The majority of students at Mathews County Public Schools will continue to receive their instruction virtually, at least until the end of the calendar year.

That was the decision of the school board, meeting on Tuesday in the Harry M. Ward Auditorium at Mathews High School. The decision came after a public comment period, where several parents and one middle school student made a plea for the return to in-person instruction.

The decision did not seem to be an easy one for school board members, who all expressed sympathy for the difficulties that both students and teachers are facing on a daily basis with virtual instruction. However, in the end they voted unanimously to approve the staff recommendation for its second nine weeks instructional delivery plan.

While the plan calls for most students to continue receiving their instruction online, students identified as being most vulnerable or having special needs by individuals schools may be offered the opportunity to receive in-person instruction on a case-by-case basis, if the Virginia Department of Health indicators demonstrate low or moderate risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus. A reassessment of conditions will take place the week of Dec. 28.

In her presentation, “Back to School … Reimagined,” Superintendent of Schools Nancy Welch indicated that she had hoped to return to at least one day a week of in-person instruction for elementary and middle school students starting the day after Election Day, and having two days of in-person classes in December, if CDC indicators were favorable.

However, showing the CDC guidelines for reopening school, Mathews falls into the higher and highest risk of transmission in several categories, according to Friday’s COVID-19 numbers. Specifically, the core indicators included the number of new cases per 100,000 persons within the last 14 days, the percent change in new cases during the last seven days and the existence of a localized community/public setting outbreak.

“I sympathize with everyone,” school board chair John Priest said. “I, more than anyone, want to see our children come back.” One of his concerns is, if a teacher were to test positive, he or she would have to be gone for at least 14 days and “we don’t have the substitutes to fill in, even for a few.” And those potential substitutes are, like himself, retired teachers and “they can’t afford to take the risk either.”

“None of us likes having our kids out of school,” school board member Jeanice Sadler said. “I appreciate everyone that spoke out. We’re listening to every spectrum possible.”

Among those speaking out at the start of the meeting were parent Mark Denkinger of Cardinal and his daughter Hailey, an eighth grader at Thomas Hunter Middle School.

“I believe these children deserve to be back in school,” the father said. “COVID is a great concern and should not be taken lightly,” he continued, but “it also can be managed.” Denkinger, who works in a hospital, said from personal experience that “I know it can be managed safely.”

“Virtual reality learning is not working,” he said. “My children have been in tears lately” due to the difficulties and stresses that come with online learning, he added. Parents working all day, he said, now come home and have to work as teachers. “We are under extreme stress.”

Hailey echoed her father’s comments. She said that, while she is fortunate to have good internet, many students have spotty coverage or none at all. Having to learn a new platform, Canvas, was an added problem, she said, after already being familiar with Google Classroom. While both her parents were A/B students in school, they are not equipped to fill the gap as teachers. “I love my parents, but they are not teachers,” she said.

“I have a tutor for math and that’s probably the only reason I have good grades in math,” she said. “We need to go back to school for everyone’s sake.”

Ben Henry, who has children in all three schools, moved to Mathews about four months ago. He has seen where his former area in Georgia, which is much larger than Mathews, has been able to return to the classroom with minimal problems. “Where I come from, it’s 20,000 [students] and everybody goes to school,” he said. “They were able to manage it.”

“With proper precautions,” Henry added, there’s no reason that Mathews can’t do the same. His children were honor students “and [now] they’re failing miserably.”

Barbara Billups said that she “noticed a super charge” in her child (who has an IEP) who returned to in-person instruction. She said she’d like to see all Mathews children get that opportunity to be excited about learning.

Teacher Amy Bohannon Stewart said that even though she’s been teaching in Mathews for about 20 years, she finds herself more like a first-year teacher. “The workload is crushing,” both for students and teachers. “I know the kids are suffering,” she said. “I do want to get them back in the building.” She said she understands that virtual instruction will remain an option for students throughout the school year and she doesn’t know how she will be able to manage both that and in-person instruction.

In other news, Welch informed the school board that the division has incurred close to $740,000 in COVID-19 related expenses. “We’ve done a very good job trying to recoup some of these costs,” she said, with about $364,000 supported by grant funding and another $374,000 in pending grant support.

Name change for
elementary school

The advisory committee on the new name for the county’s elementary school will meet at 6 o’clock tonight in the Brooks Auditorium at Thomas Hunter Middle School. The group will have a second meeting on Nov. 12, with a recommendation to be considered at the school board’s Dec. 15 meeting.

A community survey of name choices was held from Aug. 25 to Oct. 15, with 290 submissions received through the website and another four made on paper. The top name choice is Mathews Elementary. Committee members include Welch, school board member Desmond Smith, Melissa Mason, Leslie Willis, Rebecca Brown, Charlene Winter, Katie Howlett, William Earl Sadler, Amy Hudgins, Brenton Payne and Bethanie Rose.

Following a closed meeting, the school board approved resignations from MHS secretary Amy Miller, MHS teacher assistant Stephanie Rowe and elementary teacher assistant Jessie Madison. Laura Horsley (elementary teacher assistant) and Katherine Larkin (MHS secretary) were appointed for the current school year.

The school board also appointed a temporary Equal Employment Opportunity Committee of school board members Priest, Sadler and Linda Hodges. They will hold a work session at 3 p.m. next Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the school board office.