At , D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee asked individual elementary, middle and high schools to consider which of four models is best for them on reintroducing in-person teaching.

As part of what Ferebee called a grassroots decision-making process, schools can choose between four models lettered A through D, ranging from all teaching being held in-person, to maintaining some degree of remote instruction.

Elementary school students

For elementary schools, Model A would exclusively feature in-person learning, but would institute a cap of 11 students per classroom.

Model B would be a combination of in-person and virtual instruction, similar to what is currently in place in most of the District’s elementary schools.

Model C would have teachers split two classrooms up, with teachers instructing each classroom on alternating days.

Model D would have one teacher instructing two classrooms at alternating times 鈥� one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

Middle and high school students

For middle and high school students, Model A would be structured around students who need academic and social and emotional help.

Model B students would have class instruction four days out of the week, splitting their time between in-person and virtual instruction. Ferebee said most schools are currently running on this model.

Model C would be tailored around when individual classes or teachers meet, since students have multiple teachers at differing times.

For Model D, students would have in-person learning for either one full day or a half day per week.

Safety protocols

DCPS Operations Chief Patrick Davis said enhanced safety protocols are a priority in order to reduce the risk of transmission.

New masks will be given to staff and students each day. Teachers will have face shields in addition to the masks. HEPA filters will be installed in each classroom to continuously clean the air, and there will be markers on floors to encourage social distancing.

Each school will go through a checklist to identify personal protective equipment, cleaning protocols and sufficient desk space that encourages social distancing.

Vaccinations for all school staff are expected to commence on Jan. 25.

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2:05 AM units dispatched for house fire, 900 Block of Lauren Lane SE, in Vienna. Units arrived on-scene with fire though the roof. Firefighters located one occupant deceased in the home. Fire Investigators currently on scene to determine cause of fire.

鈥� Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue)

Firefighters say the fire started just after 2 a.m. on Lauren Lane near Owaissa Road Southeast in Vienna.

When they arrived, fire was showing through the roof of the home. They found one person inside who had died.

The person’s identity has not yet been released.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.

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David Smith, founder and executive director of , said he saw stickers from “all sorts of racist, fascist groups” posted throughout downtown in the wake of a pro-Trump gathering on Jan. 6 which culminated with a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.

Smith said the events of the week gave his organization an opportunity to 鈥渃ome out and try to pick up the mess that was left by some unwelcome visitors.鈥�

Voicing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, he said the group has been seeking to do more community work in hope of changing the narrative of what people think about members of the armed services.

鈥淲e want to show that we can come together as a community, we can take care of us, and we can keep ourselves safe,鈥� he said.

Hundreds of supporters gathered in McPherson Square to help with the cleanup. They brought trash bags, gloves and scraper tools to help remove the stickers that were plastered on buildings and structures.

Smith said it was exciting to see so many people come out to help, remarking on the positivity and optimism so soon after thousands stormed and occupied the Capitol grounds for hours.

The veteran and founder of the community-based organization said events of the past week should serve as a wake-up call to those who don鈥檛 share the same views of veterans who participated in the invasion of the Capitol.

He said members of the armed services have to take a stand and 鈥済et more active in activism,鈥� as well as 鈥渟tepping up for what we actually believe in.鈥�

The group ended the cleanup with a moment of reflection for what has already proved a tumultuous the first week of the new year.

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In the hearing ahead of the upcoming Virginia General Assembly session, David Broder, president of the Service Employees International Union in Fairfax County, said, 鈥淭he pandemic has shown a spotlight on the inequities in our economy.鈥�

He said lawmakers should be focusing on three things in the next session, including funding vital services for struggling families, pay raises and paid sick days for essential health care workers and expanding collective bargaining rights for the union.

Broder said he’s proud of the work that lawmakers have already done to ensure hazard pay and PPE for the home care and public service workers he represents.

The public hearing was a chance for the Fairfax County delegation to hear concerns from the public.

Ed Kringer with the Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church in Burke, Virginia, said sick pay for essential workers should be a public mandate.

Kringer said not having paid sick days 鈥渃reates a crisis for low wage workers who must choose between taking a day for sickness and getting paid.鈥�

He said 鈥渨orkers who go to work sick endanger their co-workers and the public.鈥�

Kringer was part of a growing number of residents who support paid sick days not just for full time workers, but part time workers too. Locals at the hearing also expressed a desire for raises for essential healthcare workers who have been on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic.

The general assembly is scheduled to meet for the first time this year Jan. 13.

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A man is dead after being struck by a vehicle in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Wednesday morning.

