Parents urge better communication and staffing at Blue Ridge, ask for senior walkthrough at Shepherdstown

During the citizen-comment period, multiple parents described recurring communication gaps and the emotional impact on students. Sarah Brandenburg, speaking "as a voice for the parents of Blue Ridge," asked the board to imagine "how would you all feel if you showed up to meet the teacher night with your 8 year old to find out almost 0.25 of the staff had left over the summer and you were never notified?" She listed examples — late-arriving teachers, after-school lockdowns announced as students disembarked buses, and field trips canceled without notice — and said weekly upbeat messages from the principal did not reflect parents' experience.

Katie Snyder, another Blue Ridge parent, said her child came home asking the same questions and described mixed messages between teacher communications and more worrying notices: "I'm scared. I don't know what's happening," she said, urging the district to provide more transparent, timely information to parents. Both women asked for improved parent outreach and clearer progress-monitoring communication from case managers and schools.

Separately, Andrea Mitchell and Liz Sutherland from Shepherdstown asked the board to allow graduating seniors who attended Shepherdstown Elementary to have one last walk-through of the building before it closes mid-year. Mitchell said her daughter, a Jefferson High senior, was upset at the prospect of graduating from a building she had never attended and asked the board to permit a December walk-through before the campus closes.

The board did not take an immediate action on these requests at the meeting; members and staff acknowledged the concerns and said they would follow up with school-based teams to clarify communication protocols and consider requests related to building access.