As the 2020-2021 school year moves forward, students that chose Option 1 will return for in-person teaching on November 12.

The recommendation, which the School Board unanimously approved on October 27, was brought up by Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. ATC and Tech Center students, as well as GSA and ESP Brock Center students are included in going back.

Each student will go by the following schedule:

High school students (grades 9-12) with last names “A” through “K” will attend in-person instruction on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week. Students with last names “L” through “Z” will attend in-person instruction on Thursdays and Wednesdays.

Pre-Kindergarten-5th grade will carry on with their current schedule (Option 1 and 2).

Sixth graders that chose Option 1 are also going to continue attending in-person learning Tuesday through Friday. Seventh graders that chose Option 1 will attend in-person learning Tuesday through Friday (Monday, Thursday, and Friday will be remote learning). Eighth grade students that chose Option 1 are to attend in-person learning Thursday and Friday each week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be remote).

Middle and high school students (grades 7-12) that chose option 1 will return on their designated 2 days during the week with Mondays continuing to be asynchronous learning and the rest of their 2 days being remote and synchronous learning. Option 2 students will continue remote learning Tuesday-Friday.

In order to monitor and control the spread of COVID-19, contact tracing and correct accounting of where each student sits on the bus and in the school building will become a necessary component. VBCPS asks for everyone to understand that each student has been given an assigned bus seat.

“Students that choose to not obey are subject to Rule 8, Insubordination, in the Student Code of Conduct,” said the most recent email. If a seat needs to be adjusted, a consultation with the bus driver and school administrator will be needed.

Due to limitations of bus seating, it would be beneficial for those who do not need a bus to inform the school. This will help ensure that as many students as possible have a seat. Students that have realized they do not need bus transportation—e.g., if the student is driving, walking, biking, or being dropped off—should contact their home school by Friday, November 6.

In order to track the data of COVID-19 cases, Virginia is using the percentage of COVID-19 cases within the past seven days and the number of cases per week as indicators in the following transmission levels:

• Green: mild, less than 5% positivity rate, and less than 10/100,000 cases per week (fewer than 26.5 cases per day)
• Yellow: mild-moderate, 5% to less than 10% positivity rate, and 10-100/100,000 cases per week (26.5-264 cases per day)
• Red: substantial, greater than 10%, and 100+/100,000 cases per week (265 or more per day)

According to the Virginia Department of Health, as of November 5, 2020, Virginia’s Eastern Region cases within the past seven days are in a green zone at 4.8% (mild, less than a 5% positivity rate). The cases per day are in a yellow zone with about 195 cases per day.