The Shadow
Covington Schools Superintendent Melinda Snead-Johnson said Monday that her staff and school faculties have begun making contingency plans in case schools close due to the Coronavirus.
“This is the topic that is sweeping the country,” Snead-Johnson said.
She stated that deep cleaning efforts are taking place in all three schools and sanitation spray has been utilized to keep the risk of infection low.
Snead-Johnson and her staff participated in a webinar session Monday hosted by the Virginia Department of Health to gain more information on the Coronavirus.
Last week, in addition to posting letters from the school system and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on the school division website, letters were also sent to families to keep them updated on Coronavirus situation.
The superintendent said her office is also part of a regional task force.
“We met with Eric Tyree [Director of Development Services] Friday [March 6] afternoon. There is a task force on COVID-19 [Coronavirus] being formed with all of the area governments and school divisions,” Snead-Johnson stated.
She said she hopes the task force can have a meeting this week. The task force has invited local and regional hospitals to participate in its discussions.
Snead-Johnson said her staff is developing plans to educate students in the event schools are closed.
Snead-Johnson said, “There’s a possibility that we’d have to shut down, close school for a minimum of 14 days.”
Director of Instruction and?Technology Shannon Furhman stated that a discussion was held Monday morning and during that discussion, a protocol was set.
“All schools in the division will follow similar protocol and will provide instructional materials and resources to students in a variety of formats,”
Furhman said while reading an email to the school board.
The email also stated that instructional materials and resources will be used to provide review of content and preparation for state assessments, as well as end of the year student achievement.
The protocols were set as follows:
— Edgemont Primary School: Grade-level packets will be given to all students;
— Jeter-Watson Intermediate School: Comprehensive review packets per grade-level (may include released tests) for all core academic areas; non-core courses will use practice logs and project-based activities;
— Covington High School: A variety of electronic platforms will be used (Google Classroom, Edgenuity, other virtual tools) to assign review exercises and possibly released tests. Written packets will be provided to students without Internet access. Non-core academic areas will assign projects and/or activities to complete.
“As discussed, plans will evolve as we receive more information regarding the Coronavirus. As always, all students will be provided an equitable opportunity to receive instructional re-sources and will be assisted an any way to be successful,” Fuhrman’s email also said.
Snead-Johnson again stressed that all materials the students would be provided would be day one material and nothing new.
“We’re not going to do new materials, we’re going to review from day one of school until now, to keep the students in learning mode,” Snead-Johnson stated.
Snead-Johnson also announced that in the event of a possible 14-day closure, those days would have to be made up.
“We’d make up the first five, then after that, one for every two days we would have to make up. There’s no free ride, I guess is what I’m trying to say. We’re told the SOL window does not close until June 26. That led us to believe they expect us to continue instruction in some format,” Snead-Johnson said of the make-up days.
She concluded the Coronavirus discussion by saying there are lots of questions that could not be answered right now, but hopes answers will come soon.
Also stated during the conclusion of the discussion, Snead-Johnson stated that the school division is stressing to students the need to practice good hygiene.
“It’s a revolving door, we don’t know if we will close, we hope we don’t, but we have to be prepared. We don’t want to create panic, but we have to be prepared in case something would come out of this. We will get it done, we just don’t know exactly how,” Snead-Johnson said.
The following personnel decisions were approved during Monday’s closed session:
— Resignations: Jane E. DeGroot and Kevin Hanna, CHS science teachers (retirement effective at the end of the 2019-2020 school year);
— Appointments: Christina Davis, substitute teacher/aide; Samantha Wolfe, special education teacher (2020-2021 school year); Fabrizio D’Arpa, volunteer assistant soccer coach; Gregory Moore Sr., substitute bus driver.
