Prince William County Public Schools announces aggressive in-person learning plan

In Northern Virginia, Prince William County Public Schools is gearing up for a massive return to the classroom.

It’s "Return to Learn" portal opened up for parents on Monday.

As we saw with Fairfax County Public Schools, there have been no specifics on the metrics guiding the district's reopening decision, though they did say if one student in a classroom tested positive for coronavirus, that classroom would go to 100 percent virtual learning for at least 14 days.

RELATED: Fairfax County Public Schools to allow small groups for in-person learning starting next month

FOX 5’s Tisha Lewis reports Prince William County Schools will use the same metrics being used by the Virginia Department of Health, the Prince William County Health District, and CDC guidelines.

The school district’s expansion of in-person instruction is probably the most robust plan we’ve seen so far across our area.

Prince William County Schools tells FOX 5, the first day of 50 percent in-person classes is currently planned to start for all grade levels on November 10. 

The announcement came from superintendent Dr. Steve Walts’ in a second quarter update emailed out to students, staff, and the community.  

Walts says to prepare for the start of the second quarter in November, Prince William County Schools is reopening the "Return to Learn" form for parents today. We’re told the form will remain open through this Sunday.

FOX 5 spoke with Prince William County School Board Chairman at Large who is also a physician.

“We’re working really hard and following all the mitigation rules. Healthcare workers have been doing this since day one,” said Dr. Babur Lateef, Chairman at Large of Prince William County School Board.

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The school district says if choosing the virtual-only option, parents and guardians are asked to commit to virtual-only for at least the entire second quarter due to in-person capacity caps and social distancing planning.

If parents never made a selection over the summer for the first quarter and they don’t reply now, the default for their children will be in-person instruction.

So far, about 30 percent of families are choosing to continue 100 percent virtual learning.