Amherst board considers Virtual Virginia pilot to serve homebound and homeschool students

Amherst County school officials presented a proposal to pilot a Virtual Virginia program aimed at students who are homebound, homeschooled or otherwise unable to attend school in person.

A presenter from central office (Speaker 10) said the division has discussed partnerships with Virtual Virginia and believes the provider can deliver synchronous instruction for elementary students while offering staffing models for secondary levels. Staff reported about 74 interested students at the time of the meeting and said their planning assumes the ability to reach roughly 120 students once the model is staffed and established.

Board members pressed staff about oversight, staffing and how the division would claim Average Daily Membership (ADM) funding for students who take Virtual Virginia courses through the division. Staff said ADM can apply in cases where the division is counted as the students enrolling division and emphasized that monitoring and progress checks would be required if the division claims the students.

Budget concerns surfaced repeatedly. One trustee noted the divisions current budget pressures, saying the board is not in a position to add full-time positions immediately and that any expansion must prioritize current staff and students. Staff acknowledged those constraints and suggested starting with a smaller, more targeted rollout focused on grades and cohorts that are easier to staff.

Quote: "We need to make sure that when we're doing that, that it's engaging," a board member (Speaker 3) said, urging staff to focus on implementation quality rather than simply launching a program.

Next steps: staff will return with a refined staffing and cost breakdown and will provide additional data on potential ADM revenue and monitoring protocols before the board considers formal adoption.