HAMLET ― Richmond County’s younger students will be back in the classroom next month while the older ones will learn remotely.
The Richmond County Board of Education voted 6-1 Thursday to opt for Plan B, which has students in kindergarten through fifth grade going to school for face-to-face learning while those in grades 6-12 will have to use remote learning.
The self-contained exceptional children will also be at school for in-person learning, according to Dr. Kate Smith, executive director of curriculum and instruction. She said parents and teachers both said they learn better in person.
Ronald Tillman, the only board member to vote no, said that he could not support a plan that just allows in-person instruction for K-5 students, adding that those in grades 6-12 are just as vulnerable.
He said they “are going to be lost if they don’t get direct learning.”
Administrators said the biggest challenges were adhering to state mandates on classroom occupancy and limitations in transportation.
Associate Superintendent Dennis Quick said it would take all of the district’s 89 buses, which could hold 20-24 students each based on social distancing guidelines, just to transport the 2,000 K-3 students.
However, there were some parents who said in a survey that they would not have to rely on school-provided transportation.
Smith said the plan was based on input from more than 2,100 families and school staff.
Students in the first four grades will be spread out at the elementary schools, while fourth- and fifth-graders will be taught from the middle schools.
The plan also calls for teachers in the upper grades to schedule face-to-face contact hours with the students.
Those learning in person are required to wear school-approved uniforms.
Tillman also asked if there would be any flexibility in the school uniform requirement, since some parents have been put out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic and may not be able to afford them, especially with school starting in a month.
He added that he would hate for students to be sent home because of a uniform issue.
Board member Bobbie Sue Ormsby was also concerned, saying, “Surely we’d give them a little bit of leniency.”
Superintendent Dr. Jeff Maples said that the schools generally have some extra uniforms and that the district could put more resources into providing them
He encourages parents to reach out to the schools to let them know if they need uniforms.
There will also be a temporary virtual option for those who don’t feel comfortable being in the classroom during the pandemic.
Smith clarified that students would be allowed to switch from one to the other during the time that the plan is in place.
However, those wishing to opt to stay home should submit a virtual application by July 26.
Depending how many students opt out of in-school learning, Maples said the board could come back and allow the older grades back in the classroom.
The board can also alter the plan to stagger days where, possibly, the younger students are in class three days a week and the older students go twice a week.
“I don’t like any of them,” School Board member Joe Richardson said of the three options the board had to choose from, “…because I don’t like the situation.”
Richardson said he has received more phone calls on this issue than any other during his years on the board.
Board member Daryl Mason suggested that parents should be provided with an explanation of all the factors that the district had dealt with in making the decision and Ormsby added that a hard copy should be available for those without internet access.
“This is a challenge we’ve never had,” said Chairman Wiley Mabe. “I understand all the concerns from everybody.”
Mabe said this plan is supposed to be short-term and hopes that students can be back in school soon ― but it all depends on case numbers and state regulations.
“So we’ve got to make the best we can of a bad situation with what we have,” Mabe said. “And that’s all we can do and that’s all anybody can ask. It is difficult, it’s not fun.”
View the full plan in the attachment to this story.
