Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will reopen the school year with online learning
Chapel Hill-Carrboro students will spend the first nine weeks of the new school year attending online classes, the school board decided Thursday.
The school board unanimously voted Thursday to reopen schools under what’s called Plan C, or online learning.
On Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper outlined his plan for reopening schools, following Plan B, a combined schedule of online and in-person classes that maintain “moderate social distancing.” School districts also can choose Plan C for online-only learning for students.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board Chair Mary Ann Wolf said board members have heard from hundreds of parents and teachers since deciding last week to reopen with a combination of in-person and remote-learning classes on Aug. 17.
Many did not think Plan B is a safe decision for students or teachers because of the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases in Orange County and across the state, Chapel Hill-Carrboro interim Superintendent Jim Causby said.
Even with every protection in place, he said, “I just don’t believe we could have done anything that would not have been a disaster.”
The school district isn’t the only one to switch gears. The Orange County School Board also reversed course Thursday, voting to keep students in online classes at least through mid-September. Durham Public School Board will reopen under Plan C for nine weeks, instead of the original Plan B. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board also adopted remote-learning plans.
Causby said Wake County’s superintendent told him that the Wake school board might consider a remote-learning plan next week.
A survey of 1,079 CHCCS teachers and other certified staff members found at least a third would be at high risk from COVID-19 if they were infected, Causby said. Only 13.6% supported returning to work in their assigned buildings full time.
He also noted the return of roughly 29,000 UNC students to Chapel Hill this summer. Elected officials and residents have expressed concern in recent weeks about the effect that could have on the spread of coronavirus in the community.
Roughly 21% of the county’s 1,035 positive cases reported Thursday were among young people ages 18 to 24, according to state data. Another 55% have been reported among those 24 to 64 years old — the age range for school district teachers and staff.
“The fear of this is palpable,” Causby said. “People do not know what to expect from it. We’ve heard it’s going to get better; it’s not getting better. The numbers are going up, so people are very frightened about what the possibilities of this are.”
Meeting childcare needs
The district’s new schedule will keep students in online classes until the last week of October. Administrative officials with the city schools and the Orange County Schools have said they will work with the county, towns and community partners to look at ways to help teachers and parents meet childcare needs.
“I understand the needs of families. I understand the need for childcare,” Causby said. “I understand all those needs, and I understand there’s no way we can replicate the value of a face-to-face, full-time program. I believe we have developed the best thing that we could do.”
Board member Joal Broun and others agreed they want students to go back to the classroom but do not want to risk widespread infection. Broun noted that long-term medical consequences for younger people who get sick are still unknown.
“I think we should put in the forefront the metrics, so that if the metrics should change and improve, we can be prepared to think about maybe who we triage to bring into the classroom first, in terms of first the adaptive (students) and then maybe those students who are not learning at grade level,” Broun said.
Preparing for online learning
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 the online-only option because of how it affects students with fewer resources who need more help, and because it strains parents trying to return to work.
The district will offer training for parents and students on how to use the technology and remote learning tools. The district also has taken steps to ensure every student has iPads or Chromebooks and wifi hotspots, said Jessica O’Donovan, district assistant superintendent for instructional services.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro teachers and staff have been working since May on a remote-learning plan that covers six hours each day for elementary school students and roughly seven hours for middle and high school students, O’Donovan said.
Remote learning for students with disabilities will be structured to meet individual needs, she said, and all students will receive more live feedback and have social and emotional learning moments throughout their day.
In addition to live instruction in core subjects, students will have time for clubs, physical education for grades K-8, small group instruction, and study halls. World language, art and music are included in the elementary school schedule.
Wednesdays will offer flexibility so students can get live support in small groups, take advantage of special services, and have the opportunity for independent learning. Teachers also will be available every day for one-on-one sessions and check-ins with students.
The fall semester will emphasize student attendance, and teachers will grade assignments as normal, O’Donovan said.
“Daily attendance is critical, and I can’t emphasize that enough,” she said. “We know that the minute we’re not seeing students engaged, that’s the first red flag. However, by state law, we cannot simply mark a student absent solely for not showing up to a live session. It’s also about work completed.”
Board member Ashton Powell asked whether the online schedules were too optimistic, without the flexibility for the potential for something to go wrong.
“What I am worried about is if we are trying to fit our normal understanding of what we should be trying to teach the kids over the course of the year in a setting where it’s brand-new to everyone,” Powell said. “There are going to be deaths likely in the community. There are likely to be mass amounts of unemployment. … I worry that there is not enough flexibility in the schedule to accommodate that.”
Wolf suggested surveying parents after a couple of weeks to ensure the amount of work is adequate and not overwhelming. The district also could survey students to find out what additional support they might need, board member Jillian La Serna said.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 9:20 PM.
