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With fewer students in buildings, fewer students to a classroom and more distance between students, some school divisions are seeing a massive drop in incident reports this year compared to
Several months into the most unusual school year Amherst County Public Schools has ever faced, the division this month will begin conducting regular home visits for students struggling with engaging in learning.
During the Amherst County School Boardâs December meeting, Dana Norman, director of academics, said staff is undergoing training for the home visits. The discussions with families will be centered on how to shore up studentsâ engagement and what administrators can to do to help in that process, according to Norman.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ACPS began the school year Sept. 9 under a hybrid system of in-person and remote learning. The Amherst Remote Academy, which has roughly 1,500 students, or close to 40% of the divisionâs enrollment, launched for those who have not returned to the classroom. The high school and two middle schools also have students at home for two days per week.
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.
AMHERST
A month before the Virginia General Assemblyâs 2021 session, three local legislators observed Monday how Amherst County Public Schools is operating in the gauntlet of daily challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg; Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg; and Del. Ronnie Campbell, R-Rockbridge County, joined school officials in a tour of Central Elementary School before a virtual conversation with the Amherst County School Board. Superintendent Rob Arnold walked the trio through the school while explaining protocols and procedures for keeping the divisionâs classroom settings as safe as possible.
âItâs quite a production,â Arnold said to the state representatives, later adding of Amherst educatorsâ efforts: âOur ability to get this far without having to shut down is a tribute to work all these guys have done.â