HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) – Hampton Roads school districts have adjusted back to school dates and sports schedules throughout the school year amid the pandemic. Additionally, in an effort to provide transparency, local school districts launched dashboards including a breakdown of confirmed coronavirus cases at specific schools.
Here’s what we know for each district.
Each locality contains information on the latest back to school information, updated sports schedules, as well as dashboard links with recent health metrics provided by each district.
If a section is missing from a locality, it’s because that information is not available.
Some of the dashboards are updated daily, while others provide a weekly snapshot.
As for the Commonwealth as a whole, Gov. Ralph Northam gave an update on Feb. 5 announcing that schools need to offer in-person learning options by March 15.
CHESAPEAKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) officials say all option 1 students — those who have chosen in-person learning — began returning to campus as planned on Jan. 19.
To read more, click here.
SPORTS
CPS plans to move forward with fall high school varsity sports, but will cancel junior varsity sports for now.
For information on conditioning and season start dates, click here.
The school system originally planned to not allow spectators at the sporting events, which led to an outcry from families. But on Feb. 17, Gov. Northam amended an executive order regarding spectators at school sporting events. The next day, CPS said, as a result, it will now be able to allow a “limited number of guests.”
The school district said it is also working on a way to live stream the fall athletic events so all spectators can enjoy them if they can’t attend in person.
DASHBOARD
Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) updated its COVID-19 dashboard in late November. The dashboard now shows the total number of positive coronavirus cases, both self-reported and cases reported by the Chesapeake Health Department.
Click here to view the latest case data.
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HAMPTON CITY SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Hampton City Schools (HCS) operated in a fully virtual learning model for all students from Jan. 4 through Feb. 19.
On Feb. 22, pre-K and kindergarten students — as well as select pre-K-12 students with disabilities who are served in a self-contained environment — returned to the classroom for a modified in-person learning schedule.
Other students in various grades returned March 8 and March 15.
More information can be found here and the recent dates mentioned can be found on the website here.
SPORTS
To ensure the health and well-being of student-athletes, Hampton City Schools developed a comprehensive plan for the fall sports season.
For information on conditioning and season start dates, click here.
DASHBOARD
HCS launched a COVID-19 dashboard that is updated daily. It show positive cases broken down by each school and the date reported.
Click here to view the dashboard.
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ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
On Feb. 8, Isle of Wight County Schools (IWCS) announced plans to return lower grades to in-person learning five days a week.
The in-person learning began Tuesday, Feb. 16 for pre-K through fifth-grade students.
In its latest Jan. 28 update, school administrators said they will continue to monitor health data for a potential return of additional grade levels to five days a week in-person.
This will not impact students on the Virtual Learning Model for the second semester.
Read more on that decision here.
DASHBOARD
Isle of Wight County Schools has launched its dashboard that reports the number of students or staff at an IWCS facility who tested positive in a particular week. It also shows the number of quarantined people. It does not break numbers down by school.
The dashboard will be updated weekly and can be found here.
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NEWPORT NEWS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
The district is implementing its Return to Learn Plan based on the status of COVID-19 community transmission, positivity rates within Newport News Public Schools and the school division’s ability to provide in-person instruction and other activities.
On Feb. 8, Superintendent Dr. George Parker announced an updated timeline for the return to in-person instruction in two phases, beginning with student populations who are most in need of in-person instruction and support.
Here is the updated timeline:
Students in grades 6-12 will be divided into two cohorts as demonstrated in the image below:
Families who selected virtual instruction for their child will continue with virtual instruction.
Additional information about elementary student schedules will be sent to parents from the child’s school.
View the complete, updated Return to Learn Plan, on the district’s website.
SPORTS
Varsity student-athletes in Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) will be able to compete in this year’s fall sports season; JV sports are suspended for the fall season.
For information on conditioning and season start dates, click here.
DASHBOARD
The NNPS dashboard provides a weekly update on its COVID-19 cases, based on data from the Virginia Department of Health. The dashboard identifies staff and student infections at the division and school level.
Click here to view the latest dashboard data.
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NORFOLK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Following Northam’s announcement on in-person learning, the administration of Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) approved a plan to return students in lower grades to the classroom starting March 15.
The School Board unanimously voted to approve an updated plan for a return to in-person learning. during its Feb. 17 meeting.
First, teachers and staff will return to their respective work locations on March 1. March 1 through March 3 will serve as asynchronous learning days for students.
The plan will then be to bring pre-K through fifth-grade students back on a hybrid model beginning March 15. Self-contained students with disabilities and English language learners will also come back on that date.
Grades six through 12 will remain fully online at that time.
All middle school students will then begin a hybrid schedule on April 12.
Grades nine through 12 will remain online until April 26, at which point all high school students begin the hybrid schedule.
More information can be found here.
SPORTS
The most recent update we have is that Norfolk’s public schools will have rescheduled fall sports starting Feb. 8.
Read more here.
DASHBOARD
NPS launched a dashboard that shows the health metrics for the City of Norfolk, based on the CDC’s Indicators for Dynamic School Decision-Making. At last check, both core indicators were in the red. Click here to see the latest data.
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PORTSMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
After learning virtually for the entire school year thus far, some Portsmouth students will be returning to in-person learning starting April. The Portsmouth School Board met March 4 to discuss the reopening of schools and voted 6-3 to bring some students back.
