Tag: Albemarle County Public Schools

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In brief

Photo by Eze Amos.

In other words

While UVA leadership has continued to stress its willingness to engage with students over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, one such conversation did not proceed as planned on Thursday, May 9, when members of Apartheid Divest—a coalition of 43 student groups—walked out on a pre-scheduled meeting with UVA President Jim Ryan. More than 30 students stood in silence outside the meeting room, with their hands raised and painted red, as remarks and demands were read aloud to the UVA president.

Ryan listened to the statement in silence, leaving after the group started to chant, “35,000 dead and you arrested kids instead” and “Jim Ryan you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.”

In a statement to the Daily Progress about the decision to not move forward with the meeting as planned, Apartheid Divest member Josh Rosenberg said, “President Ryan’s actions were so inexcusable that there was no way we could have a good faith conversation with him after he refused to engage in good faith with students protesting peacefully for Palestine.”

Further division over how to best address UVA’s decision to call in police to break up the encampment arose on Friday, May 10, at a faculty senate meeting. Upper leadership, including Ryan, Longo, and Vice President and Provost Ian Baucom, attended the first portion of the gathering, and were grilled by several members and a small contingent of supporters among the faculty.

At the height of the conversation, multiple professors expressed their frustration with administration not dismissing the no trespass orders issued to protesters on the scene, especially those issued to faculty members and current students.

After leadership left, the senate passed an amended resolution calling for an external review of the events of Saturday, May 4, but declined to pass a resolution of solidarity.

Moving up

Supplied photo.

On May 13, Jamie Gellner started as the new Director of Transportation for Albemarle County Schools.

Prior to her current role, Gellner served as the Director of Special Projects, Program Evaluation, and Department Improvement for ACPS. She also has a background in transportation management, with experience in both Charlottesville and Fairfax.

“Our students deserve safe, reliable transportation services that support their education,” said Gellner in a release from ACPS. “I am eager to collaborate with students, families, and, of course, the dedicated staff of the Department of Transportation to implement innovative solutions and ensure every student arrives at school safely, on time and ready to learn.”

Gellner’s appointment comes at the tail end of a bumpy school year for bussing in the county, which experienced a driver shortage at the start of the 2023-24 school year. After three months, ACPS was able to expand bus services to all students requesting transportation outside of the walk zone.

Over the summer, Gellner will be working to minimize potential driver shortages that may pop back up this fall.

Cause for celebration

It’s graduation season in Charlottesville! Celebrations kick off at the University of Virginia on Friday, May 17, with events including valedictory exercises, the Donning of the Kente ceremony, and the Fourth Year Class Party. The main ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19, at 9am, with respective commencement speakers Daniel Willingham and Risa Goluboff. Expect traffic delays at the Corner, Downtown Mall, and just generally all of Main Street over the weekend.

Phoning in

The Charlottesville Police Department will resume responses for some non-emergency calls on June 1. Responses were temporarily paused in 2021 due to staffing shortages. Significant improvements to staffing will allow officers to respond to credit card fraud, false pretense, impersonation, larceny, vandalism, and lost property calls in person.

Compromise concessions

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a compromise budget passed by the Democratically controlled state legislature on Monday, May 13. While the new version includes funding for schools and pay increases for teachers and other state employees, other key Democratic priorities were scrapped on the bargaining table. Notable changes include the exclusion of language requiring reentry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the removal of any tax increases or decreases.

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In brief

Crowds at previous spring Foxfield races have been around 25,000 people, but turnout was lower this year. Photo by Robert Llewellyn.

Off to the races

Every spring, college students and families flock to the track for the Foxfield Races. While patrons galavant through the fields and watch the occasional horse race, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad makes sure everyone stays safe. This year, C-VILLE tagged along with CARS for the festivities.

The day started early at the McIntire Road CARS station, with everyone in full motion at 6:45am. For Social Events Captain Nicole Post, planning began more than a month before the actual races. “I take inventory of what we used from last year, what’s going on, and make sure we’re doing all of our ordering,” she says. “We have a bunch of cards, a bunch of backpacks, a bunch of walking packs, so all of that has to be updated and stocked, all the expired stuff needs to be thrown out.”

The CARS squad headed out in a fleet of ambulances, trucks, and other EMS vehicles around 7:30am. After a pit stop at Chick-fil-A in the Mass Casualty Incident truck, we arrived at the racetrack, where the squad split up after breakfast briefings that included assignments for interior treatment center, ambulances, walking teams, and the exterior care center. This helps ensure that CARS can access and treat patients at any location.

After meeting up with Chief Virginia Leavell, I was given a highlighter-yellow CARS jacket and joined the gator teams in the interior treatment center. The gators—essentially souped-up golf carts converted into field ambulances—transport patients who can’t easily get to the main medical area on their own.

