School Board applauds wellness program at last meeting of 2020

‘A great light in the middle of a very difficult time’

The Rappahannock County School Board convened for its last meeting of the year on Tuesday, finalizing plans to reintroduce four-day-a-week instruction for kindergarten and first grade starting in January.

The Board heard a stirring presentation from Jenny Kapsa, who wears many hats at RCPS as financial education coordinator, Profile of a Graduate coordinator and most recently the Wonderful Wednesday program coordinator.

Kapsa, joined by a cadre of dedicated counselors and RCPS staff, expressed deep gratitude to the School Board, the Board of Supervisors, and Superintendent Grimsley for their commitment to creating a fun, safe and engaging place for children to go on Wednesdays, when the school buildings are closed for deep cleaning and teacher planning. The School Board, in turn, thanked Kapsa and her team for their service.

“You’re making great memories during a really difficult time,” said Chair Wes Mills. “When [the kids] look back … it will be a great light in the middle of a very difficult time.”

There was only one action item on the agenda regarding an update to the school calendar which would reserve Jan. 5 and 6 for teacher work days and designate Jan. 7 and 8 as remote learning days. In-person instruction would resume on Monday, Jan. 11.

In her reopening update Superintendent Shannon Grimsley noted that though the number of COVID-19 cases at the schools themselves has remained low, the COVID-19 metrics for Rappahannock County are “concerning.”

“This is the highest [percent transmission] we’ve been so far, so this is what we’re looking at. Our percent positivity has come up quite a bit,” Dr. Grimsley said. “We have a wonderful, wonderful school community rate, but what the CDC says is look at the community numbers.”

Nevertheless, the schools intend to proceed with the phased reopening which will invite kindergarten and first grade students back to school four days a week starting in January, followed by older grades in February and March.

Additionally, teachers will be happy to know that the Board of Supervisors agreed to thaw $60,000 of the frozen funds allocated for school expenses to help cover a 2% raise for staff as well as a $500 holiday bonus.