WASHINGTON — Local school systems are making plans for the partial solar eclipse expected to be seen in the D.C. metro area on Monday.
Only a handful of schools will be in session Monday: D.C., Culpeper County, Fauquier County and Manassas Park.
D.C. school officials said they will not make changes to its schedule. Monday is the first day of classes for District public schools.
Individual schools can hold their own eclipse-viewing events, but the school system said that the viewings must be tied to specific lessons. The system also stated in its guidelines that teachers must notify parents of any plans to view the eclipse and offer them the opportunity to opt out of the lesson.
Fauquier County said it will dismiss students 15 minutes later than scheduled Monday “to enhance student safety through the peak experience,” Major Warner, Fauquier County Public Schools associate superintendent for instruction, said in a statement.
“School leadership has worked together with division instructional staff to devise safe and age-appropriate activities to incorporate into classroom lessons,” the statement said. “It is important to realize that while this is a very rare and exciting occurrence, student safety is of the utmost importance to us.”
Culpeper County school officials told WTOP it will not alter its schedule on the day of the partial eclipse. Many of the county schools have purchased glasses to view the eclipse safely.
Manassas Park school officials said that the eclipse will not affect its dismissal time, but they cautioned drivers to be careful during the eclipse. They said that motorists should be extra careful in the parent pickup areas at schools to avoid distracted drivers, students and pedestrians.
Students will take part in a variety of lessons to make the most of the eclipse experience.