Despite the early morning rain and chillier-than-normal temps, the gator teams were quickly dispatched. Calls typically end with either no patient located or an intoxicated 20-something loaded onto the stretcher after a basic lookover. Unless something is wrong with a patient’s airway, breathing, or circulation, the person is immediately driven to the interior medical center.

“Those are like the three big things that are our top priority on every patient, the three things that we check first in all cases,” says Jaime Lear, one of the gator drivers who manned the MCI to and from Foxfield.

Once at the medical center, patients are assessed and treated as appropriate. Most people hang out in the tent for at least an hour, and the doctor on site approves each discharge. Anyone brought in for intoxication must pass a quick walking test before leaving. 

“A vast majority of patients get treated and released from here,” says CARS medic Michael Chilmaid. “Usually each year a couple end up having to be transported to the hospital.”

“Normally if we’ve treated a patient, given them medications, or put [in] an IV, they would be going to the hospital, but here it’s a little different,” adds paramedic and training officer Jasmyn Powers. 

Amid the chilly weather, CARS was less busy than usual this year, with 16 patients in the interior medical center all day and no transports to the hospital.—Catie Ratliff

Money moves

Albemarle County Public Schools adopted its operating budget for the 2024-25 school year on April 25. The budget comes in at $269.4 million, a $9.5 million increase from last year. Highlights include a 3 percent raise for all employees, an increase to the Academic Leadership Compensation Program, and the addition of five full-time equivalent positions to both the English Learner and Special Education program.

The wheel deal

Meals on Wheels Executive Director Hailey Peterson. Supplied photo.

Effective April 29, Hailey Peterson is the new executive director of Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville/Albemarle. Peterson started with MOW in 2021 as a volunteer manager, later serving as the organization’s assistant director and has been the interim executive director since September 2023. “I’m honored to continue my work with Meals on Wheels as the Executive Director,” Peterson said in an April 25 press release. “Having spent the past three years getting to know the volunteers, learning more about the organization, and better understanding the needs of our community, I’m looking forward to deepening our connection to our neighbors in need.”

Fire alarm

The Charlottesville Fire Department is investigating a fire at the University of Virginia Medical Center. The fire started at approximately 11:45am on April 27 in an inpatient room in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. A patient and a visitor were both treated for injuries, and the hospital returned to normal operations by the same afternoon. At press time, the cause of the fire is unknown.

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Penciled in

The Albemarle County School Board (above) voted 7-0 in favor of Superintendent Matthew Haas’ redistricting recommendation. Supplied photo.

The Albemarle County School Board approved a redistricting plan on March 14. While some parents are celebrating, others are less than thrilled that their children will be attending new schools.

The decision to redistrict was prompted by a population surge in the northern part of Albemarle County, and significant overcrowding at Baker-Butler Elementary School. As part of the redistricting recommendation, the district selected the North Pointe site—on Route 29 north of Proffit Road—as the location for the new elementary school. While ACPS is building a new elementary school to support the population growth, current infrastructure challenges make it infeasible to wait until the school’s projected opening in 2029 to redistrict.

With 750 students—more than 200 students over the building’s capacity—Baker-Butler is strained. All fifth grade classrooms have been moved to trailers, but the school is still strapped for space. Several teachers share space, staff rooms have been converted into classrooms, and the school’s physical and occupational therapists are based in the hallway.

Less than 15 minutes away, Stony Point Elementary has an enrollment of only 181 students, and is the smallest school in the county. Low enrollment at the school has led to problems keeping staff and maintaining at least two classes per grade level.

In October 2023, ACPS convened a redistricting committee to determine how to best reorganize elementary school boundaries in two phases. Phase one—the newly passed redistricting recommendation—redraws attendance areas to relieve enrollment concerns during the construction of the new elementary school. Once the new school is completed, school boundaries will be redrawn again, which is phase two of the redistricting.

Committee priorities included zoning neighborhoods together when possible, ensuring efficient transportation routes, and limiting the number of households rezoned in both phases. After months of meetings and a community survey, the ACPS redistricting committee made its recommendation to ACPS Superintendent Matthew Haas in February, and he presented the final recommendation to the school board on February 22.

The final recommendation redistricts 189 students, moving 42 students from Stone-Robinson to Stony Point Elementary; 88 students from Baker-Butler to Hollymead Elementary; and 59 students from Woodbrook to Agnor-Hurt Elementary.

The most contentious element of the plan was the movement of students from Stone-Robinson to Stony Point Elementary—32 percent of 758 respondents expressed no support for that in the community survey conducted in early February.

Ahead of the school board vote, several parents addressed representatives in a public hearing on the redistricting.

