JCPS decided to close schools tomorrow, January 10, due to staffing shortages and will use four non-traditional instruction (NTI) days for the rest of the week, beginning with a white day on Tuesday. This comes after an early dismissal in schools last Thursday and a closure on Friday for inclement weather. JCPS has plans to return to in-person instruction on Tuesday, January 18 after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The cases in JCPS reached a high of 1,660 on Tuesday and continued to climb in the first week back with many absent teachers and students due to the surge of cases with the Omicron variant. In an email to parents and staff Sunday evening, JCPS asks “families to be flexible as our community continues to see more cases of the Omicron variant increase.”

This is the first time in the 2021-22 school year that JCPS will be shifting to NTI, using at least four of its allotted 10 days of NTI, a limit imposed by the General Assembly during the 2021 Legislative Session. Another change implemented by the General Assembly includes the requirement for teachers to be present at their respective schools during NTI.  To accommodate teachers that have children whose schedules will conflict with their own, they will be allowed to bring their children into the building with them. JCPS will still be providing some of its other social services including meal distribution from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at certain locations.

In the Sunday evening email, JCPS stated, “These [staffing] shortages are not expected to impact athletics or extracurricular activities.” As long as there are staff available to supervise these activities, the events may continue as normal with the correct COVID-19 protocols. Schools will reach out if there are any specific changes to the extracurricular schedules.

“The well-being of our students and staff has been at the center of our decision making process every step of the way throughout COVID-19. We want our students to be healthy and prepared to succeed,” JCPS wrote. “This time of remote instruction will allow us to get closer to those goals. We’ve been through change in the past and we’ll get through this adjustment by remaining committed to our students.”

In an email to RedEye and the student body, principal Dr. Michael Newman recognized the concerns about switching to NTI.

“I want to thank everyone in advance for your patience and understanding as we transition into NTI. Students, please be prepared to log into class each day and participate in your live instruction. Our teachers are preparing to provide great lessons in order to provide continuity to your learning,” Newman wrote. 

He also explained the logistics of the schedule.

“Since NTI could be a day by day decision. In this model, every Red Day/White Day course will meet as if we were in school on that given day. The current Red/White Calendar will continue.” (The full text of Newman’s email can be read at the end of this article.)

Upon hearing the news of the transition, many students expressed disappointment but also understanding in messages to RedEye.

“I think that with our case numbers and our positivity rate that this is a good thing, but I feel like my work ethic and grades are going to go down,” Nicolas Bowman (11, MST) wrote. “I also think that mental health will decline because of this one week off from school.”

Nina Merie (10, VA) agreed.

“I’ve heard around that NTI gives a lot of people depression, and their grades suffer a lot. But personally I feel like NTI will help us go into ‘in-person’ school a lot quicker,” she wrote.

Some students think NTI was more beneficial for them than in-person school, and are happy about the transition.

“I think NTI is definitely a safer option for us. Since Covid obviously isn’t getting any better, it’s not wise to keep everybody in school while it continues to spread,” Mytreya Charles (9, VA) wrote. “Plus, and this is just my experience, but I think I did better academically while I was on NTI.”

Students like Rafael Mediodia (12, VA) worry that social interactions will counteract the effects of NTI.

“There are a lot of people that adhere to the Covid guidelines in school that fail to carry that sense of responsibility for the safety of themselves and others into their life outside of school. While people may be vaccinated, they are still capable of facilitating the spread of Covid and having symptomatic infection themselves,” Mediodia wrote. “There is a clear reason we are going into NTI. That being said, if people are going to still hang out—unmasked especially, it feels like they are not truly understanding the situation.”

Mediodia also wanted students to remember that not everyone is affected by the pandemic in the same way.

“​​I have immunocompromised peers who would be more affected than others. Additionally, long Covid still exists with this variant which can impact the quality of life for others. There are people who have the resources to handle that, but there are obviously people who can’t,” Mediodia explained.

Widespread lack of caution has led to the current wave of infections, Mediodia believes, as well as a disproportionate impact on minority groups.

“The normalcy that people have created for themselves has real impacts on marginalized folk. I hope that people really look inwards and, moving forward, proceed with more caution,” he wrote.

This is the email principal Dr. Newman sent to parents on Sunday evening:

Manual is prepared for a shift to NTI. Last week, we shared a schedule for NTI including expectations for when students must log into their Google Classrooms period by period. While I know nothing substitutes for in person learning, we hope our NTI schedule will accomplish three goals: 

      1. Help students and teachers maintain a regular schedule of school, since NTI could be a day by day decision. In this model, every Red Day/White Day course will meet as if we were in school on that given day.  The current Red/White Calendar will continue.

      2. Ensure there is adequate “in person” instructional time to maintain content progress. 

      3. Build in time for students to have breaks from the screen throughout the day.

I want to thank everyone in advance for your patience and understanding as we transition into NTI.  Students, please be prepared to log into class each day and participate in your live instruction. Our teachers are preparing to provide great lessons in order to provide continuity to your learning.