Fairfax County Public Schools paused face-to-face virtual distance learning after a week of technical snafus prevented many students from logging on without problems.
The decision comes after a week of snafus during the rollout of distance learning in Virginia's largest school district.
Teachers will not be giving digital face-to-face instruction until further notice as schools move away from using the Blackboard Learn 24-7 software for face-to-face digital instruction, Superintendent Scott Brabrand said in a letter to parents.
Kimberly Adams, president of the Fairfax Education Association, the union that represents teachers and staff, said this is a start.
"How he felt that maybe there were shortcomings at the leadership level, that he was willing to work really hard to try to overcome," she said.
From kindergarten to high school, many of Fairfax County's 189,000 students faced technical problems when trying to log into virtual classrooms since distance learning was set to begin last Tuesday, the school district says.
To solve this, FCPS sent individual links for students to login with, but the administration says those links weren't secure and caused several issues for students and teachers.
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One administrator is blaming IT staff, but IT staff says they followed the directions they were given.
"It very much felt like they were trying to cover up, and I think over the course of the rest of that meeting, we started to hear, no, in fact, that's the way it was set up to happen and it was the wrong way," Adams said.
Fairfax County Public Schools canceled classes at the end of last week and tried to implement technical updates over the week but told parents via email on Monday that the system still was overloaded.
"It's making me a home school mom,” said Holli Aspland, mother of two FCPS students. “There is a reason I send my kids to school. I never wanted to be a home school mom."
A week after online learning was supposed to launch, she said she still isn’t getting the guidance she needs.
"I don't feel like our school is going above and beyond,” she said. “I don't even think they're doing the minimal. We just don't have anything for the kids to do."
"This is frustrating and disappointing for everyone," Brabrand said.
Students and parents echoed the sentiment in interviews with News4.
"With the Blackboard problems that have been occurring, it’s kinda messing everything up," student Maddie Koenig said.
Her brother Dylan said it took him two tries to log in. Both say they’ve had fewer classes and shorter class periods and that they wish the school day had more of a structure.
Courtney Kujawski's daughter goes to kindergarten in Fairfax County and was disappointed when she couldn’t log in. But Kujawski said her other two kids were able to sign on.
"She was really so excited to see everyone," Kujawski said. "Kids are craving seeing their peers and doing something that isn’t just us assigning them work or telling them to do this and that."
Until schools provide an updated learning plan, teachers won't be giving digital "face-to-face" instruction, the school says. "Instead, our teachers will continue to provide other learning opportunities via a variety of platforms," Brabrand's letter said.
Teachers and schools are supposed to communicate with students about how online learning will continue. The school district says future distance learning could include Google Classroom, pre-recorded videos, learning packets, eBooks and instruction on channels 21, 25 and 99. Parents are encouraged to have their children complete any assignments available to them online.
Schools will eventually begin using alternative means for face-to-face instruction, including Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and other programs, the school district said. Virginia has already said schools will not reopen through the rest of the year to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Blackboard sent a statement to News4 Monday saying it has been working around the clock to fix the issues and that it "won't rest" until students have a "seamless experience."
The school district says it hired Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, a law firm that specializes in information technology and cybersecurity, to investigate the issues. The school district also is launching an advisory council on technology.
