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About 50 people attended the Augusta County School Board meeting Thursday evening. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Several attendees at Tuesday night's Aiken County school board meeting jumped at the sound of a woman outside the meeting room shouting, "Make masks mandatory! "These absences from school will be excused and students will be permitted to make up all missed work," the letter said. Kati McCormick was the only board member to vote against the measure. Copyright 2021 WHSV. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). In the meantime, there are many ways for you to get vaccinated in our community. The testing will at first be offered to only employees and students (with parents' permission), but the school district is open to possibly expanding it to the rest of the community. MORE: Mask Mandates Are Hot Topic at Columbia County School Board Meeting School Board members made the decision Thursday . This huge statewide spike, and the 29schools that were shifted to distance learning in Richmond County, led to the school board's reaffirming its mask mandate Tuesday. Collins said he worded his motion so it gave a date for going mask optional, but also gave the board its own options. Vaccinated teachers and students don't have to wear masks inside school buildings. AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - Augusta County students will head to school on Tuesday, August 10 wearing masks. This is a political scam to see who is going to sit down and shut up, Riverheads student Joshua Cox said . The parents of any child enrolled in an elementary or secondary school or a school based early childcare and educational program may elect for their children not to be subject to any mask mandate in effect at the childs school or educational program. Bond's letter did say that parents who choose to keep their children home for the full 10-day quarantine period can do so. Please wait for the page to reload. The CDC recommends those with COVID-19 should isolate for five days and, if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving, then wear a mask for fivedays when around others. Enter your email and password to access comments. https://www.augusta.k12.va.us CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - It may be time for some of us in Central Virginia to mask back up. It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. The 2015 election was the last election for all seven seats to appear on the ballot at the same time. Photo by Atoms on Unsplash. FISHERSVILLE The Augusta County School Board voted unanimously to make masks optional at all grade levels for both staff and students Thursday night at Wilson Memorial High School, which was met with cheers from the packed auditorium. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The rise in COVID cases is also a concern for our local school districts. How to order free testing kits from the government. But othersincluding her momhave a different opinion. This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendation., RELATED: New CDC guidelines call for masks in schools K-12. Success. Augusta County Public Schools Where Students Grow Intellectually, Physically, and Emotionally Menu Schools Translate Employment Calendars COVID Info ACPS Podcast Please allow notifications from your school (s). He shared the letter from the pediatricians at the board meeting. But the Virginia Department of Health is not making any masking decisions yet. That comes days after Staunton and Waynesboro announced their school divisions will continue to require masks to help with COVID-19 mitigation with no end date set for thosemandates. Create a commenting profile by providing an email address, password and display name. As always, we will continue to monitor the situation and communicate any changes to you. School boards are required by state law to enact the policies for the 2021-22. Make masks mandatory!" Aiken Public Safety officers rushed out to where the overflow crowd was gathered because of meeting room capacity restrictions, and the . FISHERSVILLE The Augusta County School Board voted unanimously to make masks optional at all grade levels for both staff and students Thursday night at Wilson Memorial High School, which was met with cheers from the packed auditorium. With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month. Official transcripts are required at the time of employment. The Augusta Board of Education voted Wednesday night, 5 to 1, to mandate mask wearing. Copyright 2021 WVIR. Sign in or Subscribe You can cancel at any time. Hope everyone is doing well. Rules for school Masks have been mandated for all students, staff and visitors at all Richmond County School System facilities and on school buses, regardless of vaccination status. Students will be permitted to remove masks during lunch and while outside. Bradshaw said they are not putting an end-date on theprotocol, but that they are continuing to monitor the latest data and consult with experts on the necessary way to proceed. If your area is orange or red, you should require masks inside. A sign encourages students, teachers and visitors to wear masks at Ladson Elementary School on Aug. 11, 2021. Weve been saying all along students should be in school and shouldnt be tied to masks, said Conservative Parents of Lynchburg Founder Andrew Glover. 0:57. Waynesboro Public Schools followed the VDHs guidance and voted earlier this week to mandate masks for elementary students and staff. The school board met Thursday night to discuss their back-to-school. Augusta County chose to follow Youngkin's executive order, which states in part: Youngkin's order goes into effect Monday, Jan. 24, but Augusta County's School Board wanted to add additional time to see if the current COVID surge in the area will subside. AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - As COVID-19 cases surge within Augusta County Schools, many people continue to speak out against mask mandates. : Plenty of Augusta-area locations offer them, More: At-home COVID test website launches early. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Lawrence County School District: Full mask requirement: Sloan-Hendrix School District: . In the central Virginia community, as of the July 27 update, here are the following localities in the: The potential for this to be a problem is much, much lower in areas with low amounts of disease, said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. Click here for "Masks and Safety Protocols" . Masks are still required on buses per federal law. Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Afterward, the public spoke and most of the comments were about masks in school. In a statement, the Blue Ridge Health District said: The Virginia Department of Health will analyze the CDCs guidance now that it has been released. Sign up for breaking news alerts. Schools, including in Waynesboro and Augusta County, have the freedom to "implement local mask policies." Waynesboro school board members will meet 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Waynesboro High School and are expected to tackle the state's guidelines when discussing the city's reopening plan. As areas around the state see an uptick in COVID-19 cases, with many related to the delta variant, the Virginia Department of Health, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, released guidance on July 21 that urged masks for all students and staff at elementary schools, regardless of vaccination status. Another potential headache: the CDC is still recommending schools continue to space kids out and keep their desks three feet apart. The delta variant is so very contagious it appears to cause high viral loads even in vaccinated people who become infected.. In the last five weeks since students returned from winter break, Augusta County Schools have reported 889 positive cases, the highest five-week total of the school year. That's why we try our best to make it easy to live in this beautiful place we call home. More. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended universal masking in schools at every grade level. The availability of onsite testing will be of particular help since testing appointments at area providers have been backed up and there are shortages of at-home, rapid tests available for purchase. About 50 people attended the Augusta County School Board meeting Thursday night. All rights reserved. He said "lots of parents" had reached out to him saying masks had created emotional damage for their children. Data Not Collected The developer does not collect any data from this app. Some in Augusta County oppose school mask mandates as COVID-19 cases surge. The Augusta County School Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, status as a veteran, national origin, or disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Glenn Youngkin's executive order on masks in schools. 2022, 12:02 p.m. Paula Gentile helps out as a substitute in Tana Spelman's class at Bishop Elementary in Augusta . Contact Patrick (he/him/his) atphite@newsleader.comand follow himon Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education and sports reporter. On Tuesday, Richmond County Superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw displayed a map of Georgia for the school board and said, "The map tells it all with all that red.". Don't have a commenting profile? About 20 minutes into the school board meeting Thursday evening, members went into closed session with its legal council. Other board members shared their reasoning for voting in favor of the mask mandate. The CDC released this map of the country, which says how your city or county is doing as far as COVID-19 transmission. All say theyre waiting for additional guidance from the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Department of Health and Governor Ralph Northam. 2023 www.newsleader.com. Its equal or worse than in December, and our healthcare workers are drowning, said Tara Mahanes. Glenn Youngkin's executive order making masks optional or "any changing negative trends related to our local area health concerns.". //]]> Augusta County Schools will become mask-optional in three weeks. The CDC also hasnt said how teachers can know which students are vaccinated or how parents will know which teachers are immunized. Kristine Welcher, a licensed nurse, speaks out against a mask mandate at Wednesday nights Augusta County School Board meeting at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville. All rights reserved. Although theres not yet an indoor mask mandate in Virginia, the CDC says there should be. Already have a commenting profile? on. Anastasio said its easier at all levels since people move around the district. Learn more. Now it is easier than ever to stay up-to-date with the news. Aiken County Public Schools spokesperson Mike