Orange County Schools to start online only, as COVID-19 delays return to classroom
Orange County Schools students will return to school Aug. 17, but they won’t return to the classroom until at least September, the school board decided Thursday.
The board will meet again Monday to talk about details of that plan and whether to keep some or all students in online classes until the end of the first grading period in October.
Board member Bonnie Hauser has recommended the district bring back a small group of students earlier if the online option is extended. The group could be limited to students that need more help, including those from minority and low-income families that traditionally are underserved, she said.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board, which will meet Thursday night, also could vote to keep classes online until the end of the first grading period in October.
Hillary Mackenzie, chair of the Orange County school board, said she will work with the city school board, local mayors and the Orange County Board of Commissioners on ways to help families who are struggling with child care and other needs while students remain at home.
Orange County Superintendent Monique Felder recommended the board take the step Thursday, instead of returning students in August to a hybrid schedule of in-person classes one week, alternating with online classes the next week.
The board discussed extending the online classes to October but decided to start with four weeks right now.
Mackenzie said teachers have told her that keeping classes online for nine weeks instead of four weeks would make it easier for them to plan their lessons and maintain a consistent classroom environment, and for parents to schedule childcare.
Teachers scared by rising coronavirus cases
Teachers also are scared about going back to school now with the number of positive COVID-19 cases rising, she said.
“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,” Mackenzie said. “I know there are a lot of considerations, and I don’t take it lightly to keep our buildings closed.”
Orange County had 1,015 positive cases and 43 deaths as of Thursday morning. Felder said she has been consulting with Orange County’s health director about those numbers, and while children may not be as affected, over half of the county’s cases are affecting residents between the ages of 24 and 64. That includes most of the district’s teachers and staff, she said.
“As a longtime educator, as a mother, as a grandmother, I want nothing more than for all of our students, all of of teachers, all of our staff to return to school for in-person instruction. I wanted that in March, I wanted that in April, I want it now,” Felder said. “And without question, I also want to remind everyone that safety for the health of our students and staff remains the No. 1 priority for Orange County Schools.”
Online only will remain an option for parents, children
When students eventually return to the classroom, families still will have the option of keeping them in online classes only.
Those who opt out of online-only learning will be split into two alternating in-person learning groups — one group will attend school in person one week, followed by the other the next week. When they’re not in the classroom, the groups of students will learn online.
They’ll also have online classes on Fridays, which will give teachers time for planning and to help students who are having difficulties with the material.
Families who opt for online learning, or who want to return their children to online learning at a later time, will have windows for doing that at the end of each grading period for elementary school students and the end of the semester for middle and high school students.
Gov. Roy Cooper gave schools the option July 14 of either offering a combined schedule of online and in-person classes with “moderate social distancing,” or offering just online classes.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board voted Wednesday to hold remote-learning classes for the foreseeable future, after a two-week, in-person orientation for all students.
Students statewide spent the last few months of the 2019-20 school year learning from home after schools closed in March to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many parents have expressed frustrations with that option because of how it could be affecting students with fewer resources who need more help, and because it strains parents trying to return to work.
Felder acknowledged that frustration Thursday, noting that students and parents will see big differences in the new version of online learning, including a focus on new content rather than a review of what students already have learned.
Teachers also will take attendance and give grades, there will be more training for parents, students and staff, and multiple ways to learn, including small groups, one-on-one conversations with teachers and more face-to-face instruction, she said. Art, music, physical education, world languages, career technical education, STEM classes and virtual field trips also will be included, she said.
Info meetings for online-only academy
The district will hold four online sessions Thursday and Friday for parents to get more information about the online-only option, Orange County Schools Virtual Academy. Information about those sessions and how to sign up is posted on the Virtual Academy webpage.
The district also will hold a meeting in the near future with parents of students in the Exceptional Children program, director Connie Crimmins said. The goals for students with Individualized Education Plans will be discussed in the spring, she said.
“This decision to go fully remote for all students has really tugged at my heart, because I know the difficulties there are with educating students with complex disabilities, and I have had sleepless nights just thinking about me bringing students in,” Crimmins said. But in weighing “the potential health and safety (risks), and to have a student or a teacher come down with COVID, to me, right now, that might be more pressing and knowing there are spikes in the cases in Orange County right now, it was a hard decision.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 10:26 AM.
