Loudoun School Board Approves Return To In-Person Learning

LOUDOUN COUNTY — The Loudoun County School Board on Tuesday approved a plan to restart hybrid in-person learning, bringing back elementary school students by Feb. 16 and expanding hybrid learning to middle and high school students by March 3.

Loudoun's hybrid learning program provides at least two days of in-person learning per week. It was suspended before the winter break in December after positive cases of the coronavirus began to surge. Under the new policy, hybrid classes will be suspended only in certain cases if outbreaks occur in a classroom, in a school, or in a cluster of schools.

The Loudoun County School Board voted 8-1 on the measure during its Tuesday meeting, with Denise Corbo (At-Large) the sole opponent. Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge District) made the motion.

Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan (Sterling) said her concerns have been addressed as much as they could be in a situation where the board is under pressure to let students return to the classroom.

Sheridan conceded that there is much uncertainty facing the school system with its decision to return to in-person instruction. “We don’t know what we’re in for, but we’re going to do our best to keep our students and staff safe,” she said at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The return to the classroom on Feb. 16 will be occurring as Virginia and the rest of the nation seek to navigate the worst part of the pandemic. In Tuesday's vote, the school board decided to move forward with in-person learning before school employees are fully vaccinated.

As of Friday, nearly 9,000 school employees had received shots through a special school division vaccination program, with plans to begin the second round by mid-February.

Corbo said she opposed the measure because she believed elementary school teachers and staff needed extra time to get the COVID-19 vaccine. If March 3 had been the date for in-person instruction to restart for elementary schools, Corbo said she may have considered supporting the measure.

Since the start of the pandemic, hundreds of teachers, staff and students in Loudoun schools have contracted the coronavirus.

The decision follows several months of criticism from parents who want in-person instruction. On Tuesday, the School Board heard more than three hours of comments from speakers, mostly from parents calling for a return to in-person learning for their children.

In the comment period, parents delivered scathing attacks against the school board and Loudoun teachers.

“Blood is dripping from the hands of LEA [Loudoun Education Association President] Sandy Sullivan, these indifferent school board members and the teachers who couldn’t care less about the cost of physical isolation to these students,” Loudoun County resident Brian Davison said in his comments.

Davison’s attack on teachers and the school board members was met by cheers from other parents in the building.

In his comments, Davison blamed student suicides in the current school year on the difficulties from virtual learning. In recent years, including in the years prior to the pandemic, student suicides have been on the rise in Loudoun County and across the nation.

At a Jan. 27 news conference on the coronavirus and the state's vaccination program, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said "we know that when people gather together, especially in closed space, that this spreads like wildfire. It is very, very contagious."

However, at Tuesday night's school board meeting, Loudoun County Health Department Director Dr. David Goodfriend said he is comfortable with teachers and students returning to in-person learning in classrooms.

At the meeting, Scott Ziegler, interim superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools, said in-school mitigation protocols are being implemented at schools across the county. The school system also has created a new reporting system that allows teachers and staff members to anonymously report violations or health concerns.