Catholic Diocese of Arlington Announces Creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School for 2020-2021 Academic Year; First Purpose-Built Virtual School Established in the Diocese  

New Virtual School Complements Plans for School Year: All 41 Diocesan Brick-and-Mortar Schools to Reopen in Fall with Full-Time in Person Instruction or Combination of In-Person and e-Learning/Virtual Component

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Catholic Diocese of Arlington announced it will offer a fully virtual school for grades K-8 in the 2020-2021 academic year, which begins in early September. The school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, provides a new option to parents interested in enrolling their children in local Catholic schools. All 41 brick-and-mortar Catholic schools in the Diocese, which serve 17,000 students, have announced they will reopen in the fall for either safe-distance full-time in-person instruction or a combination of in-person instruction and e-Learning. St. Isidore offers families an option for full-time virtual learning.  

“St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School offers families the option of exceptional instruction, rooted in our Catholic faith, in a fully virtual environment at this unprecedented and critical time. 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,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Diocese of Arlington. “Our entire Catholic school community, teachers, administrators, parents and students, has exhibited great creativity and flexibility that has made this new endeavor a reality, offering hope and comfort to many within our diocese. We ask for the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and St. Isidore as we embark upon this exciting time together.”

St. Isidore will offer a comprehensive curriculum taught in diocesan Catholic schools at a cost of $6,000 per student. If the school reaches full enrollment of 207 students for the 2020-2021 academic year, there will be a tuition rebate for families. Parents who choose to enroll their child in St. Isidore, moving from current enrollment in a diocesan school, will have the option to hold their child's seat in the traditional school. Weekly Mass, daily prayer and sacramental preparation will be at the center of the program. The Acting Principal will be Dr. Leslie Lipovski, currently Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese and who has more than 20 years of educational experience. Instruction will be led by diocesan teachers. For more information or to register, visit www.arlingtondiocese.org/stisidore/.

“We are excited to offer this new, virtual option for students at such a critical time, understanding many families face unique challenges posed by COVID-19,” said Dr. Joseph Vorbach, Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Arlington. “In announcing this virtual school, we reaffirm our commitment to families, students and the larger community. We will continue to strive to meet the highest standard of educational excellence in our Catholic schools while remaining flexible and responsive to families as we work to meet each student's unique educational needs in a variety of different environments.”

St. Isidore of Seville is the patron saint of the Internet.

For more information, contact Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.

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The Catholic Diocese of Arlington was established on August 13, 1974, and is home to 71 parishes and more than 460,000 Catholics. There are currently 276 priests serving in the Diocese and 45 seminarians discerning a priestly vocation. The Diocese has 37 parish (K-8) schools, four diocesan high schools, four independent Catholic schools and five free-standing (not connected with a parish school) pre-schools, serving more than 17,000 students. 

The Diocese includes the seven cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester and the 21 counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Lancaster, Loudoun, Madison, Northumberland, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland.