Dinwiddie schools temporarily go virtual due to "critical strain" from COVID-19 pandemic

DINWIDDIE — Dinwiddie County Public Schools will temporarily move all students to virtual learning from January 14 to Jan. 29, citing rising student absenteeism, "critical shortages" in staff availability and other factors brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was made on the recommendation of superintendent Dr. Keri Weston, and was unanimously supported by the board.

Since the start of school on September 8, there have been 60 positive cases of COVID-19 related to Dinwiddie schools, according to Weston, though each of those cases was considered an individual case, and was not directly related to any other case. Of those 60, 30 are active cases.

The COVID-19 pandemic is straining staff availability in Dinwiddie schools. According to Weston, the school division is seeing an average of around 70 staff absences per day, a number that has steadily increased since the beginning of December. ON average, 35% of staff absences are currently going unfilled.

In addition to positive COVID-19 cases, there have also been many staff members forced to quarantine due to exposure to a positive case. Since the start of the school year, 449 individuals have been forced to quarantine, with over 100 currently in quarantine due to exposure.

"This puts a huge strain on the schools," Weston said, noting that the pandemic has also limited the pool of substitutes available to fill in during staff absences.

Dinwiddie County at large is experiencing spikes in COVID-19 statistics. Dinwiddie has seen 1,104 cases of COVID-19, resulting in 59 hospitalizations and 16 deaths. Currently, every locality in Virginia is considered "highest risk" for transmission of COVID-19 in schools, according to VDH.

The decision will not affect extracurricular activities such as athletics, Weston said. Additionally, DCPS will offer meal distribution during the two-week virtual period, and paper packets have already been distributed to students who have unreliable internet access at home, Weston said. Over 1,000 internet-capable devices have also distributed so students can have access.

More: "Send our children back to school!": Many Dinwiddie parents upset with virtual schooling

Dinwiddie opened the school year virtually, before giving families the choice to send their children to school for in-person learning. As of Jan. 12, 52% of Dinwiddie's 4,158 students were enrolled in "hybrid" instruction, which included in-person learning. The other 48% of students were learning in fully virtual, remote environments. Of late, though, Weston said that family choice has been trending virtual, with more and more parents pulling their students from the hybrid option.

Weston made the point of calling Dinwiddie schools "safe" during her presentation, noting that the division's COVID-19 mitigation strategies, which include masks, social distancing and contact tracing, are being implemented, "consistently and correctly."

"I wanna be clear that this is not anybody's fault," Weston said.

The first round of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to be available to Dinwiddie teachers and staff by the end of January, Weston said, with expected completion of the two-part implementation by March.

The unanimous vote included Jerry "Jay" Schnepf, of the first district. Schnepf raised eyebrows on social media Monday, after making Facebook posts joking about and skeptical of COVID-19. Schnepf apologized for the posts, saying during the meeting that he, "will always put the safety of students and staff first" on any decision he makes as a representative. In a statement given to The Progress-Index on Monday, DCPS said, "Board members maintain their right to freedom of expression and many choose to have his/her own social media presence. While board members work collectively for the good of the students, staff, and community of Dinwiddie, it is important to note that the personal opinions of one member do not represent the thoughts, ideas, beliefs and/or position of the School Board or that of the division."

Jeff Milby is a sports and education reporter at The Progress-Index. On the beat since April 2019, he's always looking for tips and story ideas on local athletes, teams, students, teachers, or any other idea you might have. Contact him at jmilby@progress-index.com, follow @JeffMilby on twitter, and subscribe to us at progress-index.com.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Dinwiddie schools temporarily go virtual due to "critical strain" from COVID-19 pandemic

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