PETERSBURG, Va. -- Petersburg City Public School students will attend all-virtual classes this fall.
School leaders voted unanimously on Plan C, or entirely virtual learning, Wednesday night in a School Board meeting.
Following Plan C, students will log on for 5 and a half hours per day for 4 days a week, with Friday reserved as a "student support day."
The plan will be re-evaluated after the first 9 weeks of the school year.
School Board leaders said that rising COVID-19 cases in the area influenced the decision for virtual learning, with 80,000 cases across the state and 374 in Petersburg.
51.2 percent of parents surveyed said that they would prefer 100 percent online learning.
Other options included a complete in-person reopening with safety measures and social distancing, a hybrid model where students would alternate between in-person and virtual classes, half-day options, and alternating weeks switching between in-person and virtual learning.
When parents were asked if they would send their children if in-person instruction was an option, 36.9 percent said they would not, while 32.7 percent said they would and 30.4 percent said they were not sure.
Food pick-up locations will be expanded throughout the city for students and parents to pick up on a weekly basis and the school system be providing all students K-12 with laptops and hot spots.
Richmond City and Chesterfield County Public Schools will also partake in 100 percent virtual learning for the fall semester.
