Will school bells ring this fall in Rappahannock?
Superintendent Grimsley is ‘optimistic that we will open’
If Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Rappahannock County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shannon Grimsley have their ways, school bells will be ringing this fall — with considerable adjustments.
On Tuesday, hours after the governor announced that a COVID-19 Education Work Group was charting the path forward for determining how schools can safely resume classes this autumn, Dr. Grimsley expressed con dence that Rappahannock’s public school students will be instructed in more familiar academic surroundings.
“I am optimistic that we will open, however we are awaiting the guidance from this workgroup to better understand the strategies we must employ to safely reopen schools,” Grimsley told this newspaper.
“We also need to understand what budget impacts this will have, especially if class sizes are reduced to no more than 10 and staggered schedules are required,” she said.
Dr. Grimsley pointed out that RCPS “will not know until the new guidance is released, and even then it is likely we will need to prepare for multiple scenarios contingent upon what conditions we are bound by the state to operate under this fall and beyond.”
She summed it up this way: “Fluid, exible, adaptable, innovative, and equitable are key terms as we move forward.”
In the coming weeks, the governor will outline “a roadmap” for Virginia elementary and high schools — public and private — and colleges and universities “to return to in-person learning in a safe, equitable, and responsible manner.”
The “data-driven and science-based approach” will be based on recommendations from a new working group of educators, who will be coordinating with the state’s plan to gradually ease public health restrictions.
The group is composed of representatives from Virginia’s public and private early childhood, K-12, and higher education systems, and includes teachers, superintendents, parents, college presidents, state agency personnel, special education advocates, museum directors, and student perspectives.
The closest county member of the work group to Rappahannock is Dr. Eric Williams, superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools.
“I think Dr. Eric’s feedback and leadership will be helpful, along with the input from the large swath of superintendents from across the commonwealth that are also working on this collaboratively with the state department of education and governor’s o ce,” Dr. Grimsley
said of the group, formed by Secretary of Education Atif Qarni.
“As we make decisions about the path forward, this panel will help ensure that we are best supporting rural students, English language learners, students of color, and students with special needs. School closures have been necessary to protect health and safety, but lost class time has a disproportionate impact on Virginia’s most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged students,” said Northam.
“That’s why equity will remain at the forefront as we determine when and how we can safely and responsibly return to in-person learning.”
Northam on March 13 directed all K-12 schools in Virginia to close for a minimum of two weeks in response to the spread of COVID-19. Then on March 23, he was one of the rst governors in the country to issue a statewide order closing schools for the remainder of the academic year.
Since then, Rappahannock students pre-K through 12th grade — and those attending private schools like Wake eld
Country Day, Belle Meade and Hearthstone among them — have been completing the school year at home, some resorting to internet hot spots spread throughout the county to complete their assignments.
On Mondays, a grade level newsletter is emailed to every RCES family explaining that particular week’s academic lessons. Each homeroom teacher also has individual o ce hours to support their group of students.
In order to receive high school credit, essential new content in the current Quarter 4 must be completed to support the learning. If students are not able to do so, they will not be penalized, but a modi ed schedule will need to be implemented for the following year to ensure essential content has been adequately covered.
New RCHS instruction began on April 14, with accommodations for those with di culty accessing the internet upon request. Each teacher has reached out to all RCHS students to explain expectations to complete each course.