Advocates for redistricting spoke about the close-knit community at Stony Point Elementary and the logic of adding the Cascadia neighborhood to the attendance area.

“We relocated to Albemarle County two years ago specifically because of the unique rural character of the northern part of the county,” said Clinton Key, a Stony Point parent. “When we moved here we didn’t know anyone, and the generosity and inclusivity of the school’s leadership, its staff, and its community were essential to the success and quality of the experience my children had of joining the Albemarle community.”

“We would strive to be more of a school family by adding the neighborhood of Cascadia specifically,” said Stony Point parent Anika Johnson. “It would be a wonderful addition, because our children play at the same playgrounds, ride bikes together, [and] our sidewalks connect to each other’s neighborhoods.”

Opponents to the redistricting expressed concerns about the recommendation not effectively addressing overcrowding and equity issues, among other items.

“This proposed plan is not equitable, nor does it adequately address the phase one objectives of the redistricting initiative of rebalancing enrollment across the northern feeder pattern,” said Rupert Egan. Specific issues raised by Egan include the addition of trailers to Hollymead, and the plan’s failure to truly address overcrowding at Baker-Butler.

“Cascadia is not a good fit for Stony Point’s needs,” said Cascadia resident and Stone-Robinson parent Colin Thomas, who argued the new neighborhood’s potential demographic variations would be difficult for the small elementary school to handle. “As a smaller school, Stony Point is less able to handle enrollment unpredictability than a larger school like Stone-Robinson.”

Ahead of the vote, several members of the school board spoke about redistricting difficulties. Chair Judy Le talked to her constituents in the Rivanna District, which was the area most heavily impacted by the redistricting.

“I have given immense consideration to this vote, because as a parent I understand the ramifications both positive and potentially negative,” said Le. “There is no reason that Stony Point should continue to have difficulty staffing due to its size, there’s no reason Baker-Butler should continue to burst at the seams. And the recommendation Dr. Haas has made to us is the most equitable way to do the things we need to do.”

The redistricting recommendation passed unanimously, and will go into effect for the 2024-25 school year with a one-year exemption for families of rising fifth graders.

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‘The right to safety’

Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent Matt Haas denied claims that anti-bias lessons piloted at Henley Middle School were based on critical race theory. Haas says the district is committed to the anti-racism policy it adopted in 2019. Staff photo.

With an array of Pride flags, masks, and posters on display, dozens of families gathered in front of the Albemarle County Office Building on a hot August Thursday to show their support for the school division’s proposed policy outlining the rights of transgender and gender-expansive students. A handful of cars sporting colorful decorations honked their horns in support while circling the building. The rally was hosted by the Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County. 

Under the new policy, transgender and gender-expansive students (an all-encompassing term for people whose gender does not fit a traditional male-female binary) may use the bathroom and locker room that align with their gender identity. Teachers and staff must address all students by their preferred name and pronouns, and complete training on preventing bullying and discrimination and fostering a safe and inclusive environment. Transgender students have been allowed to participate in Virginia High School League sports since 2014. 

“All students should have the right to safety and comfort in their education,” says Ollie Nacey, a ninth-grader at Western Albemarle High School, who attended the rally. “It’s an important thing to fight for because right now it’s not automatic that everybody has that—we have to make it so that it’s a given.”

The change comes after a period of debate at both the local and state levels. This year, a new state law required all Virginia school districts to adopt policies regarding the treatment of transgender and gender-expansive students before the start of the 2021-2022 school year. Many school districts, including Charlottesville, signed off on the state-mandated policies over the summer. Others, like Albemarle, chose to pursue individualized policies after hearing from constituents in the district. And a few districts, particularly in conservative areas, have pushed back against the requirement entirely.

According to The Trevor Project’s 2021 national survey, more than 50 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth have seriously considered suicide within the past year.

If a student comes out as transgender or gender-expansive at school, a teacher or staff member will work with them and their family to develop a plan regarding their transition in school. However, the school must prioritize the wellness and safety of students who may face violence or punishment, or get kicked out of their homes if their families find out about their gender identity. 

“In some cases, gender-expansive students may not want their parents to know about their gender-expansive or transitioning status,” reads the policy. “These situations must be addressed on a case-by-case basis and will require schools to balance the goal of supporting the student with the requirement that parents be kept informed about their children.”

Over the past month, some parents registered their disapproval of the policy, claiming that it allows schools to hide information from parents and puts cisgender students in danger.

According to Learning for Justice, allowing transgender and gender-expansive students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity has not increased sexual assaults or violent crimes. (Single-stall, gender-neutral bathrooms are also available to ACPS students.)

