In this Town Talk, we’ll have a conversation with Dr. Chris Ballenger. Dr. Ballenger joined the Warren County School System on July 1, 2020. One of his first challenges was the two high-school graduations, which were a great success and well-received by both parents and students. This success he credits the hard work of his team of staff and teachers who made it happen.

In this conversation with our publisher Mike McCool, Dr. Ballenger outlines the plan for re-opening our schools and addresses some concerns of parents. He said, “As you can imagine, a tremendous amount of thought and planning has gone into the reopening plan for our students.  We have progressed through the development of our plan with guidance from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).” He went on, “It is possible that adjustments will be made to our plan as we receive new information and guidance as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.  This year will require the entire school community to be flexible and patient as the school year progresses.”

The WCPS Reopening and Instructional plan can be found on our website along with the WCPS Health Plan (https://www.wcps.k12.va.us/index.php/parents/wcps-re-opening-options).

Town Talk is a series on the Royal Examiner where we will introduce you to local entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profit leaders, and political figures who influence Warren County. Topics will be varied but hopefully interesting. If you have an idea, topic, or want to hear from someone in our community, let us know. Send your request to news@RoyalExaminer.com

This is an overview of the re-opening plan:

The two instructional delivery choices for families for the start of the 2020-2021 school year are the Hybrid Model and the Full Virtual Model.

Hybrid Model:

Grades PreK-4:  In-person instruction four days per week and one day virtual.  In-person instruction will be supported and reinforced by online learning with students physically in the school buildings four days per week – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Virtual instruction will occur on Wednesday for all PreK-4 students.

Grade 5: In-person instruction four days per week and one day virtual.  In-person instruction will be supported and reinforced by online learning with students physically in the school buildings four days per week–Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Virtual instruction will occur on Wednesday for all fifth-grade students.

Fifth-grade students at E. Wilson Morrison, Hilda J. Barbour, and Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary Schools will report for in-person instruction at identified middle school buildings.  Fifth-grade students at A. S. Rhodes and Ressie Jeffries Elementary Schools will continue at their own elementary schools.  Classes will be taught by elementary teachers from their home schools.

Grades 6-12:  Students will attend in-person instruction one day per week and work remotely four days per week.  A flipped classroom model will be used where students use online instructional resources that have been assigned through the classroom learning management system.  In a flipped classroom model, students use online instructional resources that have been assigned through a learning management system.  Teachers support online learning with face-to-face instruction.  The face-to-face time is structured to include activities, practice with feedback, and collaborative tasks or projects

Teachers will support online learning with in-person instruction one day per week utilizing an A or B day schedule that is structured to include activities, practice with feedback, and collaborative tasks and projects.

Teachers will provide virtual lessons to students that are working remotely on a daily basis.  Students are encouraged to attend the virtual lesson every day that a student is not being provided with in-person instruction.

Full Virtual Model:

Students will participate in full-time remote learning, including both interactive, teacher-led live instruction and independent learning tasks.  Families interested in registering their child for full-time remote learning must contact their child’s school by Tuesday, August 18, 2020, to select the virtual model.

• This virtual option is available to all students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12.
• Students will be assigned to a WCPS teacher and receive a learning device that will enable students to access the division’s learning management systems.
• Teachers will provide daily instruction via a learning management system so that students are provided quality instruction.
• Teachers will also assign daily/weekly lessons through the learning management system and support students through in-person and virtual meetings.

School Schedules:

Daily Schedule for E. Wilson Morrison, Leslie Fox Keyser, and Ressie Jeffries

8:00 A.M.                    School day begins

1:30 P.M.                    School day ends

Daily Schedule for Hilda J. Barbour and A. S. Rhodes

9:00 A.M.                    School begins

2:30 P.M.                    School day ends

Middle and High School Schedules

9:00 A.M.                    School day begins

3:05 P.M.                    School day ends

High School Schedule for 2020-2021

For the 2020-2021 school year, we are going to utilize a 6 period day for the entire school year.  As we begin the year classes will be broken into two sections.   Each school will have two in-person instruction days, each section will be assigned one in-person day.  As soon as it is safe the two sections will be combined to create one in-person class that will meet together for the remainder of the year.    This change was made to make the best use of limited in-person time and to create an opportunity for daily instruction.

Mitigation Strategies – Minimizing Exposure

• Designate six feet of spacing between desks and student seating
• Reduce the number of students assigned to each classroom
• Increase circulation of outside air, where possible
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces as much as possible
• Deep clean and disinfect entire school on Wednesdays
• Monitor arrival and dismissal of students to discourage congregate settings
• Ensure students report directly to classrooms and designated areas
• Designate, where possible, hallways and stairwells as one-way
• Check the temperature of students daily as they enter school
• Require daily health checks performed by the parent prior to coming to school
• Require staff and students to wear face coverings at all times at the middle and high schools
• Encourage staff and students at the elementary schools to wear face coverings while in school. Staff and students will be required to wear face coverings when physical distancing is not attainable.
• Require frequent hand washing and utilization of hand sanitizer for all students
• Provide hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes for all classrooms
• Ensure students have their own learning materials and supplies
• Reduce class interactions and hallway traffic, group gatherings and movement throughout buildings
• Minimize exposure to other students by keeping the same groups as much as possible
• Install water bottle filling stations are being installed in all schools
• Limit access to schools to essential personnel and students. Parent conferences will be by appointment only. Visitors will be required to wear face coverings and submit to temperature checks.
• Increase virtual field trips and cancel in-person field trips and assemblies to ensure there are no large gathering of students
• Provide breakfast and lunch to elementary and middle school students in their classrooms

