Hopewell City Public Schools is listening to families and finding ways to address their needs during these challenging times. Students began instruction from home during March of the 2019-2020 school year and the return to school on September 8th continued virtual instruction. The instructional design has worked well for many, but has created new and difficult challenges for others.
Hopewell City and HCPS leaders decided to partner to create some relief. In response, the school district has worked jointly with the city to solve some of those problems by developing a childcare program, Hopewell CARES Pilot Childcare Program. Through joint planning and designing, and with Hopewell City providing funding using federal CARES Act monies, the Hopewell CARES Childcare program was successfully launched on Monday, September 21. “The children are excited to be in a mini school setting while following social distancing guidelines. To be able to assist the students and parents with virtual learning and daycare has been fulfilling to both myself and the HCPS employees. Partnering with Hopewell Parks and Recreation has been successful as well.” said Debbie Wallace, site coordinator.
The response from the community after publicizing the initiative was overwhelming. HCPS received nearly three times as many applications as spaces were available. Those that were not selected to participate were put on a waitlist. Families' needs were taken into account, addressing such concerns as whether there was an adult that could supervise, whether the home environment could support learning, and how many children in a family needed support. Program Coordinator, Karen Bowen shared how excited she is to take the first step towards all of our students being able to return to the classroom. “What a joy it has been to watch the excitement on the student's faces as they return inside the school building, see friends and the faces of familiar staff members. While the very best case scenario is that we are able to return to learning in person soon, I believe this incredible program is invaluable while we wait."
The program takes place Monday - Friday from 8:30 - 3:30 at Patrick Copeland Elementary, with Hopewell High School being utilized for some gym and outdoor activities. During the morning, students are provided access to virtual instruction with their classroom teacher, while the afternoon is filled with fun activities designed and supported by Hopewell Parks and Recreation.
In this time of COVID-19, safety remains the utmost priority. Students receive virtual instruction in learning "pods". A pod is no more than 10 students per adult, with student desks placed six feet apart and wearing their masks while working and learning on their computers. A variety of hygienic safety measures developed with both Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been implemented to ensure that students can safely learn and play.
While Hopewell City Public Schools is not yet prepared to safely readmit all students for in-person learning, they intend for this pilot program to be the first of many steps in a return to normalcy. Byron Davis, who has led the planning and implementation of the pilot said, "This has been a great start to a program that caters to the needs of Hopewell students and residents. We are excited about the opportunity to work together to support our children and our community."