Nacey reminds the school board that the fight to protect transgender and gender-expansive students is far from over.

“We have to keep on seeing what’s working and what’s still needed,” she says. “The school board must talk to trans students who are experiencing it and how it’s affected them, and keep working at it to make it the best policy possible.”

Critical critiques

Albemarle schools recently found itself on the end of conservative ire of a different kind—the fight over critical race theory, a graduate-school level legal scholarship framework that conservatives have wrongly claimed is being used to turn primary school students into cultural progressives.

This year, a group of county parents alleged that anti-bias lessons piloted at Henley Middle School were based on critical race theory. The school board and Superintendent Dr. Matt Haas denied the claims and emphasized their commitment to the division’s anti-racism policy, which was adopted in 2019, as well as culturally responsive teaching.

Republican Philip Andrew Hamilton, who is currently running for the 57th House of Delegates District, planned to hold a rally in front of the County Office Building on August 12, calling for the school board to not implement critical race theory, but later canceled the event.

“The audacity of a political candidate to use [the Unite the Right rally anniversary] as the backdrop to his anti-CRT rhetoric is unconscionable,” says Amanda Moxham of Hate-Free Schools. “Anti-CRT movement is rooted in anti-Blackness and transphobia while being used to build up white nationalists.”

Moxham hopes that as the school year gets underway, ACPS will develop accountability and transparency strategies for anti-racism and anti-discrimination work in schools. She also calls on the district to recruit and retain more teachers of color.

“While policy is important, no policy can make a difference if the real work is not started, sustained, and nurtured as part of a healthy school culture,” she says.

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New view?

Mountain View Elementary. Photo: Albemarle County Schools

Earlier this month, Jennifer McArtor went online to enroll her kids in Mountain View Elementary’s after-school program for the upcoming school year, only to find out she could not register her rising fifth grader. Through another parent, she was surprised to learn that her daughter might be transferred to Walton Middle School, 10 minutes down the road.

Due to overcrowding at the elementary school, around 115 fifth graders could be sent to Walton in the fall. They’d be taught by Mountain View teachers, but would ride buses with middle schoolers and follow a middle school schedule, which is two hours longer than an elementary school day. 

Over the past two weeks, many parents in Albemarle County have called out the school district for its lack of communication and transparency, and registered disapproval about the potential transfer to Walton.

“I don’t think 10-year-olds are [mature] enough to be in a school with middle school kids,” says McArtor, who is the president of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization. “Their conversations are going to be vastly different from what a 10-year-old may be talking about.”

At Walton, parents fear their students will not have access to a playground or after-school care. They also may not have elementary-level guidance counselors, librarians, or teachers for electives like music and PE.

“[Families] are going to be forced to decide, ‘Is my child mature enough to get themselves to the bus stop in the morning and get themselves home from the bus stop?’” says McArtor. 

The students will also miss out on being “leaders of their school,” says parent Justin Alicea, pointing to the various leadership positions available to fifth graders.

Additionally, some students would have to move again after just a year because they are zoned for Burley Middle School for sixth grade. 

According to district spokesman Phil Giaramita, Walton principal Josh Walton is “in discussions” about adding recreational equipment and after-school programming for the young students.

Families have invoked equity concerns as well. Mountain View is the second-largest and among the most diverse schools in the county, serving many low-income Latino students from the Southwood Mobile Home Park.

“Fifth graders, wherever they live in Albemarle County, should be given access to the same resources and experiences,” says parent Karl Shuve. “How is this equitable?”

Parents also accused the school district of intentionally shutting them out of the decision-making process. During a parent meeting with Mountain View’s principal on May 18, a discussion about the fifth graders was the last thing on the agenda. And during last Wednesday’s community meeting about plans for the upcoming school year, parents claim the administration did little to ease their concerns.

“The county put together a propaganda piece,” says one teacher. “There is an absolute pattern of dismissive behavior for the parents here.”

Administrators have emphasized that the move would just be for one year, and a final decision will not be made until at least the end of June, when the district will have a better picture of what enrollment numbers look like for the fall.

“The school now is approaching 100 students over capacity [and] enrollment for the fall will be over projections once again,” explains Giaramita. “The other factor is the number of families that will select in person as opposed to virtual school.”

The district has set aside $6.2 million to add six classrooms to Mountain View, and plans to look into long-term solutions, like redistricting or building another school. Parents say overcrowding has been an issue for a long time at the school as developments have grown across the county, and the district has been slow to act. They urge the school to consider adding trailers to the elementary school or moving the preschool to a different facility. 

Parents would like superintendent Dr. Matt Haas and the rest of the administration to take responsibility for their mishandling of the situation too.

“They should at least say this is our mistake, and we’re asking fifth graders to pay for [it],” adds Shuve.