Transportation

• Face coverings are required for students to ride the bus
• The spacing of passengers, personal safety materials for operators and passengers with coverings being required of both, frequent cleaning and disinfection of buses
• Parents/guardians are asked to not send their child(ren) to their bus stop if he/she has a fever, a cough, or shortness of breath or feels ill. This will lessen the chances of an entire bus load of children and bus driver being put at risk
• Parents/guardians are asked to speak to their children about social distancing at bus stops. If possible, students remain in their parents’ cars until the bus arrives at the bus stop
• When the bus arrives at the bus stop, students are to enter one at a time
• Load to back of the bus first; unload front of the bus first
• At schools, unload and load one bus at a time
• Each bus will have a seating arrangement; students will sit in the same seat daily
• There may be no more than 1 student per seat; if students are siblings or live in the same household, they may sit three to a seat
• Students are not allowed to ride a bus home with a friend or make last-minute bus changes until further notice due to capacity rules on school buses. If riding a different bus in the afternoon than in the morning is part of a student’s regular schedule, for example riding to a caregiver’s house on a daily basis, would be allowed if there is sufficient space on the bus. This plan must be approved with the school’s principal and the Transportation Director at the beginning of the school year
• If a bus driver suspects a student is sick when he/she enters the bus, the school will notify the parent if not at the bus stop. If the parent cannot be reached, the student will be given a face covering and socially distanced in his/her own seat at the front of the bus. The principal of the school will be notified that a possibly ill student is on the bus.  The principal and/or staff will meet the bus when it arrives at the school in order to care for any sick child
• Buses will be sanitized after each run and at the end of the day
• Any route changes will be communicated to parents through the school messaging system

Child Nutrition

• All staff will wear face coverings and gloves during food preparation and service.
• Grab and go breakfasts will be available at elementary, middle, and high school so students can go directly to their classroom on arrival.
• At elementary and middle school, lunch will be served in the classroom with a teacher present.
• Bagged lunches may be brought from home. No drop-offs of food items. If a student forgets lunch, they will be provided a school lunch for the day.
• Visitors will not be permitted in school cafeterias.
• Students participating in virtual learning will have the option to pick up 5-day meal packs once a week.

Technology

PreK – 2nd Grade:
Email applications will not be accessible by students.  Accounts will be created for Classroom and LMS accounts only.

Grades 3 – 8:
Email applications will be set to work within our WCPS domain only.  Incoming emails from sources outside of the school system’s domain will be blocked to the student’s email account.

Grades 9 – 12:
Email applications will be open for outside communication with restrictions on threats as monitored by SysCloud.

Connectivity:

Students will require high-speed internet access for virtual learning.  We recommend at least a home internet to be at least 5 Mbps per student.  If parents do not have access to high-speed internet at their homes the following options are available:

• Available internet options:  Please check the internet options for your area.  WCPS keeps a detailed list of currently available internet services in our area.  WCPS will update this information as new services are available.
• Wifi hotspots:  These will be available at the school library for check out.  Please note, they will not work in every area of the county.  If this option does not work, please return your hotspot to your school library.
• Drive up hotspots.  WCPS is working on adding new hotspots in areas that have poor internet access.

Technology Support:

Parents may require tech support for virtual learning.  The technology department will provide support for parents regarding Chromebooks, login information, and any other school related technology needs.  These supports will include:

• Documentation:  These may include directions on how to login into accounts, common troubleshooting tips, and standard WCPS technology practices.
• Help Desk:  This may include contact information through web, email, and phone, support hours during both business hours and after hours.  If a tech needs to handle a device we will provide a drop off location for parents to leave the device with us for repair or device exchange.

Grading

All students will be required to complete work assignments and participate in class activities, regardless of hybrid or distance learning choice.

Teachers must be mindful of the transition back to school and the likely instructional gap/loss students may have. Varied instruction and opportunities for attaining the content must be presented for struggling learners and accelerated learners.

Participation and Attendance

Participation in school, no matter the mode of instruction, is required. Participation and attendance will be monitored.

•   Full Virtual Model:
• After 5 days of no interaction, school administration will attempt to make contact with the parent/guardian and develop a plan to address the issue
• After 10 days of no interaction, school administration will refer the student to the Warren County Schools Truancy Officer
•   Hybrid Learning:
• After 5 unexcused absences, school administration will attempt to make contact with the parent/guardian and develop a plan to address the issue
• After 10 unexcused absences, school administration will refer the student to the Warren County Schools Truancy Officer

Tracking Student Attendance in Various Instructional Delivery Models 

 Summary

This educational plan for Warren County Public Schools is designed with commitments to a high-quality educational experience while maintaining a safe learning and work environment for our students and staff.  Extensive work has been completed after the release of the Virginia Department of Education “Recovery, Redesign, and Restart” document.   This document provides key components and considerations for our reopening plan.   Please note that our plan may be altered due to evolving conditions and recommendations.