In a demonstration of unity, the Richmond School Board unanimously approved a plan for reopening schools in the fall for in-person learning five days a week.

The plan, spearheaded by the administration after receiving feedback from families, teachers and others, calls for students to be socially distanced at 3 feet apart in classrooms in adherence with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health and safety protocols for schools.

The board approved the plan at its meeting Monday, April 19. It offers families the choice for their students to return to in-person learning or to remain virtual.

With in-person learning, students would attend classes in school buildings five days a week.

If parents and students are not comfortable returning to in-person learning, students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade can attend the RPS Virtual Academy beginning Sept. 8. Middle and high school students would learn through Virtual Virginia, a program run by the state Department of Education that begins Aug. 24.

Students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade will be able to switch to their choice at the end of the quarter, while high school students will have the option to change on a semester basis.

Richmond Public Schools has not fully reopened since the pandemic shutdown in March 2020. On April 12, RPS re-opened for in-person learning for 800 students at five locations across the city.

Under the plan, teachers will either teach 100 percent in-person in the classroom or fully virtual, said Superintendent Jason Kamras. There will be no hybrid of both virtual and in-person teaching, he said.

“We received a great deal of feedback from teachers and in doing research about other divisions that have attempted to do that,” Mr. Kamras said. The most effective approach to student learning is to use one approach or the other, he said, rather than a hybrid.

Students and teachers also would be required to wear masks during the school day with in-person learning.

The School Board also discussed the need to encourage students age 16 and older to get the COVID-19 vaccine now that all age groups are eligible for inoculation.

In other matters, the board also approved a 2021-22 school calendar that uses a traditional schedule. The next academic year will start on Sept. 8 and end June 24.

A December winter break and April spring break are included, along with holiday closings Sept. 6 for Labor Day; Sept. 7 for Rosh Hashanah; Sept. 16 for Yom Kippur; Nov. 2 for Election Day; Nov. 4 for Diwali; Jan. 17 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day; April 18 for Easter Monday; May 3 for Eid al-Fitr; and June 20 for Juneteenth.

This summer, RPS also is offering summer sessions for all grades.

For high school students, summer session 1 will run from June 28 through July 16, with the second session running from July 6 through July 23.

The pre-kindergarten through eighth grade summer session will run July 12 through Aug. 13.