Chesterfield County Public Schools will return to an all-virtual learning environment starting Monday, Nov. 30

Posted on November 25, 2020

Chesterfield County Public Schools will return to an all-virtual learning environment starting Monday, Nov. 30. Only Cohort No. 1 students (Level 2 special education students) will be allowed to return to school for in-person instruction.

This return to an all-virtual learning environment, due to public health data reflecting a worsening pandemic locally, will last at least through the end of the first semester (Jan. 29).

Virginia Department of Health data released earlier today showed that Chesterfield County has exceeded the seven-day rolling average of 25 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents (at 26.5 as of Nov. 25) that Chesterfield County Public Schools targeted as a metric to return to an all-virtual learning environment. The school division’s plan, first shared with families and staff on Nov. 17, is largely based on Harvard Global Health Institute’s metric and was part of original conversations with the Public Health Committee. With the seven-day average of 25 cases or more per 100,000, this would place the school division in the highest category of CCPS’s original metric and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Indicators in terms of cases.

The increase in local COVID-19 cases has been swift. One month ago, Chesterfield’s seven-day rolling average was 13.2. Today it is 26.5. During the same timeframe, the local positivity rate has increased from 5.8 to 8.3 percent. Last week, more than 1 million COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide in six days.

Chesterfield County Public Schools been tracking data and preparing for a potential return to an all-virtual learning environment. Things to know:

• If your child attends elementary school, click here to learn more about the adjusted Monday-Friday virtual schedule.
• If you child attends middle or high school, click here to learn more about the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday virtual schedule as well as what students should expect on Wednesdays.
• Free meals will continue to be available for all Chesterfield County youth ages 18 and younger.
• Technology support will be set up at designated school sites for students and families.

In the coming days, families should expect to hear more about the return to virtual learning from their school, including what to expect on Monday when school resumes in a virtual setting.

The School Board will hold a special-called work session at 3 p.m. on Monday in the Public Meeting Room to receive an update on the current situation. During this meeting a public health update will be provided, and will include a review of the factors that have led to the decision to return at this time to an all-virtual learning environment.