Officers found the man unresponsive around 4:30 a.m. in the 4800 block of Allentown Road near Joint Base Andrews.

He died on the scene.

Police have not released the man’s identity.

No information about a suspicious vehicle or suspect was provided.

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the hit-and-run.

Here is a map of where the incident took place.

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Riverdale Park police responded to the shooting around 1:30 a.m. Monday in the 5400 block of Riverdale Road.

The man, who had what police described as trauma to his upper body, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he died.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the shooting.

So far, there are no suspects.

Riverdale Park police said Prince George’s County police had assumed control of the investigation.

Below is a map showing the general location of the shooting:

海角精品黑料’s Jack Moore contributed to this report.

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Now, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History wants to know what last year meant to you.

The museum is collecting first person accounts of last year for .

“We鈥檙e assembling a digital time capsule filled with messages to future generations about life today, and want to hear your story, big or small,” the museum said.

The museum tweeted that it wants an “inclusive portrait” of 2020, but it can’t make that happen without “your story.”

What should future generations know about 2020?

We’re working to create an inclusive portrait of this year, but we can’t do it alone. We need your story, too.

If you have a memory that you’d like to preserve, consider submitting it to Stories of 2020:

鈥� National Museum of American History (@amhistorymuseum)

The museum suggested questions on its website aimed at sparking ideas for submissions. Some of the examples are:

• How did you experience protests in your town?
• How was your daily life changed by the pandemic?
• What does the 鈥渘ew normal鈥� at work look like?

The allows participants who are at least 18 years old to submit up to five photos, plus a video.

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Zoe Moser, a 12-year-old student at Bull Run Middle School in Gainesville, Virginia, knows from personal experience.

When she wasn鈥檛 able to visit her elderly cousin who lives in a nursing home in North Carolina, she got an idea for a new business called .

She wanted to make a handmade card to show her cousin that she was thinking about her, so she did. Then other residents of the nursing home wanted cards too, so she sent them to others as well.

Moser said the cards sometimes have inspirational Bible verses, or words of encouragement to help lift a person鈥檚 spirits.

Moser said her church also stopped visiting the nursing home in her area, so she decided to send cards to residents she used to see.

She said she has expanded her business to make cards 鈥渇or people who were incarcerated or people in nursing homes, people in jail, anyone I thought of, or anyone who felt forgotten.鈥�

She says she has sent her cards to people in states including Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and California.

For more information on how you can take part in the project, check out her encouragement cards on Instagram under .

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A Clinton homeowner woke up early Sunday morning to damage to the front entrance of his home.

A pickup truck slammed into the front of a two-level brick home at the intersection of Derby Drive and Arbroath Drive around 2:30 a.m. causing significant damage, Prince George’s County police said.

Tire tread marks in the grassy yard that leads to the front entrance may have been where the truck entered.

The front door and bricks around the bay windows are completely gone.

The homeowner, who was not injured, was said to be sleeping at the time of the crash.

The pickup truck fled the scene and investigators are now searching for the vehicle. Police said they have not identified a suspect.

A map of the area is below.

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The program is a part of the Mayor’s Vision Zero initiative that aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths. The two-year study will evaluate whether targeted messages to drivers who have a history of fast driving, helps decrease red-light and speeding violations.

A 2015 report from the Journal of Traffic and Engineering found that drivers with multiple traffic violations are more likely to be involved in crashes.

Overall, the goal is to see if the messages aid in helping to eliminate the amount of traffic deaths.

The program will use data from speed cameras around the city to help the Mayor’s office develop a model that would randomly message drivers they deem to be at a high-risk for crashing.

The goal is to see if those drivers decrease their speeds compared to those who they aren’t sending messages to.

The pilot program is designed to help the District learn whether messaging can change drivers behavior in order to make the roads safer.

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Prince George’s County firefighters were dispatched to a three-story garden-style apartment building in the 13100 block of Larchdale Road in Laurel for a reported fire around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the fire department tweeted.

First responders arrived to find fire coming from the roof. Howard County personnel provided additional assistance to put out the two-alarm blaze:

Update to apartment building fire on Larchdale Rd: Fire is out. 28 units affected. assisting at least 22 adults, 2 children and 6 dogs displaced by fire. Fire investigators on scene.

鈥� Prince George鈥檚 County Fire/EMS Department (@PGFDNews)

The incident displaced at least 22 adults, two children and six dogs across 28 housing units. Investigators are working to determine what caused the fire.

Below is a map of the area:

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Just before 4 a.m. Tuesday, first responders rushed to Georgia Avenue at University Boulevard West for a report of a serious crash involving a pedestrian, Montgomery County police said.

