Alternate days for students? Screening for sickness? How NC schools could look in fall.
North Carolina’s 1.5 million public school students could split their time next fall going to school on some days and learning from home the rest of the time to try to maintain social distancing.
North Carolina’s public schools are closed for in-person instruction for the rest of the school year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with no certainty about when they’ll reopen.
But a state task force told lawmakers Thursday that they’re vetting options such as limiting how many students are on campus at any given time as a way to allow schools to reopen next school year.
Susan Perry, chief deputy secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said she believes health officials will have to start getting clarity on school reopening guidance “within the next week or so.”
“We have a very high sense of urgency to get a lot of clarity about how and when schools can reopen and under what conditions,” Perry told members of the N.C. House COVID-19 Education Working Group.
The N.C. Schools Reopening Task Force is reviewing preliminary health guidelines in five areas:
▪ Social distancing.
▪ Cleaning/hygiene.
▪ Monitoring health of students and staff.
▪ Protecting high-risk populations.
▪ Educating students and staff.
Schools have switched to remote learning since Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper ordered them to close in mid-March to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. Remote learning could remain part of the learning process for next school year, as well.
The state task force is looking at how to increase social distancing. One option is to stagger school hours or alternate days when students are in school, with children learning from home when they’re not on campus.
Maintain social distancing at schools
Other social-distancing strategies being considered include:
▪ Reconfigure desks so students are 6 feet apart.
▪ Reduce class size.
▪ Limit group activities.
▪ Take meals back from cafeteria to classrooms.
▪ Stagger recess.
Perry, a member of the task force, said they realize it will be difficult for schools to do things such as reconfigure desks, stagger desk and have alternating schedules. She says they’re considering the practical realities of the recommendations they’ll make.
“There’s a lot more work that needs to be done because while I think we have some good ideas from the public health side — what is going to protect students and staff and considerations for high-risk individuals and what the kinds of practical things are that need to be done — the implications for schools we realize are massive.,” Perry said.
The task force is looking at what increased hygiene requirements might be needed, such as frequent cleaning for high-touch areas, minimizing use of shared supplies and providing hand sanitizer at every entrance, exit and classroom. They may also make recommendations on when school staff and students should wear face masks.
How to keep sick people off campus
Another area being studied is how to protect against sick people being on campus. Ideas being studied include:
▪ Instruct staff/students to stay home if sick.
▪ Have a plan for immediate removal of sick people.
▪ Daily symptom screening for everyone at school entrance.
▪ Make accommodations for high-risk staff and update care plans for students with special health care needs.
“We certainly hope we have all students back in the building in the fall, but there’s no guarantee and we want to make sure we’re planned accordingly either way so that schools can be as successful as possible,” said Deputy State Superintendent David Stegall.
Flexibility in school reopening
North Carolina is among 48 states, four U.S. territories and the District of Columbia that have ordered or recommended that school buildings be closed for the rest of the academic year, according to Education Week. The closures are affecting about 50.8 million public school students.
Under COVID-19 relief legislation passed by state lawmakers, traditional-calendar schools will start a week earlier than normal next school year on Aug. 17. But families and staff at year-round schools that start in July are clamoring for more details about reopening.
Rep. Hugh Blackwell, a Burke County Republican, urged the state to consider not using a one-size-fits-all approach to reopening schools. GOP lawmakers have called on the governor to give individual counties more flexibility in how they reopen.
“It strikes me that there is a practical reality that Avery County may not need to have have to do some stuff that downtown Charlotte needs to do,” Blackwell said.
Avery County is the only county in North Carolina that hasn’t recorded a COVID-19 case.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 11:37 AM.
