CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – More than 100 Monticello High School students walked out of school late Wednesday morning in support of their principal, Dr. Beth Costa. Costa is one of three Albemarle County principals the division announced this week would be out of their buildings for extended periods of time, without sharing any further details.

The students left the building around 10:30 a.m., and roughly 20 students got in cars and drove off. The vast majority walked to the far parking lot near the athletics fields, some holding makeshift signs and chanting “Free Costa” and “We Love Costa.” Monticello has over 1,100 students enrolled.

Schools officials asked media members to stay on a public sidewalk, where a group of about a dozen students approached  and held their signs, encouraging some Mill Creek Parkway motorists to honk their horns in support. School administration and faculty members monitored the situation but did not prevent the students from protesting.

One student, wishing to remain anonymous, emailed Cville Right Now saying they’re not sure why she’s not there, but many students love her because “she genuinely cares about this school and its students”.

“She’s always the loudest one cheering at football games, makes a point to greet students with love and kindness, and finds ways to support classes and students in ways that go above and beyond what you might expect from a principal,” the student wrote. “Those are the things that stand out to us, and I think that’s why so many students care about what happens to her.”

“Time to go back to school,” faculty members told the at about 10:50 a.m., and all the students went back to the building without incident.

On Sept. 21, a Monticello student suffered an apparent overdose, possibly from a vaping incident, and had to be revived by a school nurse using NARCAN, according to an email Acting Superintendent Dr. Chandra Hayes sent to Monticello families. In her email, Hayes acknowledged the division failed to meet the deadline for notifying the public as prescribed by Virginia law. It is unclear if Costa’s current absence is related to that situation.

Monday, ACPS announced that Costa, along with Woodbrook Elementary Principal Christie Isaiah and Baker-Butler Elementary Principal John Wheeler, who would be “out of the building for an extended period of time.”

School division spokesperson Jason Grant declined to say Monday whether the three were officially placed on leaves or share any more information about their absences. Grant did say their situations were not related to investigations into former Hollymead and Woodbrook staffer Michael Swiney’s arrest, or the arrest of former Woodbrook teacher Nicholas Clark.

At Monticello, retired principal Rick Vrhovac is serving as the school’s substitute principal. Assistant Principal Andrea Trotter was on the scene at Wednesday’s demonstration, and informed Cville Right Now of the boundaries for coverage.

Vrhovac was principal at MHS from 2017 through 2022 before retiring, then served a short stint last year at Henley Middle School’s principal. Costa succeeded Vrhovac as principal at Monticello, where she had served as an assistant principal from 2012 to 2016, and was principal at Henley starting in 2015 before moving to the top MHS job.