NORFOLK, Va. — The meeting lasted more than two hours. During a school board member meeting on Wednesday, administrators with Norfolk Public Schools presented school board members with several options for the start of the upcoming school year.
Among the possibilities was a variation of in-person class options, such as two days of in-person classes and three days of virtual learning.
Another option was to welcome students back to the classroom for a traditional, fully in-person learning experience.
Superintendent Dr. Sharon Byrdsong said there’s a lot to consider before students and teachers can return to school buildings.
“We are prepared to do in person depending on what our health data looks like, or we are prepared to do 100 percent online, virtual,” said Byrdsong.
During the meeting, board members, including Christine Smith, raised numerous safety concerns. They cited data from the Virginia Department of Health which showed a recent increase in cases throughout Hampton Roads, specifically Norfolk.
“If someone gets sick or tests positive, what is our plan for that? What are we going to do?” asked Smith.
An overwhelming majority of school board members said they support a 100 percent virtual option for the start of the school year.
Another school board member, Dr. Noelle Gabriel, urged the school administration to prepare for a fully virtual learning experience.
School board chair Adale Martin agreed.
“It seems to me that the virtual option would be what we prepare for online,” said Martin.
Administrators presented the results of a survey that went out to families about options for the upcoming school year.
The results showed a majority of parents who took the survey said they want their kids to have a traditional, in-person learning experience this fall. About a quarter of parents who took the survey said they support a virtual learning experience.
“It’s a very complex challenge that we have ahead of us, and I’m not gonna make light of it at all,” said Dr. Byrdsong. “In coming together, I don’t want us to be naive. When you bring people together, somebody’s gonna test positive and that’s gonna have a domino effect. We just need to just make sure that if we are in-person, we’re ready to go.”
Tanya Bhasin, a school board member who made a big push for a virtual start to the fall said board members continue working toward figuring out logistics for the remainder of the school year. Bhasin emphasized the ultimate goal is to welcome students back to classrooms, and that a virtual start is just a place to start, not a permanent decision.
Rodney Jordan, the vice-chair of the school board, spoke out and said the board needs more time to make a decision on a plan for the fall. Jordan said he was not prepared to vote on an option during Wednesday’s meeting.
The school board will meet again next Wednesday to vote on a plan for the start of the school year.