For some Henrico students, in-person learning already has returned

A vote next week by the Henrico School Board could bring in-person learning back for thousands of students countywide. But for some, it’s already underway.

The school system last week began in-person learning for select groups of students at both elementary schools and its ACE (Advanced Career Education) centers.

At Springfield Park Elementary School in Innsbrook, about 30 students attend for two hours on the days they’re invited. On Tuesdays, select kindergarten and second grade students attend; on Thursdays, first and third grade students.

The students were selected to receive in-person literacy screening assessments based on their scores on virtual screeners, Principal Tracy Spain told the Citizen. About five exceptional education students who need help accessing virtual instruction also are in the building to receive help from instructional aides, she said.

The rollout of in-person learning for elementary schools depended upon how quickly each school’s staff could administer the virtual pre-screening assessments, Spain said, so some schools started the week of Oct. 4 and some started this week.

Students at Springfield Park arrive at 1:30 p.m. for two hours of reading and math instruction, Spain said. The current instruction is akin to an intervention program, along with the administering of in-person literacy assessments.

Most students arrive by car, and eight come by bus, Spain said. They sit with two seats between them on the bus.

For students in Career and Technical Education courses that are receiving in-person instruction, most arrive to their center or to the CTE housing site by bus, HCPS Director of Workforce and Career Development Mac Beaton said.

The arrival time of students at the ACE centers varies because of the multiple buses running, but they generally arrive between 11:30 a.m. and noon, Beaton said, and stay until 3:30 p.m.

The courses that require hands-on learning to advance were the first chosen to receive in-person learning. EMT students need CPR certifications to continue their courses, and students involved in the CTE house building site — electrical, masonry, HVAC and other similar trades — need hands-on chances to learn their trades.

In some cases, classes are split so that one part can participate virtually while the other learns in-person before they rotate. Health and medical students, for example, put on protective gowns while the currently virtual students guide them through the proper steps.

Five students participate in class in-person at a time, and in all, the centers have about 150 students in-person between them, Beaton said.

Springfield Elementary follows the school division’s health plan, Spain said. Most students came to school with their own masks, but the county provided each student two cloth masks as well. Desks are about 10 feet apart because each class only has five students at most, Spain said, but the school had not received desk dividers as of the end of last week.

Students receive random temperature checks throughout the two hours, and their parents were asked to sign a health screening document saying they would administer health screenings at home and perform temperature checks before brining children to the buildings.

The school has an isolation room for students who begin to display COVID-19 symptoms or have fevers, she said.

Safety looks a bit different at the ACE Centers since the activities are hands-on. Students receive equipment such as hard hats assigned to them, which they sanitize with wipes before and after use.

“We’re doing the best we can to make sure that everything’s personalized, sanitized and safe,” Beaton said.

When students have questions, they back up from their work so the instructor can step in with his tools and demonstrate, Beaton said, and then they switch back. Otherwise, CTE follows the HCPS Health Plan, Beaton said.

Students can eat lunch at home but could eat at the center if they did not, Beaton said.

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