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Rough road

Fleet of yellow school buses in a parking lot under a sunny blue sky
Area school bus systems have also been impacted by COVID. PC: Skyclad Aerial

By Mary Jane Gore

The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round—until COVID hits. And since the start of the pandemic, city and county bus systems have encountered many bumps and unexpected curves.

Before COVID, the city averaged about 2,600 bus riders per day. Currently, that number is down to 1,033, and some buses are becoming emptier as ridership dwindles along certain routes. High schools in particular have light loads in some areas, as parents and some students have opted to drive. 

Fluctuation in the number of students who ride—and where they live—has meant constant adjusting for drivers. 

Typically, the school systems conduct one routing per school year. In 2020-2021, the Albemarle County schools routing staff used software (and bus drivers’ valuable knowledge) to generate five different routing schedules, as situations changed rapidly. 

Donna Fortune says the county, where she has driven for 11 years, was supportive when drivers returned to deliver students to in-person classes again. And she was happy to be behind the wheel again after being “heartbroken” when buses were suspended in 2020, because she missed her young passengers. 

“We were given good transportation and routing information,” Fortune says. “We received lists of all students, and what day of the week they are riding.” Learning the new, complicated routes wasn’t easy, though. Some kids go to school on Monday and Wednesday, some go on Tuesday and Thursday, and some go all four of those days.  

On Fridays, when most students attend school remotely, county buses shuttle supplies to kids—books, projects, equipment, paperwork—so they can work effectively at home. Buses also deliver lunch to those who need it.  

Drivers are worn out in general, says ACPS Transportation Director Jim Foley. Often, they drive two shifts each morning and afternoon to accommodate both elementary and middle/high school students. The drivers have also been tasked with disinfecting the bus, and are expected to enforce the mask requirement, which is tricky. Fortune says the kids have been excited to see each other, and are very talkative. “They enjoy socializing,” she says.

Some bus routes have few or zero kids on them, and others have had waitlists for seats, though the city school district says it has “been able to meet all known needs for students of families who elected in-person school and require bus service to attend.”

In the county, the largest bus holds 77 students, but during COVID that number shrunk to 25 with distancing, says Foley. All area buses have a one-child-per-seat policy, except for siblings, who can ride two to a seat. 

Foley says that children cannot pick and choose when they ride the bus. “If a student is not on the bus for 10 days and that information is verified with parents or through the schools, then that child would be removed as a bus rider, and someone on the waiting list would get a bus seat,” he says. The city follows a similar process for its routes.

Both districts have had difficulty recruiting drivers. Decreased bus ridership does not mean fewer drivers are required—routes cover significant ground and in many cases cannot be combined. The city was recruiting pre-pandemic, but the issue has worsened due to driver retirements and ongoing challenges with COVID-19.

Foley encourages people to apply for the now-$16-per-hour job. Drivers can gain Virginia Retirement System benefits with just six hours per day, he says. With a minimum five hours a day, 10 months a year, a driver gets health care benefits too.  

And riding the bus is better for the environment and safer than individual transportation: Foley says each full bus would keep about 36 cars from driving to schools—and school-provided transportation is eight times safer than parent transportation and 40 times safer than teen transportation.

Looking ahead, the city hopes to find more drivers for an anticipated summer school. The county plans to begin allowing two students per seat this summer. 

The county also plans to install new federally funded air filtration systems by the fall, Foley says. The HEPA systems are the same that airplanes use, and would make riding safer for more students at once. 

Meanwhile, school districts anxiously await news of expanded access to vaccines—Pfizer is expected to soon authorize its vaccine for use on children as young as 12. Phil Giaramita, ACPS strategic communications officer, says the schools will continue to adjust their transportation plans based on the experts’ vaccine recommendations. 

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Hard decisions: New learning center comes to Stonefield, as controversy reignites over in-person instruction

To help the many families who cannot afford private tutors or school, Direct Learning Solutions is opening a new learning center in Stonefield. PC: Eze amos

Beginning next month, Albemarle County Public Schools will bring kindergarten through third grade students back to classrooms for in-person instruction two days a week. That’s frustrated some teachers who maintain that the safety concerns outweigh potential benefits. Meanwhile, off-site learning centers aim to assist with childcare by hosting virtual learning.

As local schools began the fall semester virtually, many area parents struggled to balance their jobs and remote learning. Some paid to enroll their children in small learning pods, while others hired private tutors to work with their kids one-on-one. And those with the means opted out of public school entirely, and enrolled their students in private schools with in-person instruction.

