What is the back-to-school plan for Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Orange County students?
Orange County’s two school districts will reopen Aug. 17, but students won’t see the inside of a classroom for at least several weeks.
The Orange County school board voted Thursday morning to keep students in online classes until mid-September because of a continuing rise in the county’s COVID-19 cases. The board will continue the conversation Monday, including the possibility of an earlier return for a smaller group of students who may need extra help.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board will vote on whether to keep students in online classes for nine weeks — until the end of the first-quarter grading period in October — at 6 p.m. today.
Both districts have been planning for a combination of remote learning and in-person classes, with an option for students to take online-only classes. However, school officials for both districts have said the county’s coronavirus numbers are concerning. They also have received feedback from parents and teachers who are afraid of what might happen if students or teachers get sick or die.
“I’m getting emails about our staff drafting wills and our staff having to choose between keeping their jobs and staying home because they’re so scared of teaching in these conditions,” OCS board Chairwoman Hillary Mackenzie said.
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction has asked all school districts to submit a remote learning plan by Monday.
The current proposals largely follow Gov. Roy Cooper’s lead in announcing Tuesday that school districts must maintain “moderate social distancing” when students return. That option requires schools to offer some online, or remote, classes.
Besides the potential for COVID-19 to spread, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teachers are worried about how the district will find substitutes to cover for sick teachers, and whether the district can pay enough to keep substitute teachers and bus drivers on the job, district spokesman Jeff Nash said. Many substitutes and bus drivers already can’t afford to live in the district, he said.
A survey will go out to parents in the near future about the reopening plans and their food and transportation needs, Nash said. Right now, he estimates at least a third of the district’s roughly 12,000 students could sign up for online-only classes.
The Orange County Schools, which enrolls roughly 7,300 students, is conducting a similar survey now.
How will schools keep students, staff safe?
▪ Surfaces will be continuously sanitized, including between classroom activities
▪ Both districts have scheduled days for disinfecting their schools. CHCCS staff will clean on Wednesdays, and OCS staff will clean on the weekends.
▪ Students, teachers and staff will be screened for symptoms, including fever, before entering the schools and will have to wear face masks at school. Cooper said the state will provide at least five washable, cloth masks for every student and employee.
▪ Six-foot distances will be marked in common areas and desks will be spread out to keep students separated
▪ Seating will be assigned and facing in the same direction, sneeze guards and partitions could be added, and students and teachers will be assigned to learning groups to limit exposure
What happens if a student or teacher gets sick?
Students, staff and teachers who display coronavirus symptoms would be sent home. The districts then would notify the Orange County Health Department and work with local and state officials to do contact tracing. Those who may have been exposed to the sick person would be notified.
Does my student have to attend class in person?
Parents in both school districts have the option of enrolling their children in remote learning classes, which will offer no in-person education. Students in both online and in-person classes also will have opportunities for small-group learning, one-on-one sessions with teachers and other assistance throughout the school year.
The draft CHCCS remote learning plan can be found at tinyurl.com/yc3fudv8. A remote learning plan webinar — tinyurl.com/yab4kde8 — will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, July 17.
The OCS district has posted details about its Orange County Schools Virtual Academy online at orangecountyfirst.com/Page/853. The district also is offering four opportunities for families to learn more about remote learning this week:
▪ Grades K-8 information session, 5-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday
▪ Grades 9-12 information session, 6-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday
Hybrid plan for elementary schools?
Chapel Hill-Carrboro: Once they return to the classroom, students will be split into two groups, each with its own schedule of in-person and remote classes:
▪ Group A would meet in person on Monday and Tuesday, and learn remotely Wednesday through Friday
▪ Group B would meet in person on Thursday and Friday, and learn remotely Monday through Wednesday
The schedule for pre-kindergarten students is still being worked out, CHCCS officials said.
Orange County: County students also would be split into two groups when they return to the classroom:
▪ Group A first would meet in person Monday through Thursday, with online learning on Friday, followed by a week of remote learning Monday through Friday, and alternating until further notice.
▪ Group B first would meet remotely Monday through Friday, followed by in-person classes Monday through Thursday and an online class on Friday, also alternating until further notice.
