CHARLOTTSVILLE (WINA) – Charlottesville and Albemarle schools began the fall semester and the first day of the academic year nearly all online, for the first time in history. As of 10:30am, there were no major problems to report, though Charlottesville School Board Chair Jennifer McKeever told Morning News they were hoping the internet would work, and remain working.

City Schools Academic Director Katina Otey said they had an issue in the morning for about an hour with an interruption happening with the filtering company called Securely. She says that was a glitch that was happening all along the East Coast. She says it did not, though, affect those accessing school from home.

McKeever urges everyone to expect bumps along the way, and to be patient as they are worked out.

Albemarle County School Superintendent Matt Haas told Morning News while this is a daunting time, “what’s unquestionable is the resilience, the creative, and care of our educators — and they’re going to carry the day”.

Assistant Superintendent Debbie Collins said there was no widespread issues this morning. She says a few families had issues logging on where they needed passwords and other access keys, but that was as simple as a call to the help desk. Collins says the help desk got a good volume of calls, but she says “overplanning” has helped them deliver. She says all the platforms they’re using… Zoom for videoconference, with learning management from Schoology for secondary students and SeeSaw for elementary… are holding up.