VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Students in Virginia Beach are now on spring break, but when they return April 13 they will face a longer school day.
Beginning that day, 10 minutes will be added to each school day through June 8 to make up for a planned closure April 21 for a special election. The change has drawn criticism from teachers and parents who say it creates scheduling challenges and added stress late in the school year.
Robin Gardner with the Virginia Beach Education Association said she has heard concerns from families and staff across the division.
“It’s impacting everyone,” Gardner said. “It’s just complete chaos.”
Gardner said high school students who work after school could arrive late to their jobs, and some parents are worried about disruptions to scheduled activities such as therapy appointments and sports practices.
She added that teachers already working to prepare students for SOL exams say the change adds pressure during an already demanding time.
“It’s like a teacher told me this morning — it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Gardner said.
Gardner said those concerns prompted her to start a petition asking the School Board to reconsider the decision. The petition has gathered more than 1,500 signatures and urges the board to hold a special meeting before spring break ends.
Supporters are also asking the board to switch from the state’s 180-day attendance requirement to a 990-hour instructional model used by some other school divisions.
“Virginia Beach is well over the hours for seat time, so that’s the remedy we’re hoping for,” Gardner said.
However, the Virginia Department of Education will not allow the division to count an e-learning day as a makeup option.
Last week, School Board member Matt Cummings introduced a motion to suspend board policy and shift from counting school days to counting instructional hours. The motion did not receive the required supermajority vote to move forward and Cummings withdrew the motion.
School Board Chair Kathleen Brown said the policy change would require unanimous approval.
“We would actually need to have a unanimous vote on that because it would be a suspension of policy per bylaw 132D,” Brown said. “So I don’t think we’ll be able to accomplish that in this meeting.”
The School Board’s next scheduled meeting is April 14, one day after the longer school days are set to begin.
