Isle of Wight County schools delay youngest students’ return to in-person learning five days a week
Because of an increase in the number of coronavirus cases across the country, Isle of Wight County school officials have decided to halt plans for pre-K to third grade students to return to in-person learning five days a week.
Isle of Wight was one of the first localities to have students return to classrooms on a hybrid model. At a school board meeting held a few weeks ago, Superintendent Jim Thorton originally said these students could return to the classroom five days a week starting Dec. 7. The board will now revisit this possibility early next year.
This announcement was posted to the school’s Facebook page this afternoon, which noted there have been “more individuals in quarantine and isolation in our schools before, during, and after the Thanksgiving break.”
“The higher numbers in our schools are directly related to the spread of the virus in our community,” the post said.
Virginia has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, reporting 2,228 new cases on Tuesday. Since the pandemic began, state has reported a total of 240,063.
School officials said they will continue to monitor cases and vote on the issue in early January. For now, students in pre-K to third grade will continue on the hybrid schedule, going to school only a few days of the week.
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