NC elementary students can have in-person classes, but Durham schools will stay online

Durham students will continue with remote classes through January, even though North Carolina’s elementary school students are now allowed to return to in-person instruction.

The school board for Durham Public Schools voted to approve Superintendent Pascal Mubenga’s recommendation to stick with Plan C, or online-only instruction, for the rest of the semester.

“Safety is going to be first,” Mubenga said.

He said he recognizes the challenges of virtual learning for some parents.

“There are some families that, they can testify that their kids are not getting education,” he said.

The board passed the decision by a 6-1 vote, with board member Jovonia Lewis voting against it.

Lewis said she was not ready to pass a “blanket” motion that may not fit children in Pre-K through second grade or students with disabilities.

The board also plans to revisit the possibility of a phased re-opening for students with special needs later this fall.

Gov. Roy Cooper said Sept. 17 that school districts can adopt what’s known as Plan A for elementary schools, which would allow students in kindergarten through fifth grade to return to daily, in-person classes starting Oct. 5, The News & Observer reported.

Students in middle and high schools across the state will continue with Plan B, allowing a mix of in-person and remote instruction, or Plan C, the online-only option Durham ultimately chose.

Under Plan A, students and teachers need to wear masks at school and on buses. They also are required to pass daily temperature checks and screenings.

Officials say there is less risk of transmitting COVID-19 among younger children.

But Durham school board member Natalie Beyer said Plan A is “impossible with the resources that we have.” She spoke to The N&O in an interview before Thursday’s meeting.

Of the 163 public comments submitted to the board about which option they prefer, the vast majority were parents and teachers who asked to continue virtual learning.

“Flu season is upon us and it would just be too dangerous to have students in schools exposed to both. It is not smart and it is not safe,” wrote Nehemiah Arrington in a comment.

But some parents said they want students to return to daily in-person instruction, including those with special needs or who need more individual attention.

“I have two with (Individualized Education Programs), one of which also takes speech, and one who has a breakdown due to frustration once a week, complete with tears and all. Many many kids need school,” wrote Melissa Lee.

District to tweak parts of Plan C

Mubenga said the district will tweak aspects of its remote learning curriculum in response to parent concerns. The adjustments could be made by Oct. 16, or at the end of the first quarter, Mubenga said.

DPS will establish a common lunch time between 11:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. to “ensure a consistent screen-free hour,” said Nakia Hardy, the deputy superintendent of academic services.

The district will require “protected time” for students on Wednesdays without live instruction, and elementary schools will try to reduce the amount of time children spend at their computer screens, Hardy said.

Meanwhile, the school district will continue to prepare for a partial re-opening later in the academic year, Mubenga said.

Board discusses virtual learning survey

School board members discussed results from a district-wide survey for students, families and teachers. The survey asked whether they supported extending remote learning for nine more weeks.

The DPS survey showed most respondents — students, parents and teachers — support continuing virtual learning. Over two-thirds of respondents said they favor extending virtual learning until January. High school and middle school families responded in favor at a higher rate, at about three-fourths.

However, responses from white families far outnumbered those from families of color, despite the district consisting mostly of Black and Latino students, the News & Observer reported.

Julie Spencer, assistant superintendent for research and accountability, said this week that the survey is just “one data source” and the district would not make a decision solely based on it.

“It is more than our job as a district to be aware of inequities in the survey responses,” said Lewis, a founder of Parents of African American Children who joined the school board in July. “We need to prioritize building relationships with families.”

School board chair Bettina Umstead said Thursday she agreed with other board members about building more relationships.

“COVID has showed us where cracks in our system were, that we knew were there already,” said Umstead. “And I think the survey is kind of showing us that, too.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 11:18 PM.