Dear Families, Faculty, and Staff,
We hope you are well. We are writing today to keep you informed on the future of the Hanover County Online School.
At its meeting last night, the Hanover County School Board reached consensus that it will not continue the Hanover County Online School beyond this school year, further returning our operations to pre-pandemic status. Please know that we are committed to working with our students, families, and Online School staff to help ensure a smooth transition for next school year and beyond.
Online School families, staff at both the Online School and our face-to-face middle and high schools in which your student is zoned will be working to assist you in making sure your student’s needs for next year are understood. Please be assured that we will communicate more specific steps in the near future.
As you may know, the Online School was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and was a critical part in our renowned Return to Learn plan for the 2020-21 school year in which we were the only school division in Virginia to offer five-day face-to-face instruction for the entire school year. While many families chose for their student(s) to attend in-person, approximately 39 percent of our students (roughly 6,500 students) attended the newly created Online School, which served students across all grade levels. Since that school year, enrollment in the Online School has decreased significantly and the school now serves only middle and high school students. This school year there are approximately 143 students enrolled and the anticipated enrollment for the 2024-25 school year is approximately 112 students (primarily 10th, 11th, and 12th graders).
In making this decision, the School Board stated that it wished to apply fiscal resources across the school division in a manner that supports as many Hanover County Public Schools students as efficiently as possible. This change will be reflected in the adopted Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which is scheduled to be voted on at the School Board’s May meeting.
We appreciate your understanding and support of our efforts to best serve our students and families.
Thank you.
Hanover County Public Schools