There may be opportunities for small groups of students to return to D.C. classrooms starting this month.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that the schools chancellor is working on the effort, and there are guidelines in place for having people in buildings that are in the works.
On whether the city’s school system could have in-person learning in small groups like in some charter schools in the District, Bowser said, “I think DCPS can do it, and I think DCPS should do it.”
She said that the public school system can learn from from the experience of those schools that have small-group in-person learning, and Bowser has asked the deputy mayor for education to survey those schools to learn their best practices.
However, she cautioned that D.C. has to base its decision to get students back in classrooms on what’s best for the entire system, which is different for independent or charter schools.
“We believe that in-person learning is preferred to virtual, but we also know that we have to do it in a safe way,” Bowser said.
Small groups may be approved where it makes sense, starting in September, Bowser said.
“I don’t want to suggest that we have a whole classrooms or whole grades or thousands of students going back to school,” Bowser said.
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