SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Suffolk students won’t return to in-person learning until at least January.
The Suffolk School Board voted Thursday night to delay their return with a 6-1 vote. This is the latest time has opted to delay in-person learning, with a motion back in October with resume in-person learning on Nov. 16 ultimately failing.
Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon III says he will now propose pre-K through fifth grade to return on January 4, with students in grades six though 12 returning on January 11. Students in the College and Career Academy at Pruden (CCAP) will also return on January 11.
Students who chose to return to in-person learning would be divided into two groups. One group going to school in person on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other group going Tuesdays and Thursdays. The remaining days would remain virtual learning days.
The virtual schedule for middle school students during the week of January 4 – 8 will be announced in mid-December, according to an email from school Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon, III, sent to parents and staff Nov. 16.
The School Board also approved a recommendation to eliminate midterms and final exams for all high school level courses.
Suffolk, along with multiple other school districts across Hampton Roads and the commonwealth, are considered at high-risk for school transmission, according to CDC guidance. That’s due to higher rates of cases per capita, though Suffolk’s percent of positive tests is considered pretty good — at 4.3%.
While there have been reported coronavirus cases at schools across the region, studies have shown there is no consistent link between reopening schools and virus spread. Virginia Beach Schools Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence says cases are coming from outside.
“We are not a spreader,” Spence said talking about the schools. “We don’t have any connected cases in our buildings right now. That means folks may be bringing it into our building; they are not getting from each other in the building.”
