HAMLET — How and where Richmond County students will be learning this year is still up in the air as school officials wait on Gov. Roy Cooper.
Cooper was expected to make an announcement July 1 about re-entry for schools amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but that decision was pushed back two and half weeks until July 17.
During Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, Dr. Kate Smith, executive director of curriculum and instruction, briefed board members on the system’s tentative plans.
Smith said officials have been meeting with teachers and administrators for input on what to do for the upcoming year and at least one more teacher meeting is planned for next week.
RE-ENTRY PLANS
Each school district was required to come up with three plans for returning to class once school starts back.
Plans A and C are, respectively, all face-to-face learning or all remote.
Plan B comprises several blended options:
Each of those options presents its own logistical challenges.
Smith said that the first option would create busing issues. Even fitting 20 students per bus, the district does not have “adequate transportation” to make that plan work.
The second option could present scheduling issues for childcare.
“ … we anticipate that we will be in plans A, B and C throughout the year, it really just depends,” Smith said. “So we have to be prepared for all three.”
If the district decides to go with face-to-face instruction, students who don’t feel comfortable returning to class will have a virtual option.
“Re-entry scheduling may look very different for one school who has a large amount of families that choose this option versus another school where they don’t choose that option,” Smith said. “We’re going to have to get that information in as soon as possible so schools can begin planning for that.”
School Board member Bobbie Sue Ormsby asked if a teacher who has several students who opted to stay home will have to teach both sets of students.
Smith said that if a school has a large enough number of students who pick the virtual option, then a teacher (or teachers) may be assigned to be accountable to the virtual students.
But, she added, it wouldn’t make much sense to have a dedicated virtual teacher for a handful of students.
Smith went on to say that the district is working on plans to address the challenges of both the homeless and E.C. students.
“We know no plan is perfect,” Smith said. “But the number one priority is to keep students and staff as safe as possible."
TEACHER CONCERNS
How to maintain social distancing and keeping classrooms clean were two overwhelming concerns among teachers, Smith said.
As for the cleaning, Smith said the district has purchased caddies with supplies for classroom sanitation. There have also been decals ordered to help promote and maintain social distancing.
According to a survey sent out to teachers, 77.2% said they feel confident using technology for remote learning, which they had to switch to after Cooper closed schools in March. Nine percent of them said they still weren’t comfortable.
A small percentage of teachers even said they didn’t have reliable internet at home.
Teachers were also worried about:
Some teachers were also divided on remote learning versus face-to-face teaching.
“I just want to be back in the building with my students,” wrote one teacher. “Remote learning did not work in the spring.”
Along the same line, another commented, “KIds need to be in school. Virtual learning will set this county back 50 years.”
Another teacher, taking an opposite view, wrote, “I am not comfortable with face to face instruction at this time.”
Smith said there have been several meetings with support staff, including the transportation and nutrition departments, on how to address the teachers’ concerns.
PARENTAL CONCERNS
According to Smith, more than 1,400 families also answered a survey with certain concerns.
Around 60 percent of families said their students would require a school-issued laptop if remote learning continues.
The majority of those answering the survey said their children would not need to ride the bus, but, Smith noted, there are a lot of students who will require transportation.
Like teachers, parents are also split on face-to-face instruction.
Roughly a third of the families chose one of the three answers: yes; no; not sure at this time.
However, about half of the families said they would choose the virtual option, according to Smith.
Board member Daryl Mason later brought up another issue.
Mason said he has been contacted by several parents regarding school personnel who are not following protocols — including wearing a face covering and social distancing — when they’re out in the community.
“We need to think about how we’re going to address that with teachers,” Mason said. “If you’re not practicing safe protocols out in the community, then me, as a parent, I don’t want you in the classroom with my kid.”
Mason, who said he has personally witnessed several examples, said teachers “must” follow protocols: “It’s not optional.”
