Glenvar High students currently on the hybrid plan will have the option of starting four days a week of in-person instruction on March 22.
Shawn Nowlin
shawn.nowlin@ourvalley.org
The percentage of positive COVID cases in Roanoke County Public Schools (RCPS) has remained very low throughout the academic year. As a result, the RCPS Board has expressed support for a third expansion of the Expandable Schedule Plan by bringing back all current hybrid students to in-person instruction four days a week. Wednesdays will continue to remain a virtual learning day.
“Since the first day of school, our ultimate goal has been to bring all students back for full-time in-person instruction and we have steadily been making strides to meet that goal,” said Roanoke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely. “All this time, we have remained committed to following the guidance of public health experts.”
High and middle school students currently on the hybrid plan have the option of starting four days a week of in-person instruction on March 22. Students who currently are enrolled in 100 percent remote instruction have the option of remaining remote. Any 100 percent remote student that wishes to switch to in-person must inform their school by March 15.
Roanoke County resident Ashley Brown is a mother of three high school students, and she says although there have been challenges, her children have handled the adversity with great maturity. “Something like the coronavirus pandemic was an unfathomable thought just a decade ago for most people, but here we are. My children have relied on their classmates a bunch this year and vice versa,” she said.
To adhere to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and recommendations, students will be placed at desks that will be spaced at least three feet apart. Additionally, lunch for the students will be staggered as needed to maintain at least six feet of physical distance.
“The CDC and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) have maintained that six-foot distancing should be observed to the extent possible, but a minimum of three-foot physical distancing is acceptable so long as students and staff are wearing masks. Now that a significant number of our staff and many at-risk members of our community have received vaccinations, combined with the continuing decline of cases in our community, we are adopting the more flexible CDC and VDH guidelines, which would allow us the space to bring back our hybrid students for in-person instruction four days a week,” said Dr. Nicely.