Rosier said via email that they will not be mandating masks, citing a memo from South Carolina Superintendent Molly Spearman saying the General Assembly's Proviso 1.108 in the 2021-22 Appropriations Bill prohibits any school district from requiring students or staff to wear a mask. Contact tracing will only be done when there's anoutbreak, which is definedas"10% of a grade level, staff or entire school," per the letter. I believe in Jesus Christ. Our children under 12 years of age are not eligible to be vaccinated, so the best thing to protect them is to continue masking and social distancing, the letter from the local pediatricians said. Under the protocol,masks arerequired for allstudents, staff andvisitors to all school districtfacilities and onbuses,regardless of vaccination status. As COVID-19 cases surge within Augusta County Schools, many people continue to speak out against mask mandates. Click here for "Masks and Safety Protocols". "We'll revisit it. The CDC released this map of the country, which says how your city or county is doing as far as COVID-19 transmission. We have no affiliation up here because we did not want that to interfere, it does not need to interfere with the decisions that we make for our parents and for our kids, but I am going to go against the grain tonight and say that we have got to get a republican governor into the state house this fall, board member Nicholas Collins said. When voting to rescind the mask mandate, the Augusta County School Board said it would watch COVID numbers in schools and keep the mandate in place if numbers weren't trending in a good direction. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. 1:30 PM Community Policy Management Team. AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - The Augusta County School Board voted unanimously Thursday night not to adopt model policies for the treatment of transgender students put forth by the. Its why the news isnt sitting well with him and others. The school board sent out a letter on July 22 stating the county did not have the legal authority to reject the state-mandated policies. List of Augusta County Public Schools. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Kortney joined the 10 News team as a Lynchburg Bureau Reporter in May 2021. The policy was part of the districts response to COVID last school year, but now state law prohibits individual school systems from requiring students to wear masks. More: Augusta schools' 1:1 tech rollout under way, benefiting students who have gone without. Copyright 2021 WVIR. Accommodations will be made for students and employees unable to wear a mask for documented medical reasons. Teacher at Dixon Preschool Center Augusta County Public Schools 4.2 VERONA Augusta County Public Schools will continue requiring face masks for students and staff at least three more weeks. The Augusta Public Schools will have in-person learning, five days a week. Beloved local eatery, The Pie Chest, closing for good this month, Family of Ukrainian refugees using music to adapt to life in Charlottesville. School Superintendent Steven Flynt announced the rescinding of the mask mandate during the board's regular session Tuesday. The Augusta County School Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, status as a veteran, national origin, or disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. While Aiken County has lifted mandatory mask mandates inside its schools, Richmond County says for now it won't be changing any of its mask or social distancing guidelines. Based on current conditions, this is what we need to do to make that happen. The biggest questions will be at middle schools, where some students can get the shot and others cant. I anticipated more discussion before we voted.. The Governor also stated, "K-12 school districts and charter schools still maintain the right to institute and enforce policies to mitigate against COVID-19 spread including the use of masks." I was a Title 1 reading teacher and was treated with professionalism and respect. The Augusta County School Board unanimously affirmed at its meeting Thursday they would follow the law as now presented to them. Subscribe to usat newsleader.com. The numbers have fluctuated within the school division. All rights reserved. Timothy Simmons will take a seat on the Augusta County School Board in January. The week of Jan. 17 there were 171 cases. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. She asked if it was considered by administration to have a mask mandate for the younger students and recommended for the older students. Stay Connected . Here's how fast the special use permit process has gone for Houff's Churchville pit, Resignation of Staunton City Manager Steve Rosenberg: Councilor Mead's remarks, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Augusta County residents lead busy lives. Mask Policy AMI Dates; Augusta School District: Full mask requirement: McCrory School District: Due to recent in local COVID conditions,the advice of our local health department, and school divisions policies, masks are now mandatory for all students, staff, and visitors. Fennville Public . Starting Thursday, masks will be required for students, staff, and visitors to all district facilities and buses, regardless of vaccination status. Fourteen people spoke out against the mandates, citing their fear of heath issues they believe could be caused by masks. He said the basis for his recommendation came from the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, among other scientific studies, and said he would only make an unpopular decision on the err of safety., Im an experienced educator; I dont have medical training; I dont pretend to know what professionals in the medical field do, Anastasio said. All rights reserved. Otherwise, a 14-day quarantine will be required. Copyright 2023 WSLS.