Starting April 12, pre-K through sixth grade will return on a hybrid model of two full days of face-to-face learning and three days of virtual learning. Special education students and English language learners will also return on April 12 for four full days a week.
Grades seven to 12 will remain virtual for the remainder of the school year.
Click here for more information.
SPORTS
PPS said it will follow all guidance from the Virginia High School League regarding the return to competitive sports and activities.
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SUFFOLK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Some Suffolk Public Schools (SPS) students will return to in-person learning on March 15, almost a full year since moving to virtual learning.
The Suffolk School Board reached the decision in a 4-2 vote on February 11.
Special Education students will be in class four days a week. Pre-K to fifth-grade students will also return on a hybrid model two days a week beginning March 15. Sixth grade through 12th grade will return on March 22, also on a hybrid model.
Suffolk Schools Superintendent Dr. Gordon is holding a Facebook Live Q&A on Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. to discuss the reopening plan. You can submit questions in advance at this link.
Then, on Feb. 25, SPS announced it will be holding a special school board meeting from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m., which will be live streams.
The school system has a page dedicated to answering questions about the reopening of schools, which they say will continue to be updated.
SPORTS
The most recent information on the sports season says that the winter sports season was canceled for the 2020-2021 school year.
Information on that can be found here.
DASHBOARD
The SPS dashboard shows a weekly snapshot for the Eastern Region and the City of Suffolk, pulling from the state’s data every Monday. The chart is broken down by school location and cases.
The school system said one case does not equal one individual. The total number of cases may include a single individual who was in multiple locations.
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VIRGINIA BEACH CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) began welcoming students back to campus on Feb. 2. Under the current plan, pre-K through sixth-grade students and some special needs students will be the first to be phased-in. Students in seventh through 12th grade would come back three weeks later on Feb. 23.
Read more here.
SPORTS
The most recent update on sports says students returned the week of Jan. 6.
DASHBOARD
VBCPS has a COVID-19 dashboard that is updated daily at 10 a.m. It lists the date of the possible transmission when the school system was notified, which school reported the case, and the number of cases reported.
Click here to view the latest dashboard data.
Anyone identified as a close exposure contact will be contacted by VBCPS and be required to quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure. A close contact is defined by the CDC as someone who was within 6-feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes.
All others identified as low-risk exposure contacts will receive a letter from VBCPS via the AlertNow notification system.
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WJCC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Students in every grade are now back in school for in-person learning two days a week, after the district made some slight changes to its reopening plan on Feb. 10.
- Feb. 16: PreK–5: Select Special Ed and ELs
- Feb. 22: Grades 6 and 12
- March 1: Grades 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11
The division is also asking for your thoughts on next year’s school calendar and whether it should start before Labor Day. The deadline to provide feedback is Thursday, March 11. Click here to answer the survey.
SPORTS
WJCC Schools will allow high school athletes to participate in varsity athletics.
The fall sports season, including football, cross country, field hockey, golf, volleyball, and cheer,
began tryouts and practices the second week of February.
For more information and dates, click here.
DASHBOARD
The WJCC school district launched a COVID-19 dashboard which breaks down data by school and the date of the reported case. It also lists the specific number of cases involving students or staff.
The dashboard is updated daily.
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YORK COUNTY SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
The district is asking for feedback for the 2021-2022 school school, including whether to start school before Labor Day. The deadline to fill out the survey is March 17.
Beginning Monday, February 22, 11th-grade students returned to school in the hybrid model. These students were followed by grades 7 and 9 on Monday, March 1, and grades 8 and 10 on Monday, March 8. As with other grade levels, students will be scheduled to attend school in-person 2 days per week as part of either Cohort 1 (last names A-K) or Cohort 2 (last names L-Z).
(as of February 16, 2021)
(as of February 16, 2021)
Free online tutoring with YCSD teachers is now available for all students in grades 6-12 every Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. Students can sign up to receive support in English, math and organizational skills. To register a student for a tutoring session, use this online form.
Read more on that here.
DASHBOARD
York County Schools launched a COVID-19 dashboard which is expected to be updated by 5 p.m. on weekdays.
The dashboard includes the number of positive coronavirus cases involving students and staff members, which are listed by date. The data is searchable. You can filter by school/building, date and school level (elementary, middle, high).
Division staff have identified procedure and actions to respond to reports of positive COVID-19 diagnoses of students or staff members when an individual is participating in a division program, activity, or workplace.
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VDH School Outbreak Data
The Virginia Department of Health has its own dashboard with data on outbreaks reported in school settings. The VDH dashboard is updated once a week, on Friday. Click here for the latest data.
An outbreak in a school is defined as at least two confirmed cases of COVID-19 where persons are linked by a common exposure to an ill person, setting, event, and time period. VDH uses the national outbreak definition.
A COVID-19 outbreak is considered school-associated when transmission occurs within the school setting or at a school-sponsored event between students, staff, or visitors.
For this reason, a school may report that a student or staff who attends their school is positive for COVID-19, but that does not necessarily indicate that a school-associated outbreak has occurred, and the school may not be listed on this dashboard.
Outbreaks are only reported for schools that have at least 30 enrolled students and staff.
