Tuesday, March 19, 2024

WJCC Schools delays hybrid learning to mid-February

The Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools delayed the hybrid learning plans for students to Feb. 22. (WYDaily file/Courtesy of Unsplash)
The Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools delayed the hybrid learning plans for students to Feb. 22. (WYDaily file/Courtesy of Unsplash)

Some families looking to send their kids back to school may have to wait just a little bit longer.

The Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools announced on Tuesday most students won’t start transitioning to hybrid-learning classes until Feb. 22 at the earliest.

Officials said the setback is due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the community, contract tracing delays at the health department and the process of vaccinating teachers and staff.

This news comes a week after the school division announced students would start on Feb. 1.

RELATED STORY: WJCC Schools extend remote learning two weeks

“It is essential that we begin the process of vaccinating teachers and employees as soon as possible, beginning with those who will be the first to come in face-to-face contact with students,” the WJCC Schools announcement  explained. “In the simplest possible terms: the more vaccinated people, the less the risk of spread in our community and the greater the opportunity to get back to a more ‘normal’ daily schedule.”

“Given the need for timely contact tracing, the current health metrics, and the need to get teachers at least the first dose of the vaccine, we must push back the return of students for in-person learning as follows,” the division added. You can see the timeline below.

Screenshot of the Revised Timeline for Hybrid Learning on the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools’ website. (WYDaily/ Courtesy of WJCC Schools)
Screenshot of the Revised Timeline for Hybrid Learning on the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools’ website. (WYDaily/ Courtesy of WJCC Schools)

The school division noted it is working with the City of Williamsburg, James City County and local hospitals for a community vaccination clinic but is not sure how long the vaccination process will take, adding it could “stretch into early February.”

As of Wednesday, two students and staff members tested positive for the virus this week, with 38 staff members currently in quarantine, according to the WJCC COVID-19 Dashboard. You can view the data by each school here.

Here are the latest numbers for the Peninsula Health District, which includes the Historic Triangle, courtesy of the Virginia Department of Health’s website:

Here are the latest positive coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the Historic Triangle, information courtesy of the Virginia Department of Health. (WYDaily/ Screenshot courtesy of VDH)
Here are the latest positive coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the Historic Triangle, information courtesy of the Virginia Department of Health. (WYDaily/ Screenshot courtesy of VDH)

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Julia Marsigliano
Julia Marsiglianohttp://wydaily.com
Julia Marsigliano is a multimedia reporter for WYDaily. She covers everything on the Peninsula from local government and law enforcement agencies to family-run businesses and weather updates. Before WYDaily, she covered Hampton and Newport News for WYDaily’s sister publication, HNNDaily before both publications merged in December 2018. Julia was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Long Island, New York in 2001. A true New Yorker, she loves pizza, bagels and good Chinese food. Send comments, tips and other tidbits to julia@localvoicemedia.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmarsigliano

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