GHS News

School Board Approves Two-Week All-Virtual Period Following Winter Break

Board Also Decides To Cancel First Semester Exams After Long Debate

Editor Tyler Bagent

On Tuesday, the School Board officially approved a proposal put forward by Superintendent Walter Clemons to have students return to 100% remote learning for the first two weeks following Winter Break. In addition to this, they have officially cancelled all exams for the first semester.

The vote on the two-week quarantine went as follows:

Elisa A. Nelson: Nay

Robin Rice: Yea

Anita F. Parker: Yea

Brenda Mack: Yea

George R. (Randy) Burak: Yea

Darren P. Post: Nay

Troy M. Andersen: Nay

At the meeting, both Dr. Clemons and Three Rivers Health District Director Dr. Richard Williams spoke on the spread of COVID-19 in the community. Williams said at the meeting that Gloucester is experiencing uncontrolled spread of the virus due to the Thanksgiving holiday, as people still held family gatherings despite warnings from top doctors. However, he did not recommend the re-closing of schools, leaving the final recommendation up to Dr. Clemons. After this, Dr. Clemonds recommended to the School Board a two-week virtual period following Winter Break, allowing those who travelled or visited family to quarantine. This proposal would also allow the Board to get a better idea of where COVID-19 stands in schools after the Holiday.

In addition to these measures, the School Board also cancelled exams for the first semester, citing the fact that bringing every virtual student in would be unrealistic and potentially cause the spread of Coronavirus. For a couple minutes, Board Member Darren Post questioned both fellow members and Dr. Clemons on this, suggesting that the school should bring every student in on the two exam days. After some back-and-forth, the Board passed the measure.

Dr. Clemons, along with the Board as a whole, has pledged to revisit school closures during a meeting in January. This could potentially bring more mitigation measures as COVID-19 cases rise across the country. However, as of now, students look to return to school after Winter Break on a new date of January 18th.