HCPS official: Return to in-person learning possible if COVID metrics continue to improve

A return to in-person learning in some form for students who choose it is possible during the second nine weeks of the school year in Henrico, but encouraging COVID-19 trends in the region must prove sustainable for that to happen, according to the Henrico Schools Health Committee.

“I think we are close to where return is possible,” committee member and Henrico Schools Chief of Staff Beth Teigen told the Henrico School Board during its work session Thursday, indicating that such a move would require the number of COVID-19 cases to decline and also would require the consistent use of personal protective equipment in buildings, as well as compliance with other requirements.

Although data shows decreasing numbers for Henrico-specific COVID cases, Central Virginia continues to be classified as facing a substantial risk of community transmission, Teigen said. That’s according to a “burden” scale that school system officials are using to evaluate a variety of regional COVID metrics.

But unlike her two previous updates during the past month, Teigen Thursday did not provide that “burden” score for the region, saying only that the regional burden is still in the “high” range. (The region’s score during each of her two previous updates sat at the bottom of the “high burden” range – at 16, of a possible 24). The region includes a wide-reaching area encompassing the Henrico, Chesterfield, Richmond, Chickahominy, Southside, Piedmont and Crater health districts.

The committee will make a recommendation to the board at its Oct. 22 meeting about how it believes the school system should operate during the second nine-week grading period, which begins Nov. 16.

In the meantime, school system officials are preparing schools for the possibility of in-person learning resuming on that date, and the committee is proposing a survey of teachers and families beginning Oct. 5 to ask their intentions about whether they’d return to school in person on that date (should the board vote for such a plan) or remain in virtual learning mode. All students have the option to continue learning virtually for the entire school year if they choose.

The health committee is meeting with principal, teacher and parent focus groups to gather feedback as well, Teigen said.

Teigen indicated that because encouraging trends in COVID cases have not been sustained for 14 consecutive days, they are considered to be fluctuating. In Henrico, cases had decreased for six consecutive days, the case incidence rate per 100,000 was 9.8 (down from 11.4 last week), the 7-day percent positivity has declined for 8 straight days and is at all-time low of 4%.

In Henrico, outbreaks – defined as involving two or more people related to one case – are considered decreasing because the rate has decreased or remained steady for 29 days. The rate is currently .04 per 100,000.

Three Chopt District board member Micky Ogburn asked Teigen to explain why the committee looks at the entire region, since it encompasses so many localities outside of Henrico – including some an hour or more away.

Teigen said it was because regional data is what the Virginia Department of Health has made available to school districts, and that Henrico families don’t live in bubbles within the county’s borders, which makes other nearby localities important as well.

Asked by Tuckahoe District member Marcie Shea whether the committee would recommend that virtual learning continue if Henrico-specific data declined to low or middle burden ranges while the regional metric remained high, Teigen indicated that would be possible.

Data from Richmond is also encouraging, as Teigen noted during her presentation Thursday. Cases have decreased for 22 days, and the city’s positivity percentage declined from 4.9% to 3.8% in one week. It has decreased for 18 straight days, with no outbreaks for 13 days (not quite long enough to avoid being labeled as “fluctuating,” however).

School system has sufficient PPE
From the beginning of the school year through Tuesday, the Henrico school system has had 11 positive cases, Teigen said. People who were potentially exposed — found by contact tracing — are asked to quarantine, she said.

The VDH is developing, but has not yet finalized, a new algorithm and flowchart for assessing children with COVID-19 symptoms or exposure that will help schools know how long students should be removed from school based on the level of new cases per 100,000, Teigen said.

A return to school requires adherence to the school system’s health plan and a supply of PPE, Teigen told Brookland District member Kristi Kinsella, who asked what barriers could prevent a return to school.

The school division has received the PPE needed for staff and students to return to school, Teigen said.

“We have N95 masks for the school nurses, and we have received 150 cases of gloves,” she said. “Additional supplies are ordered regularly so we can maintain our inventory of needed PPE, and based on expected usage, the supplies currently on hand should last through winter break.”

Members of the safety office and environmental monitoring are checking schools for compliance, Teigen said.

People who notice a lack of compliance with guidelines should ask to see an administrator and share their concerns with a building leader, Teigen said.

Susan Moore, the school system director of facilities, and her staff are reviewing more than 500 mechanical systems with an engineering consultant and building automation experts to determine the type and extent of needed HVAC changes, Teigen said.

Buildings were flushed (meaning they had continuous airflow for an extended period of time) for a full week before staff returned and would be flushed again before any full return of students, Teigen said. Buildings also are flushed two hours every day before and after staff are in them.

Staff members are checking building automation systems daily to review their functions and make sure they are operating properly, Teigen said. They also have reviewed building air intake and exhaust points to make sure they are appropriately spaced to prevent them from pulling from each other; filters have been upgraded based on system designs; and exhaust fans have been checked and repaired, Teigen said.

Water fountains have been turned off but are flushed regularly, she said.

* * *

Our journalism is free to read, but it's not free for us to produce. It requires time, research and analysis to provide fair, comprehensive, meaningful coverage of issues that matter to Henrico County. If you value education reporting like this, please consider a tax-deductible contribution to our Education Fund, made possible through a partnership with Facebook and the Local Media Foundation.