Newsroom

YCSDigest - February 25, 2021

Calendar Adjustment

Next Friday, March 5 will now be a full school day for all students, including the Virtual Academy. While the division’s original school calendar included an early release day next week, it has also been noted that early release days may become full days while the division is in the Remote or Hybrid models. As Cohort 2 has been affected by two inclement weather days, this action helps restore in-person learning opportunities for those students. Please remember that all schools will dismiss at their normal time on Friday, March 5.

Vaccination Update

As a reminder, many YCSD staff members are scheduled to receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week and next. School staff have been encouraged to schedule their appointments after school hours on Fridays to minimize the impact on school schedules. If an individual class or building is impacted by vaccinations, schools will communicate directly with families and students.

VDOE Soliciting Feedback

The Virginia Department of Education has formed a workgroup, Virginia LEARNS, to assess student needs during the ongoing pandemic. The workgroup is seeking public comment on the following topics:

• Suggestions or recommendations of practices that have worked well over the last year;
• Concerns about practices that have not worked well over the last year, and suggestions for addressing them;
• Types of resources and supports school divisions, parents and communities most need; and
• Best practices in remediating students and creative schedules to support these efforts.

Comments may be submitted via a Google form through March 1. The Virginia LEARNS workgroup will complete its work and issue a report by the end of April.

Connecting to YCSD Networks

The use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) has grown in recent years. Unfortunately, while a VPN can protect your internet use, it can also cause unforeseen problems – especially when students and staff are connecting to the YCSD network. For example, a VPN may indicate someone is using an overseas network or that the same login was used in multiple locations in a single day. Both incidents would result in the student or staff member being blocked by the YCSD network for security reasons.

YCSD discourages use of VPNs as the division already implements various security measures to protect students and staff within our network. Additionally, VPNs are not approved software for YCSD-owned devices or for use inside the YCSD network and constitute a violation of the division's Acceptable Use Policy. If you have any questions, please call the YCSD Help Desk at 757-527-4819.