CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Chesapeake Public Schools announced Wednesday that winter athletics will be delayed for one week to allow for further review and evaluation of the upcoming plan for the season.
A statement released by school officials on Dec. 9 says that Superintendent of Chesapeake Public Schools, Jared Cotton with the School Health Advisory Board (SHAB) requested that administrators and athletic directors re-evaluate the district plan for sports this winter.
As a result of the recommendation, CPS says it plans to pause winter sports practices through Tuesday, Dec. 15. Officials say the pause is to allow for the review of “mitigation strategies” and to “reassess its plans.”
“We are all looking forward to the start of winter sports. In order to proceed, we need to make sure we are creating the safest environment possible for all students and staff,” said Supervisor of Student Activities, Kevin Cole.
The School Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 14, and more information will be available to the community then.
The news comes shortly after the Chesapeake School Board decided to keep schools open despite a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. The board recently met for an emergency meeting to review recent COVID-19 data and discuss possible changes.
The meeting resulted in a unanimous vote to keep the in-person learning plan as-is, with the option to move individual schools to remote learning if necessary.