Some students in traditionally underserved groups, such as those from minority or low-income families, would continue to meet in person for a half-day on Fridays. Teachers also would have planning time on Fridays.
Hybrid plan for middle, high schools?
Chapel Hill-Carrboro: Students would be split into two groups and could return to in-person classes gradually by grade level:
▪ Group A: Would have in-person classes Monday-Tuesday, and remote learning Wednesday-Friday
▪ Group B: Would have remote learning Monday-Wednesday, and in-person classes Thursday-Friday
Orange County: County students also would be split into two groups, each with its own schedule of in-person and remotely based classes that would alternate until further notice:
▪ Group A: Would start with in-person classes Monday-Thursday, with remote learning on Friday, followed by a week of remote learning Monday-Friday.
▪ Group B: Would start with remote learning Monday-Friday, followed by in-person classes Monday-Thursday, with remote learning on Friday.
The schools would reserve in-person classes on Fridays for traditionally underserved students, including those in minority groups or who are low income.
Tracking student attendance
Chapel Hill-Carrboro: Teachers will mark students present for remote classes if the students finish their daily assignments by midnight, and/or the students check in each day with their teachers. Students who do not complete their assignments online can submit their work through digital platforms, such as SeeSaw, Google Classroom or Canvas, attend Google Meet sessions, complete exit tickets or reflections, or contact their teacher by phone.
Orange County: Superintendent Monique Felder said teachers will take attendance and grade assignments from students in remote classes and when they switch to a hybrid schedule.
Special needs, struggling students
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction has created a website with additional information about resources for helping students learn during this time.
Exceptional-children teachers in both districts will work with parents, guardians and others to meet the specific needs of exceptional learning students.
In Chapel Hill-Carrboro, adaptive curriculum students can choose to attend in-person learning either two (Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday) or four days a week, depending on available space and staffing. There are no in-person classes on Wednesdays.
No specific information was immediately available for the Orange County Schools, but Connie Crimmins, director of the district’s Exceptional Children program, said there will be a meeting soon with parents of students in the program. The district will review goals for students with Individualized Education Plans with parents in the spring, she said.
Technology, internet access
Chapel Hill-Carrboro: Elementary students are provided with iPads, while middle and high school students receive Chromebooks. Students without reliable internet service should contact their teacher or school principal about getting access to a district T-Mobile hotspot. The district also provides a map of wifi hotspots in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
Orange County: All kindergarten students receive iPads and other students receive Chromebooks for online education. Exceptional Children students will receive technical devices that meet their learning needs, district officials said.
Free wifi hotspots are available through district schools, and also in the parking lots of Cedar Ridge High, Orange High, C.W. Stanford Middle, A.L. Stanback Middle, and Gravelly Hill Middle schools. Buses will provide mobile hotspots in some neighborhoods.
How will students be graded
Chapel Hill-Carrboro: The district is waiting for state guidance, officials said, but students will start the year under the current grading policy. Teachers are encouraged to give feedback to students at least once a week, although additional help will be available for students who have trouble understanding the class material.
Orange County: All students will be graded on their work, whether meeting in person or remotely, Felder said. The district will make additional help available for students who have trouble with the class material, officials said.
Bus transportation changing
Parents are encouraged to provide their students with a ride to and from school. Students who take the bus will be limited to one person per seat, unless riding with a sibling or another person from their household.
CHCCS will survey parents soon about their children’s transportation needs. OCS is conducting a survey now and signing up students who need food and transportation in the new school year.
Will the schools provide lunch?
Both districts will provide prepackaged lunches, bottled water and disposable utensils to students attending in-person classes. Students will eat in their classrooms. The districts also plan to provide meals for students on remote-learning days.
School sports delayed
Both districts are deferring to guidance from local and state health officials and from the N.C. High School Athletics Association, which announced Wednesday that fall sports won’t begin until after Sept. 1.
High school student-athletes participating in fall sports in the CHCCS district will begin volunteer summer workouts — outdoors only — on Monday. Questions can be directed to each school’s athletic director or to District Athletic Director Scarlett Steinert at ssteinert@chccs.k2.nc.us.
No additional information was available from the Orange County Schools.
Staff writer T. Keung Hui contributed to this story.
The story will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 9:53 AM.
