Team include Danny Weist, Thomas Weist, Ryan Ebrahimi, Jeffrey Polivka, Alison Pike and Christina Thornton. They are coached by math teacher José Rodriguez.

To view full article visit, https://tinyurl.com/sottedl