Now, a recently founded Richmond-based company called Direct Learning Solutions is opening a new learning center for elementary schoolers participating in virtual classes. Located at the former Travinia Italian Kitchen site in Stonefield, the center will start off with three facilitators and 30 students, explains Executive Director Robin Lawson. But if demand goes up, it can safely accommodate 20 more students, along with two additional facilitators.

Beginning November 1, families will be able to send their child to the center for virtual learning and after-school care for $150 per week. Families who do not need after-school care will pay $100.

That $400-$600 a month is no small thing for cash-strapped families, but “We are partnering with [Arc of the Piedmont], so we can take donations, and families who cannot afford this service at all will have corporate sponsors that…pay for this service for them,” says CEO Samuel Anderson.

Several other community organizations—including Abundant Life Ministries, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Piedmont Family YMCA—have also opened up virtual learning centers, but almost all are at capacity, and have long wait lists.

As Albemarle County Public Schools prepares to move to Stage 3, DLS anticipates even more families will need to send their students to virtual learning centers on the days they won’t be in the classroom.

But some Albemarle teachers feel the sudden expansion of in-person learning is still not safe. According to the district’s most recent survey, about 67 percent of teachers wanted to continue with virtual learning for the second quarter, compared to 40 percent of parents.

“If a staff member or student tests positive, who will be quarantined at home for two weeks? We’ve been given kind of vague information, like the students’ closest contacts [or] the students who have assigned seats right next to them, even though we know students move around,” says Michelle Drago, who teaches first grade at Stone-Robinson Elementary.

“[Students] are going to be allowed to play with each other at recess with masks, but they’re going to touch each other and be in each others’ faces. And they’re allowed to take their masks off obviously for lunch and snack,” she says.

Additionally, teachers have not been provided with all of the safety equipment they’ve requested, including face shields and gloves.

Stage 3 also puts students’ mental health further at risk, says Debbie Stollings, who teaches second grade at Agnor-Hurt Elementary. As certain students and teachers switch from all-virtual to hybrid learning, it is likely that some will be reassigned to different homerooms.

“This is another trauma we are putting on them during a pandemic,” she adds. “One way or the other, I’m going to lose some of my kids.”

And with all of the safety precautions they must take to do in-person learning, many teachers do not think it is possible to still provide high-quality instruction, full of beneficial activities like reading groups and partner games.

“I’m afraid no matter how many laps I make with my six-foot perimeter, I won’t know when somebody’s struggling because I can’t see their little faces like I’ve been able to see them before,” she says. But over Zoom, “we’re right in each others’ faces. Even if they’re not showing me their page of work, I can tell when they’re struggling.”

Teachers who did not feel safe going into the classroom had until October 15—less than a week after the school board meeting—to request accommodations, while families had to decide by the following day.

If Stollings is not allowed to teach virtually, she says she will have no choice but to retire, even though she is not ready to. The only other options for teachers are to resign, or take a leave of absence.

Stallings fears even more for her fellow teachers who may be forced into the classroom, including Drago. With her three young children, Drago cannot afford to quit her job. (Her husband is also a teacher, so they are unable to support their household with just his income.)

The two teachers—along with many of their colleagues—ultimately wish the school board had gone the same route as Charlottesville City Schools, whose COVID-19 advisory committee recommended continuing virtual learning until January.

“My problem is with my immune system,” says Stollings, who has been a teacher for 31 years. “My doctor said…COVID probably won’t kill you but it will make you really sick for a really long time. And of course, you could always die.”

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In brief: Keeping the pressure, breaking the law, and more

Activists call for defunding the police at a rally outside the police station in June. PC: Eze Amos

Defunders keep fighting

“Does abolition really mean ending the police? Yes.”

So said community organizer Ang Conn, as she spearheaded last Wednesday’s Zoom conversation on policing, hosted by Defund Cville Police. Over 80 community members joined in on the call.

The group hopes to keep the pressure on as the summer of protests moves into autumn. Though Charlottesville City Council has proposed a mental health crisis response task force, it has yet to take any action toward reducing CPD’s budget.

Defund Cville Police wants City Council to cut the police budget by 60 percent and invest those funds in housing, education, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and other low-barrier community services.

The group has also called for a freeze on police hiring, and the creation of a community crisis hotline, which would dispatch responders trained in de-escalation, trauma-informed care, and transformative and restorative justice.

According to Conn, defunding will help the community work toward police abolition. “We’ll take that budget yearly until it’s zero,” she said.

Several other activists—including UVA students—joined Conn in leading a presentation on policing, starting with its racist origins. While slave patrols surveilled and captured enslaved Black people in the South, police forces emerged to maintain race and class hierarchy in the North.

The activists discussed how Black and brown communities—along with other marginalized groups, like organized labor and houseless people—have been systemically harmed by law enforcement at every level.

