© Jeff Schwaner / The News Leader Cars stop at appropriate distance from a school bus unloading students after school on Friday, September 14, 2018.

All of The News Leader coronavirus coverage is being provided free to readers as a service. Please consider supporting community journalism with a subscription.

Governor Ralph Northam announced Monday afternoon that schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement was made during his daily news conference at 2 p.m. Northam had previously closed all K-12 schools through this week, March 27, to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.

"Today I am directing all schools in Virginia to remain closed at least through the end of this academic year," Northam said.

More: 'It is now everywhere': Northam closes schools through academic year, closes nonessential businesses

The last day of school in Augusta County and Waynesboro was scheduled for May 21. In Staunton, it was scheduled for May 20.

"I'm hearing stories about people doing reading lessons on YouTube," Northam said. "Teachers calling parents just to check in. And volunteers showing up to help package food for our students. This is what it means to serve others and I thank all of you for doing that."

Northam said that school division leaders will decide how students will learn the information that was expected to be covered from the remainder of the academic year.

"By tomorrow our department of education will issue guidance to help school divisions think through those decisions and ensure that every student is served equitably," Northam said.

Northam declared a state of emergency in Virginia on March 12.

Last week, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, James Lane, said the Virginia Department of Education was exploring all options to cancel state-required Standards of Learning assessments in light of an announcement by U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, that states will be eligible for a waiver from federally mandated testing.

Northam said that his office and the Virginia Department of Education are working on strategies to ensure that students who were on track to graduate will do so.

Schools in Augusta County, Waynesboro and Staunton have been providing meals for students during the recent closure. All three school systems said Monday afternoon that this meal distribution will continue following Northam's announcement.

In an email sent to staff members of Augusta County Public Schools, Bond announced the closure, saying it was with "heavy heart and great sadness" that he was informing them of the governor's decision.

"I know you have a thousand questions, as do I, but please know we will continue to work diligently with the DOE in the coming days to finalize our plans for the remainder of the year," Bond wrote. "We will be getting some guidance documents from the DOE in the next 24 hours regarding grades, GPAs, standard credits, graduation requirements, advancement of grade levels, and activities on school board property, and will send out as much information as possible to our families and employees as soon as we can."

Bond did say, in a telephone message sent to staff, parents and students, that, due to the state-mandated closure, "all school-related activities, sports and events will be canceled."

Staunton City Schools Superintendent Garett Smith and Waynesboro Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Cassell sent similar messages to staff, students and parents, also indicating they hoped to receive more guidance from the Virginia Department of Education within 24 hours.

"We are concerned about the time off students are missing from school," Cassell said in his telephone message. "Additional guidance from the Virginia Department of Education is expected regarding continuity of instruction."

Smith wrote in his message that he will follow up with more information Tuesday.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding during these unprecedented times," Smith said. "Stay safe. Stay healthy. And stay positive — we will get through all of this together."

Follow Patrick on Twitter @Patrick_Hite

Support community journalism by subscribing to The News Leader

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia governor closes schools for academic year