Portsmouth to bring back elementary school students for in-person classes in April

Portsmouth — Elementary schools in Portsmouth will reopen for in-person classes in mid-April.

The plan approved by the School Board in a 6-3 vote is scaled back from the proposal Superintendent Elie Bracy presented last week, which would have included middle schoolers as well. The approved plan also includes full-day in-person instruction instead of the half-days initially proposed.

The strongest reopening proponents said it was time.

“We can not be the only school district in the state of Virginia and Hampton Roads that doesn’t try to get their students back,” said Costalla Williams.

About a third of districts across the state were fully virtual like Portsmouth when Gov. Ralph Northam began to push for in-person learning to resume by March 15. Portsmouth was the last to make plans to bring back at least some students.

Chairman Cardell Patillo and board members Tamara Shewmake and Ingrid Whitaker voted no, wanting to keep the district’s plans as-is. The board had previously agreed to a phased reopening once the rate of positive cases fell below 10% for 10 straight days. The city’s positivity rate currently is 11.2%, down from close to 20% two weeks ago when the board first started to reconsider its plans.

“It’s just not low enough for me,” Patillo said.

[ Previous coverage: ‘I don’t want to be a hypocrite.’ How one school board member is balancing reopening decisions for her family and her city ]

Pre-K through sixth graders can return in-person on a hybrid schedule, with one group attending Mondays and Tuesdays and another group on Thursdays and Fridays. Students with disabilities in all grade levels and those learning English will have the option to return four days a week.

Middle and high school students will remain virtual, though students will be returning to schools periodically during the spring to take Standards of Learning tests.

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Vernon Tillage, who took his seat on the board Jan. 1, said this was the most difficult vote he’s had to take so far “and will probably be one of the most difficult votes during my time on the School Board.”

“We’ve been going back and forth for a while,” Tillage said. “I do think the time is now.”

Yolanda Thomas, another new board member and one who’d expressed reservations previously, said she came around to support the April 12 return because she felt comfortable with the mitigation strategies administrators assured the board were in place.

“It’s never going to be 100% risk-free because nothing that we do as humans is 100% risk-free,” she said.

It’s not clear how many students will be interested in returning. A survey wrapped up Thursday evening but the results weren’t available yet, spokeswoman Lauren Nolasco said. Parents who want to change their decision now that the plan has changed from half-days to full-days can do so, Bracy said.

Teachers will return to the buildings on March 29.

Sara Gregory, 757-469-7484, sara.gregory@pilotonline.com