Mathews students, teachers and other school employees will now get two full weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s, following action by the Mathews County School Board Tuesday night.

The division will also pick up three 1 p.m. dismissal days in February and March, giving students time off during a long stretch with few other breaks, and teachers an opportunity to catch up on some of their grading and other paperwork.

The school board added Dec. 20, 21 and 22 to the division’s Christmas break. Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the division had designated Thursday, Dec. 23, Friday, Dec. 24 and the following week as its winter break.

The 1 p.m. dismissal days were added on three Wednesdays in February and March (Feb. 9 and March 9 and 23).

The actions were taken days after the board’s legislative tour of Thomas Hunter Middle School in which students and teachers discussed the additional stresses placed upon them over the last couple years during the pandemic (See related school story).
Teachers relayed concerns they and their colleagues have about burnout as the classroom professionals work long hours to insure that their students aren’t left behind.

The school board initially approved a plan that would have tacked on three days at the end of the 2021-2022 calendar (June 6, 7 and 8) to make up for the days taken off during winter break to remain at 177 school days on the calendar.

However, following public comment at the end of the meeting (including comments from all three school principals), a motion to reconsider was approved, the added days in June were removed and the 1 p.m. dismissals added.

When the days were added to the calendar earlier in the meeting, school board member John Priest said his intention was that those days would be taken back once the division made it through the winter months with resorting to few, if any, snow days.

Mathews High School principal Drew Greve, during his comments at the end of the meeting, pointed out that the division is on track to provide 1,056 instructional hours this school year; 66 hours or 11 days above the state-required 990 instructional hours.

Mathews Elementary principal Cindy Gray spoke of teachers like Stacie Wiatt coming back after putting their own children to bed to get some of their work done, turning out the lights after the custodians had left for the night. Her top concern, Gray said, is “preserving the teachers that we have.”

Wiatt also talked about the exhaustion that she and her peers are experiencing. Other divisions, she said, have provided bonuses and mental health days. While she was glad that this exhaustion was finally being acknowledged by the Mathews board, “it’s not a gift when you’re adding days on top of it.” She said the extra days aren’t needed for teachers to put their feet up and rest, but rather to make copies, plan and catch up on all they can’t do during the school day.

THMS principal Laurel Byrd made a special plea for the early dismissal days next year. Byrd asked the board to consider the mental health of students and staff alike, calling the long stretch from January through April with few breaks “horrible.”

She said that if they were given those 1 p.m. dismissals, she wouldn’t have any staff meetings, but rather would tell her teachers to lock their doors and get a chance to catch up. “They have to have the time to get their work done,” she said.

The issue of mental health was also addressed at the start of Tuesday’s meeting, which was held in the MHS media center. The parent of a 16-year-old spoke about the child’s many scholastic and extracurricular accomplishments, adding that she also suffers from anxiety and depression. She tried to take her own life last December.

“She got help [and] she’s doing amazing” now, the parent said, but stressed that other students in the same situation need to get help with their mental health struggles. “We need to make mental health a priority in our students,” she said. “I know we’re down a counselor at the high school, which is a big, big, big deal.”

The student also addressed the board on her struggles. When she began to tear up, school board chair Linda Hodges (a former counselor at MHS and current Executive Director of the Middle Peninsula-Northern Neck Community Services Board) came over and offered the girl a tissue.

The student noted the added difficulty of being unable to read people’s emotions when they are wearing a mask. “There has been no support in the school,” she said.

Hodges thanked the parent and student for addressing the board, saying that it speaks well for both of them. “We hear you … and we will be discussing this,” she said.

Following the closed session, the school board also approved a staff appointment for THMS teacher assistant Nicole McCuistion, coaching appointments for Malina Hester (JV girls’ basketball), Amanda Rodriguez and Jennifer Doss (cheerleading), Randy Applegate (robotics) and Pat Moughon and James Hutcheson (intramural basketball) and volunteer coaching appointments for Kayla Stearns (cross country), Caleb Thomas (varsity basketball) and C.K. Ambrose (JV boys’ basketball).

The school board will next meet on Tuesday, Nov. 30, to consider applicants for the vacancy created by the resignation of school board member Jeanice Sadler. Hodges presented a plaque thanking Sadler for her six years’ service on the board at the start of the meeting.

The first work session on the 2022-2023 budget will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14 in the MHS media center. The regular monthly meeting will follow at 6.