A Circuit Court judge heard arguments for two motions in the cases to remove Brenda Sheridan (Sterling) and Atoosa Reaser (Algonkian) from the School Board during a full day in court Wednesday. The hearing for the case against Sheridan was scheduled for 10 a.m.

RICHMOND, Va. -- As the snow on the ground melts, parents in Central Virginia are preparing to send their children back to school for the spring semester. While Theresa Kennedy is laughing now, she can't lie that she's a bit nervous having her children return to classrooms amid a record surge in COVID cases.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) - Richmond Public Schools were out for winter break and then off for a snow storm, on the first day back in the school buildings the district said around 160 teachers will be out due to COVID-19. The school district attributed the vacancies to the omicron variant in a message to families on Wednesday.

NEW CASTLE, Va. - Gov. Ralph Northam made his final trip to Southwest Virginia on Thursday to thank Craig County teachers and welcome the start of a new agriculture project. A new high school teacher created a land lab to get students out of the classroom and into the fields.

"The increase in COVID cases in the past two weeks both locally and across the commonwealth is really concerning," Superintendent Olwen Herron said at the school board's Tuesday afternoon work session. "We are continuing to implement the use of existing layered mitigation strategies to keep our students and community safe."

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. - During a special meeting on Thursday, the Roanoke County School Board voted to reverse the mask decision it made earlier in the week. In a 4-1 vote, the board members voted to rescind Tuesday's vote, which, would have allowed for the school division's mask mandate to be lifted if a change is made at the state level.

Prince William Schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade walked areas of the county hardest hit by Monday's snowstorm before making the call to close school to students and teachers Thursday. In a message Wednesday, the school division had told families and staff to plan on returning to the classroom Thursday.

In preparation for students' return to Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia on Monday, the school system has announced measures to continue in-person learning as coronavirus caseloads in the D.C. region remain high. In an email sent to staff members and families, Superintendent Scott Brabrand outlined the steps schools will take to replace teachers in the event they get sick.