YORK CO., Va. — After Monday's electrical fire at the Grafton Complex, the York County School Division has released its plan for getting students back to school.
Division Superintendent Dr. Victor Shandor said Friday that the first day of classes for Grafton Middle and High School Students will be on Tuesday, February 11. He said the new school schedule will require the use of two other division campuses: York High School and Tabb Middle School.
Thursday, school officials said that restoring temporary power to the Grafton Complex is expected to take months.
With this new plan, Grafton High School will alternate school days with York High School at the YHS campus, while Grafton Middle School will alternate school days with Tabb Middle School at the TMS campus.
- All Grafton Complex students will attend school on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as 10 Saturdays.
- York High and Tabb Middle students will attend school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Shandor says this alternating schedule has been adopted to remain in place through Friday, May 22 and currently protects Presidents' Day weekend, Spring Break (including the surrounding weekends) and Memorial Day weekend.
School hours and bell schedules for the four schools have also been adjusted as part of this instrucitonal plan, including a change from the A/B block rotation to a seven-period or eight-period day depending on the school level. Calendars provide the specific dates and new school hours for each school. Shandor says students will receive their new daily bell schedules next week.
The superintendent also said information about how this new schedule affects transportation, special education programs housed at the Grafton Complex and instructional programs such as the Governor's School, New Horizons, SOA and NJROTC will be provided as soon as possible.
He said the school division has been in "constant communication" with state educational officials about the plan and said it is likely some adjustments will need to be made. The division will develop plans for incorporating blended learning opportunities sand instructional support for students on the days they are not in school.
Shandor added that blended learning may also provide the ability to reduce the number of Saturday school days that are currently scheduled.
There will be two public forums on Saturday, February 8 to answer any questions families might have about the plan:
- 1 p.m. - York High School
- 4 p.m. - Tabb High School
Each session will be open to all families. If you are not able to attend, you can email any questions to askYCSD@ycsd.york.va.us. Information from these sessions will also be posted on the division website and Facebook page.
"I want to personally thank you again for your patients and support as we navigate this situation. This crisis will provide a great opportunity to come together as a community and to show our students how to handle adversity," Shandor said.
