During a school board meeting Oct. 13, Chesterfield County Public Schools superintendent Merv Daugherty announced that Cohort 3 will begin returning to classrooms two days a week on Oct. 26.
That group of students, which includes grades 4 and 5, along with career and technical education high school students, will continue to have virtual online instruction two days a week.
Daugherty noted that the district’s health panel made the recommendation based on health data related to COVID-19.
During public comment, Bermuda resident Carrie Watko encouraged the district to bring all students back to school with a distance of three feet instead of six. She said other school districts are using three feet.
“There’s a big controversy between six and three feet,” Daugherty said later.
Also during public comment, Meg Clark, who has a daughter in her freshman year of high school and another who is a teacher in the district, said, “We are not ready to go back. This (hybrid) plan straddles a line in an attempt to fix it for everyone, but fails us all.”
“Many of us are at a breaking point,” said Christine Melendez, a Spanish teacher at Matoaca High School. “We need help.” She added, “The toxic positivity has driven many of us to feel gaslighted at every turn.”
“There’s a lot of opinions,” Daugherty said. “There’s really no one to please, so we’re keeping it safe. I’m hoping to get Cohort 4 back … for full face-to-face (instruction).” He noted there are capacity and staffing issues due to the coronavirus, along with transportation issues since only so many students can be on a bus due to social distancing. “Our parents have really stepped it up and helped with that so far,” he said, referring to transportation.
Midlothian school board member Kathryn Haines asked Daugherty about the situation with substitute teachers. He said the district has held some job fairs. “There’s not enough people to work,” he said. “We’ve used some central office staff as needed.” Daugherty said he’s ready to teach any history class for grades 6 through 12.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27. If health data holds or improves, the district could approve a return to classrooms twice a week for the remainder of students, which includes grades 6 through 12.
Grants
In other news, the district accepted a $6,200 grant from Dominion Energy for a weather station at Thomas Dale High School.
The station will be used for weather monitoring and alerts. Data will be shared on social media. The station will be used as a resource for meteorology classes.
The district also received a COPS School Violence Prevention Program grant of $500,000 that requires a 25-percent match.
The funds will be used for electronic locking systems on doors at middle and high schools. The locks will allow first responders to more readily enter buildings during an emergency without having to wait for a key to open the doors.