UVA student Donavon Lea described police reforms, like body cameras and additional training, as a “band-aid for a bigger issue”—they only feed more money into the prison industrial complex, and away from communities.

“Society has the idea of hiding folks away in prisons…when we have the ability and resources to address these issues in society,” added Conn.

Pumping funding into police departments has not helped victims, particularly those of sexual and interpersonal violence, the activists emphasized. About 99 percent of sexual assault perpetrators walk free, while more than 90 percent of domestic violence cases reported to the police do not result in jail time, and may cause more problems for the victim.

The activists will continue to pressure the city, but in the meantime, Conn encouraged all the event attendees to get involved in mutual aid and support, which she said will help to build a police-free community.

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Quote of the week

“The majority of the rallies, demonstrations, and marches here are primarily people [who] don’t look very diverse.”

—Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney, implying that this year’s Black Lives Matter protests have included too many white people

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In brief

Bar none

A quick drive around the Corner on a weekend night reveals that some UVA students are partying on, undeterred by the virus or the school’s 10-person limit on gatherings. Lines to get into bars often wrap around the block. Under Virginia’s Phase 3 guidelines, restaurants are allowed to open for indoor dining but “bar seats and congregating areas of restaurants must be closed to patrons except for through-traffic.”

Shelter skelter

Last year, Hinton Avenue Methodist Church was shocked to find that a group of Belmont residents opposed the church’s plan to set up Rachel’s Haven, a 15-unit apartment building including several units reserved for those with intellectual disabilities. Now, the group that started a petition against the project is trying to abandon its own cause, scared off by “an outright attack on our group” on social media, reports The Daily Progress.

Safety first

Albemarle teachers—along with parents, students, and other supporters—gathered in front of the Albemarle County Office Building on Fifth Street last week to protest the district’s move to Stage 3, which will put up to 5,000 preschoolers through third graders in the classroom.

Dining out

After months of pandemic losses, Charlottesville restaurants will no longer have to pay the city’s deferred outdoor space rental fee for the months of March and April, and only need to cover half of the fee for the following months, according to an ordinance passed by City Council on Monday. Restaurants seeking to rent more outdoor space will also get a 50 percent discount.

PC: Staff photo

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In brief: Pipeline protests, tiger trouble, and more

Anti-pipeline activists in western Virginia are monitoring construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. PC: Mountain Valley Watch

Pipeline pushback

In June, environmental activists celebrated as Dominion Energy canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would have carried natural gas from West Virginia to North Carolina, passing through central Virginia. A little further west, however, the fight continues, as construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline inches along. Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lifted a stop-work order that had been slowing the 300-mile pipeline project.

FERC also gave the MVP two more years to finish construction of the project, which has been grinding forward for six years, slowed by resistance from landowners and litigation from environmental groups.

The watch team for the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights coalition, an umbrella organization made up of smaller groups pushing back against the pipeline, has carefully monitored the pipeline’s construction, looking out for violations that can be reported to the Department of Environmental Quality. It continues to find new violations (the photos above were taken at various points over the last two years).

“These ground photos of the construction are significant to me,” says Roberta Bondurant, POWHR’s co-chair. “We’ve got pipe that floated 1,000 feet across a floodplain when they built the week before storm Michael. Pipe that’s dated 2016 that’s out now, on the ground, [with] coating that’s over 4 years old.”

Bondurant points out that last week’s permit is not definitive. A key permit from the Forest Service is still missing, and other important permits are currently under consideration by the federal court in Richmond.

The MVP group continues to cut corners in order to continue construction, the activists say. “It’s a real word game they play with FERC to allow themselves to go forward,” Bondurant says.

PC: Mountain Valley Watch

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Quote of the week

“This is the third fatal crash on Fifth Street investigated by CPD in less than three months…In memory of those who have died, CPD is asking motorists to be mindful of their speed. Please drive carefully.”

—Charlottesville Police Department, after two people passed away in an accident this week

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In brief

Tiger trouble

Doc Antle, the sinister zoo owner famous for his role in Netflix’s viral “Tiger King” documentary, could wind up wearing orange himself—he’s been indicted on wildlife trafficking charges by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. Antle lived in Buckingham County in the early part of his career; the indictment alleges that he has recently worked with a private zoo in Winchester to move tiger cubs and other exotic species back and forth between Virginia and Myrtle Beach.

Back to school

After a period of contentious discussion, the Albemarle County School Board voted 4-3 last week to allow up to 5,000 preschoolers through third-graders to participate in non-virtual, face-to-face classes twice a week, starting November 9. Parents must decide by October 16 if they’ll send their kids into school or continue with virtual learning, while teachers have only until the 15th to request to stay home.