The pedestrian 鈥� Ricardo Estuardo Jimenez, 53, of Silver Spring 鈥� was trying to cross southbound Georgia Avenue in a westerly direction, police said. A driver in a Honda Odyssey, heading south on Georgia Avenue and approaching University Boulevard West, struck Jimenez on the avenue.

The driver 鈥� Luis Antonio Sanchez-Sosa, 45, of Silver Spring 鈥� was not injured in the crash.

Jimenez was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries; he died at the hospital.

Police said they are still investigating why Sanchez-Sosa hit Jimenez.

The investigation closed southbound Georgia Avenue and eastbound University Boulevard for about five and a half hours.

Anyone with information about the crash can call the Collision Reconstruction Unit at (240) 773-6620.

Pedestrian struck in : Georgia Ave southbound CLOSED near University Blvd West (and surrounded by multiple closures, directing around investigation), avoid area

鈥� Brad Freitas (@Chopper4Brad)

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A passerby called in the blaze in the 9600 block of Lorain Avenue near Burnett Avenue around 6 a.m.

VIDEO: Raging house fire on Lorain Avenue near Colesville Rd and University Blvd W in ,

鈥� Brad Freitas (@Chopper4Brad)

The house was under renovation and unoccupied, according to tweets from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer.

Two firefighters fell through the a floor. One needed help from fellow firefighters to get out and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

About 60 firefighters were called to the scene.

There’s no word yet on the cause of the blaze.

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Gaynelle Diaz, the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s director of resident and community services, is grateful the organization was still able to give children a little bit of joy this weekend.

It sent out information inviting all of the families who receive housing assistance to pre-register, then was able to set appointment times throughout the weekend, so families wouldn’t have to stand in line. Volunteers then handed gifts to families as they arrived in their cars.

Diaz said the pandemic had caused the organization to modify its plans, but it still found a way for kids to see Santa.

鈥淲e had Santa here everyday and Ms. Claus was here as well,” she said. “So they hang out under the tent and wave. And that’s been really exciting, because even if the kids are in the car when they drive up, the kids started waving and jumping up with joy.”

Diaz has been involved with the Winter Wonderland event for 10 of the last 11 years, and she said parents were grateful the event was still able to take place.

鈥淧eople are just really happy that we were able to do anything,鈥� she said, because many parents 鈥渄esperately wanted to get something and they couldn’t afford it, so this was a nice way to get something for their kids.鈥�

The organizer said other organizations kept calling her to see if they were still going to hold the toy giveaway.

鈥淲e have a lot of partnerships and people that support us in different ventures throughout the year,” Diaz said. “A lot of them came forward and said: ‘Hey, are you still going to do it? What can we do to help?'”

She worked with many organizations — including Toys for Tots and Hearts of Empowerment, who provided toys and donations to help the group buy gifts. In addition, Inspire Lit gave the organization age- and culturally-appropriate books to give the kids, she said.

The City of Alexandria and the Charles Houston Recreation Center also made sure the space was big enough and safe — not only for the families but also the volunteers.

“It鈥檚 been a blessing to serve, even in this time of COVID,鈥� Diaz said.

Five hundred families registered and 1,000 kids were served, said Diaz, who hopes next year will be even better.

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The second annual Better Cities for Pets report from Mars Petcare, the pet care arm of McLean, Virginia-based Mars, Inc., recognizes how important pets have been for people seeking companionship during the pandemic.

However a recent report — entitled “” — also warns potential pet owners, or those who may want to gift a pet this holiday season, that the disruptions brought about in 2020 can make pet ownership difficult.

First of all, the organization notes that dogs and cats can cost owners about $1,500 in their first year, and most pets will live for 10 to 18 years. That adds up to quite the financial burden.

The report said聽 there has been a rise in the number of pet owners giving up their furry friends during the pandemic. Twenty percent of pet owners thought about giving up their pets, and as many as 13% actually did it, partially due to the financial burden.

In addition, the report advises, make sure you or loved ones have the time, money and ownership style that will suit the type of pet you want. For example, some dog breeds need a lot of exercise, so be sure your lifestyle is conducive to that.

“The report uncovered a strong current of positivity around pet ownership but also showed the challenges that many pet owners have faced throughout 2020,” said Jam Stewart, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Mars Petcare.

In addition, the survey showed the need for some pandemic support for pet owners, including programs that may ease the financial burdens for those who have lost work, or for cities to provide more space for pet recreation, now that more people are at home and spending time with their pets.

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