Smyth County School Board members approved a plan Monday night to get students back in the classroom.
From Feb. 1-19, schools will be in session on a hybrid schedule, with A and B days, for all students. A staggered transition to full in-person instruction will start Feb. 22 with pre-K through third-graders being the first to go four days a week while the rest of the student body remains on a hybrid schedule.
On March 1, the rest of the elementary school and middle school grades will return to a four-day week while high-schoolers remain on a hybrid schedule. On March 8, all students will be back in school four days a week.
The other option on the table was similar but would have had students back in school earlier, starting the process on the week of Feb. 15-19. Under that plan, all students would have been in school starting March 1.
Parents will still have to option to keep their children on an all-virtual schedule. In November, around 43% of Smyth students remained virtual, with the numbers varying wildly from school to school.
In pushing for the later start date, Superintendent Dennis Carter said the extra time would give the most amount of time for the second vaccine doses to be administered. The second round of vaccines will be delivered to school staff on Feb. 11.
Carter said that Mount Rogers Health District Director Dr. Karen Shelton backed both options. He noted, too, that easing back in with a staggered start has been the guidelines set by the Virginia Department of Health and Department of Education from the start of the pandemic.
The superintendent asked the board to allow flexibility to allow certain students back in earlier on a more frequent basis, including the special needs population, those who have been identified by teachers and principals as at-risk and career center students, such as nurses, who need to be in class to fulfill career requirements.
“We want to make sure they don’t miss out on that,” he said.
The biggest issue, Carter said, isn’t mitigation in the school buildings but transportation, especially when it comes to keeping six feet of distance between students on buses.
Carter gave a tip of the hat to parents, saying parental involvement is off the charts right now and teachers are perhaps even more connected to the kids than ever.
He said the county’s virtual program is strong and in many ways is better than other divisions in the state; however, he said struggles remain and are real. Some students, he said, have limited internet access. Others, he said, come from challenging home environments.
In other news, the board approved Smyth’s participation in a regional virtual school program during the 2021-22 year. The board appointed Dr. Paul Grindstead to serve on the regional committee.
The board also received an update on fall Standards of Learning scores and end-of-term grades. As expected, both dropped. Year over year, SOL scores were down 19%. Smyth County was the first in the region to complete SOLs, officials said.
Grades were off, too, with more F’s showing up and fewer B’s
