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Dear Providence District Families,
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is now officially closed through April 10. Please read the Superintendent's most recent message for additional details. Be sure to also review Governor Ralph Northam’s order closing all K-12 schools in the Commonwealth for a minimum of two weeks.
Proactive measures including social distancing such as limiting large gatherings, teleworking, and reducing travel can slow the spread of disease and reduce the burden on medical providers by "flattening the curve." Together we can lower and delay the peak of this public health crisis.
As members of the School Board, we have partners and spouses and children and friends and colleagues in our schools. Protecting their health and safety is our top priority. Do not think for even a second that your voice was not heard during this process, or that you did not have allies on the School Board pushing for this as well.
I will continue to share information related to the coronavirus and our schools as it becomes available. This remains a very fluid and fast-evolving situation. There are still many issues in the midst of being addressed that require monitoring, especially student access to food, computers, internet, adult supervision, and solidifying distance learning capabilities.
To that end, FCPS is committed to providing additional information on food resources for families that rely on free and reduced priced school meals. The school division will provide emergency meals at no cost for students. Meals were served at five sites today, March 13, with plans to expand to additional schools next week. Breakfast will be available from 8-10:30am and lunch will be available from 10:30am-2:00pm Monday through Friday. FCPS is also coordinating with community partners to ensure the locations and timing of food centers and pantries are communicated to FCPS families.
There are still many untrue rumors circulating in the community about our schools and the coronavirus. We owe it to each other to stay informed and calm. FCPS will continue to provide frequent updates as new information becomes available. Please visit the special FCPS Coronavirus Update Website, which includes frequently asked questions, fact sheets, videos, and other useful resources.
When you have an opportunity, I hope you will thank our amazing staff who have served us well on the frontlines in the fight to protect our school communities: teachers, instructional assistants, and administrators who have encouraged good hygiene, custodians who have kept our schools clean, cafeteria workers who have reinforced food safety, bus drivers who have disinfected their vehicles, and so many others.
I encourage you to forward this email to friends, family, and other members of the community who may find it informative.
 Karl Frisch
Providence District Representative
Fairfax County School Board
P.S. Text FFXCOVID to 888-777 to receive alerts on your cell phone from Fairfax County about coronavirus and be sure to follow FCPS on Twitter.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© 2020 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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