AMHERST â A group of educators criticized the Amherst County School Boardâs recent direction to school administration staff to postpone a lesson plan on equity and social justice, blasting the move during the public comments session of the boardâs Jan. 14 meeting.
Hollie Jennings, Amherst County Public Schoolsâ supervisor of discipline and compliance, said the lesson was set to roll out beginning the week of Jan. 11 at Amherst County High School, Amherst Middle School and Monelison Middle School. The term equity refers to striving for culturally responsive schools, Jennings said, and the lesson focused on students analyzing media portrayals of past historical events, forming their own opinion and using skills to solve problems.
Amherst schools employee arrested, facing child sex charges newsadvance.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsadvance.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
âUnprecedented.â
That word has been repeated over and over in Amherst County this year as residents, businesses, nonprofits and local officials for roughly 10 months wrestled with the multitude of challenges and disruptions from the novel coronavirus pandemic. The virusâs effect on the community is the yearâs overall top story and news event, leading to a constant flow of headlines throughout the year.
Quarantines, teleworking, face masks and the extensive ripple effects from the stateâs shutdown in the spring aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus were part of the new normal. Schools were closed March 13 and Amherst County Public Schools swiftly acted to ensure students had access to learning materials and meals at home through technology, bus delivery and drive-thru distributions.