D.C. Schools Delay Reopening Because of Snow

U.S.|In Washington, snowfall adds to delays for instrumentality to school.

• Jan. 3, 2022Updated 2:31 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — D.C. officials connected Monday pushed backmost the reopening of nationalist schools by 1 time due to the fact that of inclement weather. Covid-19 tests volition present beryllium disposable for pick-up connected Tuesday and Wednesday, and schools volition alternatively reopen successful idiosyncratic connected Thursday.

City and schoolhouse officials announced astatine the extremity of December that all students and unit would beryllium required to supply impervious of a antagonistic Covid-19 trial result earlier returning to school. While schools volition commencement successful person, it’s imaginable that classrooms volition person to power to virtual learning successful the coming weeks.

“The wellness and information of our assemblage stay paramount arsenic we hole to invited students and unit backmost to our schools,” said Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee successful a statement. Covid cases successful the District person accrued 485 percent successful the past 2 weeks, according to The New York Times’ tracker, with an mean complaint of 2,103 cases per day. Hospitalizations person accrued 60 percent during the aforesaid clip period.

Talisa Sutton-Stephenson, 36, has 4 children successful nationalist and charter schools successful the city, who volition beryllium returning to in-person learning connected Wednesday and Thursday. Ms. Sutton-Stephenson, who is an pedagogue for the District of Columbia Public Schools, said she was thrilled that her children, who are each afloat vaccinated, would beryllium returning to schoolhouse successful person. She was particularly blessed for her 6-year-old daughter.

“She’s truly a antithetic kid successful idiosyncratic than she is virtually,” said Ms. Sutton-Stephenson, who is besides afloat vaccinated. “She retains much information. She truly does worth relationships with her teachers and different students.”

“I cannot spot doing virtual again,” said Ms. Sutton-Stephenson. “I truly privation that the speech oregon the communicative would power from staying location to, ‘What bash you request to bash to enactment successful idiosyncratic safely?’”

Teachers hold that in-person learning is the champion prime close now, said Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, the president of the Washington Teachers Union.

“Our teachers are precise anxious due to the fact that we cognize that the numbers are precise high, but we cognize that the champion spot for students to beryllium is successful person,” said Ms. Pogue Lyons, adding that it was “going to beryllium a agelong astir apt period and a half.”

She said she was pleased that the District was 1 of the fewer places successful the state that would necessitate a antagonistic trial from each teachers, students, and unit earlier returning to school. The schoolhouse strategy besides plans to connection each teachers K95 masks, and the national is pushing for students to person those masks too.