VBCPS plans face-to-face schedule

Many students are eager to return to school face-to-face, but the earliest date that in-person learning could resume was recently pushed back.

The Eastern Region entered the yellow zone for both percent positivity and cases by date and stayed there for 14 consecutive days so the division began transitioning students back to school.

“Approximately two dozen students returned to the building on September 22. We anticipate 315 Option-one freshmen on October 8,” said assistant principal James Imbriale.

This possible schedule includes different dates for different grade levels. It says that Sept. 29, kindergarteners along with grades one and two could return, and the rest of the elementary school grade levels the next week. On Oct. 8, sixth and ninth graders may return to correspond with the beginning of the second marking period. Only a select group of special education students were admitted into the building on Sept. 22.

Grades 10-12 are left off of the list of planned returns to the building which means these students will not learn from the building for at least another three weeks.

“Tuesday through Friday will continue to be instructional days, with Mondays serving asynchronous learning time,” said the VBCPS announcement. 

Many teachers will teach online and in-person simultaneously. Teachers may teach in a variety of ways including: flipped classroom, switched audience, breakouts, and “chime in.”

“To enforce appropriate social distancing, students must be 3 feet apart [with masks on], which reduced our in-person class sizes from 28-32 to 14-22,” said Imbriale.

Teachers in flipped classrooms would deliver content through readings and videos while engaging with the students during the allotted synchronous times. Switched audiences would engage in-person and online with students at different times. The breakout sessions in the third style of teaching would entail splitting students up into small groups and assigning group projects. The chime in method of teaching would have online students act as if they were in person.

For all other students whose guardians selected Option 1, VBCPS continues to plan a potential date where students could enter the building.

“It remains to be determined when grades seven, eight, 10, 11, and 12 return to the building,” said Imbriale.