The US Diocese of Arlington is launching an virtual school for families who want a Catholic education but are worried about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The online-only St. Isidore of Seville Virtual School – named after the patron saint of the internet – aims to be fully operational on 8 September.
It will teach the regular curriculum to students in kindergarten through to grade (year) eight, and class sizes will be capped at 23 people.
Students will attend an online Mass every week and like their peers will have daily prayer and preparation for the reception of sacraments.
“We hope this new virtual school provides parents concerned about their children returning to the classroom an option they are confident will meet the high standard of excellence they have come to expect throughout our schools,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington says.
Burbidge praised the “great creativity and flexibility” among the Catholic school community in the diocese “that has made this new endeavor a reality.”
Dr. Joseph Vorbach, the Superintendent for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Arlignton, says all of the diocese’s schools will have in-person instruction this coming school year, although some will do a hybrid model of in-person and e-learning.
While St. Isidore of Seville Virtual School is set to go for the coming school year, Vorbach says he is not sure if the school will continue on for years to come.
“We want to evaluate the service – the niche, if you will- that this school provides.”
If things go smoothly, and it makes financial sense to continue the school in the future, “we can really seriously look at it as a component of a thorough, flourishing Catholic education going forward in the future,” he says.
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