Henrico School Board unanimously approves fully virtual return to school

On Thursday, it was the Henrico County School Board’s turn to star unwillingly in the series of mini-dramas that has been playing out one at time throughout Virginia and elsewhere in the nation, as local boards determine how – or if – their students and staff members should return to school in a COVID-19 world.

In the end, following more than six hours of discussion and citizen input at the New Bridge Auditorium on Nine Mile Road, the board opted to follow the recommendation of Superintendent Amy Cashwell and choose a fully virtual start for the first nine weeks of the coming school year, which begins Sept. 8.

Board members heard from 25 speakers – 18 whom sought a choice of in-person or virtual learning and seven who favored the fully virtual approach – and each representative indicated that the decision facing them collectively was a no-win proposition.

Their unanimous choice, however, appeared swayed in large part by several key circumstances largely or entirely beyond their direct control:

• the views of  teachers and other staff members who had indicated in increasingly large numbers in recent weeks that they were not comfortable with the idea of returning to school, potentially leaving the school system with no way to educate students who did select an in-person plan had one been made available;

• a general sense that attempting a hybrid or full-time return to in-person learning during a time at which the incidence of COVID-19 cases in the state are rising – even as they remain relatively stable in Henrico – could become untenable.

• uncertainty about when necessary orders of PPE and other safety supplies – which haven’t arrived by their expected delivery dates – might show up;

• concerns about aging buildings and whether necessary repairs to HVAC systems – key to regulating airflow – could be made in time for school to begin, since funding doesn’t exist for all needed projects;

“Here’s the truth – this isn’t the recommendation I hoped to be making today,” Cashwell said before school system administrators began a presentation to outline the three options facing the board: virtual, in-person or a hybrid model. “I share the same feelings of frustration and deep disappointment that many have shared here today.”

But, Cashwell said, the virtual approach in some ways will allow for a more normal return to school than either of the in-person models would have. In a full-time return to school, for example, students and staff members would have been required to wear masks all day, elementary school students largely would have remained in their classrooms all day without the ability to interact with others from closer than three feet away and would have gone outside primarily just for recess and physical education.

Cashwell and other officials promised that the virtual learning program they’ve been creating for the past few months is far superior, more thorough and more user-friendly than the Edflix platform they said they rolled out as an emergency learning plan in the spring. The new program will operate through the existing Schoology platform and streamline most other learning platforms beneath its umbrella.

The next challenge facing school officials: closing an estimated $29.7-million budget shortfall that HCPS Chief Financial Officer Chris Sorensen estimated would be present regardless of which plan the board had selected. Somewhat ironically, perhaps, that’s just about $2.6 million less than the amount of money that was carved out of the school system’s budget after the pandemic hit in March.

School officials have been in contact with county finance officials, and School Board members Thursday indicated a desire to meet with the Board of Supervisors at its July 28 work session to discuss the topic.

The extra money is needed for health monitoring and cleaning/disinfecting protocols; additional supports for teachers, students and families; the purchase of sufficient PPE; and transportation and childcare needs – which would exist even in a virtual setting, Sorensen said.

In-person opportunities likely for some students
Though school will begin virtually, Cashwell and several board members discussed the possibility of phasing in a gradual partial return to school for some students – for example, regular in-person meetings for special education students, English learners and those with IEPs; potential one-on-one meetings with rising kindergartners and their teachers at school, so that they would feel a sense of belonging and personal connection; or weekly small group meetings for other pre-K through third-grade students.

As part of the fully virtual plan, teachers will be permitted to teach entirely from home if they choose but also will be permitted to teach online from their classrooms, Cashwell said. A typical day for students learning virtually would include a combination of some full-class video meetings, some small-group meetings, some one-on-one sessions and some offline time for students.

“Virtual learning does not mean six hours of screen time for our K-2 [students],” Tuckahoe District board member Marcie Shea said.

Cashwell also reiterated that the school system will not furlough any employee; instead, it intends to find creative ways for those whose jobs revolve around in-person school (such as bus drivers, food service employees and others) to contribute. Bus drivers are likely to deliver food, for example – something that some have done in the spring and summer months already.

Prior to the vote, Three Chopt District board member Micky Ogburn called on the community to rally together for its students.

“As a community, we need to stop being divided. We need to come together, we need to get this done and we need to do it for our kids. And we can.”

She also urged Henrico employers to support working parents by allowing flexible work schedules and on parents to support their children’s learning.

Varina District board member Alicia Atkins made a stirring appeal for community action just before the board's vote, saying that the pandemic was providing eye-opening opportunities to examine core challenges in schools and the community.

"Here’s the truth – this struggle we’re talking about here, it was here way before COVID," she said. "This struggle we’re talking about, about affordable child care, it was here way before COVID. This struggle that teachers are talking about, about finding creative ways and having the freedom to teach was here way before COVID. . . But here’s a silver lining: COVID is providing an opportunity to put a flashlight to gain the eyes and ears on topics that folks didn’t want to see and didn’t want to hear, and we are here.

"Our voices are being heard, right now."

Speakers passionate on both sides

During an hourlong public comment period at the meeting’s outset (something that does not typically take place during a work session), the board heard from 25 speakers – many impassioned.

Those who wanted at least an in-person option realized they were facing long odds, given Cashwell’s recommendation, and used a number of points to provide their perspectives.

Said Henrico resident Kevin Miller, who has two children at Tuckahoe Elementary School: “To try to fit every one into one simple category is going to end up doing more harm than it’ll actually do good.”

Speaker Yael Levin told the board that about 1,000 daycares in Virginia have remained open through the pandemic and none in Henrico have experienced an outbreak.

“We now know the strategies needed to mitigate exposure and spread,” Levin said.

Said parent Julie Stribling: “For those parents and teachers who want the choice to have children in person at school, why can’t we have that option? Seems like you could make everyone happy quite simply – unless there’s another agenda.”

Stribling had tried and failed to oversee her three young daughters learning virtually in the spring, she said, adding that she felt bad for working parents who will have to decide between their jobs and helping their children during a virtual plan this fall.

Students who live in poverty will be at the greatest risk of falling farther behind if they can’t attend school in person, some speakers said. Others expressed concern about students who could be in unsafe situations at home.

On the opposite side, those who supported Cashwell’s recommendation – primarily teachers at today’s meeting – spoke about their desire for safety.

“Staff and students will get sick, some will have long-term disabilities as a result and some will die – we reject that outcome,” said HCPS librarian Desiree Hopkins, who several weeks ago created the HCPS Back to School Safely Facebook group, which has about 3,700 members who mostly support a virtual learning approach.

Varina High School teacher Jimmy Lincoln pulled no punches in his remarks.

“We could talk about how those who would seek to place individual liberty above the needs of a community in the midst of a public health crisis perhaps have misunderstood what liberty really and truly means,” Lincoln said. “But I’m here to ask everyone in this room a simple question: Which one? Which teacher? Which instructional assistant? Which father? Which auntie?. . . Which custodial member? Which member of our food service staff? Which brother, which sister, which cousin, which student?

“I want to know which life we are willing to sacrifice.”