Almost all students at Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools will return to entirely remote learning Monday, according to an announcement from division superintendent Olwen Herron posted to the WJCC Public Schools Facebook page Thursday evening. Those students will not return to in-person instruction until “at least January 11,” the release states.
The announcement cites the rising COVID-19 cases reported for James City County by the Peninsula Health District, and the high-risk level classifications for WJCC schools according to CDC health metrics, as the cause for the change.
According to division spokesperson Eileen Cox, it was a mix of those health factors, and concerns from teachers about consistency in learning for younger students, that led to the decision.
The teachers that WJCC officials spoke with before making this decision expressed that, academically, it would be better for those young students to be learning either entirely remotely, or entirely in-person, rather than rapidly switching back and forth with changing health metrics.
“We felt like this was the safest thing to do for students,” Cox said in a phone interview, to support students academically while keeping them healthy and safe.
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, 22 staff and four student positive COVID-19 cases are listed on the WJCC COVID-19 Dashboard. Seven WJCC students and staff members have reported positive test results for the coronavirus in the past week, and more are quarantining after learning they were in close contact with a positive case, according to the release.
“This data cannot be ignored,” Herron said in the announcement. “For the safety of our staff and students, it forces us to pivot our instructional operations once again.”
The only students who will continue to learn in person are “the division’s most vulnerable students — the special education and English language learners who have been learning on site since September. They will continue to be in classrooms until Winter Break,” according to the release.
There will also be support available for “designated” middle and high school students. Those families will be contacted in advance by the schools the children attend, according to the release.
WJCC schools announced Nov. 4 that they were planning to move ahead with Path 3 of their pandemic safety plan, which entailed bringing all students back to in-person classes over the course of November and December, into the new year.
However, according to Cox, WJCC schools decided the safest option after the Thanksgiving holiday was to return all students to remote learning for one week. The transition into Path 3 had brought back PreK through fifth grade students already, as of Nov. 16, and those students were set to return to hybrid learning and in-person classes again on Monday before Thursday’s announcement came.
Fridays are planning days for teachers, so announcing the change Thursday give teachers the entire day to account for the return to remote learning for the coming weeks, according to Cox.
Cox said that the response she’s seen on social media from parents has been mixed.
“We know that there are a variety of viewpoints in our community,” she said. “I hope that (those who might disagree) understand that it was made after careful consideration, and with the best of intentions.”
On the Peninsula, Hampton and Newport News school districts have been online only so far this year.
York County Public School students have been learning in a hybrid remote-learning and in-person format, depending on grade level. As of Nov. 9, elementary school students and sixth graders were in person some days each week, while seventh and eighth graders and high school students were still learning entirely remotely.
In a newsletter release on Nov. 23 by the York County School Division superintendent, the division announced that all students would return to entirely remote learning the week after Thanksgiving (the week of Nov. 30), as well as the week after Winter Break (the week of Jan. 4.) As of 7 p.m. Thursday, the York school division has had 39 total positive COVID-19 cases, with 15 cases currently active.
“I want to assure you that decisions are made with careful consideration using the best information we have at the time,” Herron said in the release. “We must all do our part to keep our community safe and our students on-track for in-person learning. By working together and caring for one another, we will strengthen our community and our schools.”
Maggie More, 757-446-2305, mmore@virginiamedia.com
