The Shadow
Edgemont Primary School and Jeter-Watson Intermediate School will be operating under different hours for the 2019-20 academic year.
The Covington City School Board unanimously approved the new operating hours of 7:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for both schools during its regular July meeting Monday evening.
The old operating hours for the schools were 7:50 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“There have been discussions of changing the hours of Edgemont Primary School and Jeter-Watson Inter-mediate School,”?Covington City Public Schools Super-intendent Melinda Snead-Johnson stated.
Snead-Johnson cited many reasons to make the adjustment. Among the main reasons was the fact that some of the younger students started their day on a bus an hour prior to the start of school and wouldn’t get home until an hour after the school day had concluded.
“Some of our littlest ones get on the bus at 6:15 a.m., 6:30 a.m. Their days are long and there is nothing we can do about our current bus situation,” Snead-Johnson said.
She also mentioned the following positive outcome of the time change.
“The buses will be out of there and give our students time to go home and relax, and do their recreational things,”?Snead-Johnson added.
Dr. Shannon Fuhrman, director of instruction and director of technology, conducted research into schools locally and statewide and that allowed her and other staff to come up with the current time change plan.
Snead-Johnson also stated that bank time would not be affected by the change in operational hours.
Fuhrman briefly addressed the school board in regards to her research. She stated that she researched six schools leading up to changing the operational hours of EPS?and JWIS.
Snead-Johnson praised Fuhrman for her work and efforts leading up to Monday’s meeting.
Snead-Johnson also shared a final list of positives that would come with this change.
“It would be a good fit for our students with the buses. It would provide some time on the end of the day to assist with the athletic events at Covington High School,”?she said.
While this time change is new for the 2019-20 academic year, Snead-Johnson stated that these operation hours are not new to EPS.
“Edgemont used to be on this schedule years ago. It has changed over the course of the last few years,”?Snead-Johnson said.
Fuhrman added, “This will allow Edgemont Primary teachers and Jeter-Watson teachers to collaborate after school since the kids will dismiss at 2:30 p.m.”
Covington City School Board Chairwoman Tamala Preston then asked, “This change is only for the end of the school day?”
She was told that was the case after asking for clarification.
Board member Jonathan Arritt then sought clarification on what would be shortened during the school day.
“What gets shortened??I’m in my head thinking, what are we taking away?”?Arritt asked Snead-Johnson.
She responded, “It used to be we could not count recess as part of the school day, but that changed this year with the standards of accreditation that came down from the state.”
She continued, “There is instruction because some days when the kids don’t get to go out for recess and that is where the change comes from.”
Following the meeting, the school board went into to closed session to discuss pupil personnel and to appoint two members to the joint school discussion committee.
The following items were approved Monday evening:
— Additions to the Virginia School Boards Association?Media Honor Roll;
— VSBA policy updates for May 2019;
— Title III — Consortium and Grant (turn in by July 12).
The following dates were announced during Monday’s meeting:
— Monday, Aug. 5, proposed date for a 10-year celebration of the EPS/JWIS?school building;
— Monday, July 29, substitute teacher/paraprofessional orientation from 9-10:30 a.m. at the School Board Offices;
— Monday, Aug. 5, Virginia Department of Education visit in regard to the School Nursing Program.
Other miscellaneous reports included:
— Asbestos is removed from CHS, air quality tests came back positively;
— The Covington City School Board, along with Director of Development Services Eric Tyree, are working on getting handicapped parking at the School Board building.