Museum motion

As Charlottesville continues to grapple with its legacy of slavery and oppression, a group of nearly 100 local activists, community leaders, and residents have called for the creation of an enslavement museum in Court Square, “depicting in a more visual manner the injustices, horrors, and truths about enslavement.” They hope the city will acquire the 0 Park Street building, the site of the auction block where enslaved people were sold, to house the museum. In February, Richard Allen, a 74-year-old white man, removed and disposed of the slave auction block marker (pictured below). He is now a member of the coalition calling for the museum.

PC: City of Charlottesville

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Class in session: Teachers say in-person learning has been safe for special education

Albemarle County special education teachers say in-person learning has been a largely positive experience since school started on September 8. PC: Jack Looney

After months of debate, the Albemarle County School Board decided in July to hold the first nine weeks of classes with distance learning for most students. One exception to the mandate was made for students with special needs.

The decision immediately stirred up controversy and concern, with many community members believing face-to-face instruction was not only unsafe, but unfair to test out on vulnerable populations of students. “To have a school that could potentially be filled with vulnerable students in any capacity places the burdens of the illness upon them,” ACPS instructional coach Adrienne Oliver told C-VILLE in July.

But for at least two special education teachers in the district, in-person learning has been a largely positive experience since school began September 8.

At Broadus Wood Elementary, Kimberly Hannis currently teaches four of her kindergarten-through-fifth-grade special ed students in person.

“There are so many different routines than last year, so I’ve had to take a step back, and rethink how to create a calm, supportive environment with clear expectations,” she says. “That’s been challenging, but we’re getting better and figuring it out together.”

Each student has separate workstations, books, toys, and other learning materials, which are sanitized regularly. Because there are very few students and staff inside of the building, she’s able to use multiple rooms for teaching.

Taylor Aylor, who teaches special education for grades nine through 12, also has just four students in her classroom at Monticello High School, allowing them to safely distance from each other.

Though it has not been easy getting students acclimated to all the new rules and practices, both teachers say that masks have surprisingly not been an issue.

“I thought my kids were going to do awful with wearing their masks and sanitizing. These are kids where…there is no such thing as a bubble,” says Aylor. “[But] they have been complying, and are leaving their masks on.”

Both teachers also have students whose specific needs require remote learning. With the help of teaching assistants, they’ve been able to balance the individualized needs of the two groups, and create a structured routine that helps them “thrive,” says Aylor.

At the beginning of each school day, Aylor hosts a class Zoom meeting, allowing her 10 students learning from home to socialize with those inside the classroom. She then works with her in-person students alongside four teaching assistants, while another special ed teacher—also with support from TAs—does live classes with those who are learning virtually.

Hannis also has four TAs in her classroom, who assist students with their work whenever she is not working with them. At scheduled times, she teaches the same content during live classes with her two students learning from home, and assigns work for them to do on their own.

Throughout the school day, students participate in virtual classes with their homeroom, “depending on what’s appropriate for them,” says Hannis.

The decision to teach students in person was not easy for Hannis. But because she is “young and doesn’t have high risk people around [her]” at home, she felt more comfortable doing so.

Aylor has a 4-year-old daughter, and at first didn’t think she’d return to the classroom.

“I knew that my daughter needed to go back into a daycare setting, even if I was going to be doing virtual, just to make sure I’m giving my undivided attention to the kids,” she says. “So [eventually] I was like, I’m going to go in. I’m not just going to submit my daughter to exposure…and me stay at home.”

“And now since the first day coming back, it’s just been like ‘Whoa, that wasn’t as scary as I thought,’” she says.

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Back so soon?

Though the Charlottesville School Board voted to start the first nine weeks of classes virtually, students could be returning to the classroom sooner than expected.

City school officials have shared a reopening plan with the district’s COVID-19 Advisory Committee that would allow preschool through second-grade students to participate in face-to-face classes beginning on October 13, nearly four weeks earlier than initially planned.

Other groups would soon follow: third through fifth graders would return on October 20, and sixth grade and up would go back on October 27.

All families could still opt into virtual learning.

This change still needs to be discussed, revised, and approved by the committee.

Since the proposed plan was announced in an email to families last week, the division has faced backlash from teachers, parents, and even school board members, who feel it is unsafe and unnecessary amidst rising COVID cases in the area.

“We voted to go virtual for the first nine weeks and develop thoughtful criteria for how and when we return to in-person learning, and this change in direction by Dr. Atkins is unacceptable,” tweeted board member LaShundra Bryson-Morsberger. “We made a plan and gave our word; we voted on it! We have to stick to the plan.”

The committee will make a recommendation to the Charlottesville School Board on October 8. Albemarle’s school board will also meet that day, and is expected to hear several reopening options for the next quarter.