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. You have permission to edit this article. By Jessica Mallow. Shenandoah Valley Center for Advanced Learning, Valley Career & Technical Center49 Hornet RoadFishersville, VA 22939Phone: (540) 245-5002Fax: (540) 885-0407info@valleytech.us. But she also says this guidance makes sense because of the more transmissible Delta variant. There is [sic] three reasons why COVID cases are going up. It was heated at times - like when people called board members cowards for wearing masks and forcing students to wear them. The policies say schools should allow students to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. The Augusta County School Board voted 5-1 on Thursday to make masks optional . 13 Virginia tops Clemson, snaps losing streak and clinches ACC tournament double-bye, On 'emotional' day, female wrestlers finally get to compete for their own Virginia state title, Former Virginia basketball coach Terry Holland dies after battling Alzheimer's, Buffalo Gap girls basketball team knocks off Rappahannock to reach semis, Augusta County School Board votes against transgender policies, Alaskas Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start, Dogs, mushers prep for Iditarod as PETA accuses racers of animal abuse, Moscow reportedly threatened new parents in Ukraine: Register your newborns as Russian or else. on March 2.Read more about the C.D . Simply, we just want our students back everyday and back safely. I hope youre on the same side.. People are also reading See Offers. To date, they have distributed 20,230 devices. Thank you for visiting the Augusta County, VA. You will be redirected to the destination page below in 0 seconds. I feel like its the parents decision. Your cooperation with this change is expectedand appreciated. Augusta County School Boards motion on Wednesday includes flexibility to alter its plans if case numbers change. The Augusta County Board of Supervisors will conduct a Public Hearing at 7 p.m., Wednesday, February 8, 2023, in the Board Meeting Room, Augusta County Government Center, 18 Government Center Lane, Verona, Virginia. AUGUSTA, Ga. - The Richmond County Board of Education met Tuesday night to get a COVID update from the superintendent. Please subscribe to continue reading 0 Comments Get local news delivered to your inbox! Board member John Ward said they do not want to expose faculty to liability and said hopefully they will see low numbers throughout the start of the school year. Glenn Youngkin's executive order that made their decision possible. Now. 5:00 PM Joint Meeting-Augusta County Board of Supervisors and Augusta County . "If between now and then things go crazy," Shiflett said. Tomorrow marks one week until Columbia County and some Richmond County students start the new year. ", Staunton and Waynesboro, in their announcements, mentioned SB1303, which requireseach school board in Virginia to provide the in-person instruction "in a manner in which it adheres, to the maximum extent practicable, to any currently applicable mitigation strategies for early childhood care and education programs and elementary and secondary schools to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 that have been provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The winners of the 2015 races in the Beverly Manor, Pastures and Middle River Districts served . Again, we are excited to begin the year and look forward to having our students back. Ed.D., Deputy Superintendent (540) 245-5108, Where Students Grow Intellectually, Physically, and Emotionally. Ensure that the phone number is not blocked in phone settings. At their meeting. The developer, Augusta County Public Schools, indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. You are muzzling our children. Wayne District representative Tim Swortzel made the motion to make face-coverings optional and North River representative Nicholas Collins seconded. My recommendation to follow recommendation of the CDC is on the basis of following those who are more knowledgeable than I am regarding information on the pandemic.. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"ndsTchhICxLNjF_dxI18aRlyWnQfS.IeNB3Ql0MS2hM-1800-0"}; In a retreat Thursday afternoon at the Augusta County Government Center, the school board voted 5-1 to make masks optional in schools beginning Monday, Feb. 14. Riverheads High School 19 Howardsville Road Staunton, VA 24401 Phone: (540) 337-1921 Fax: (540) 337-0258. Walensky says thats not the case now, and vaccines are very effective. Staunton and Waynesboro schools will continue requiring masks for all students and staff. Vaccinated teachers and students don't have to wear masks inside school buildings. There were no specific numbersgiven as far as the number of COVID cases that would make the board consider extending the mandatory mask policy, only a very broad explanation by the board's chair. Im not real sure how well they work to begin with, Dana Worley, her mom, said. All students, staff and volunteers in county schools will wear masks to begin the school year. . //