Wake announces Virtual Academy registration period and restricts singing at schools
The Wake County school system has announced when students can register for the spring semester for the Virtual Academy program as well as new health restrictions on school music programs.
The registration period for the spring term of the Virtual Academy will be Oct. 21 to Nov. 4 for middle school and high school students and Dec. 2-9 for elementary school students. The Virtual Academy has been extremely popular this fall, enrolling 85,000 of Wake’s 160,000 students.
The Virtual Academy was created for families who don’t feel comfortable returning for in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program also appeals to families who don’t want to deal with changing back and forth between in-person and online classes.
This registration period is meant for:
▪ Virtual Academy students who want to return to in-person instruction in the spring semester.
▪ Virtual Academy students who registered for the fall only but who now want to stay in the spring semester.
▪ Students not currently in the Virtual Academy who want to join in the spring semester.
No action is needed from Virtual Academy students who signed up for the entire school year and who want to stay in the program.
The registration period comes as PreK-3 students and K-12 special-education students in regional programs will return for in-person instruction on Oct. 26. They will be on a cycle of one week of in-person classes and two weeks of remote classes, before switching to daily in-person classes on Nov. 16.
Middle school students also will return to school Nov. 9 for a three-week rotation of in-person and online courses. Fourth- and fifth-grade students will begin on that rotation on Nov. 16.
High school students will continue to only receive online classes for the rest of the fall semester, which ends in January.
The registration period for middle school and high school families was extended an additional week to Nov. 4. But families of middle school students will have to decide on the Virtual Academy before they’ve had a chance to see how the limited in-person instruction plan will work for them. Drew Cook, assistant superintendent for academics, said that those schools need the information soon to plan for next semester.
Families of elementary students can see how the new world of in-person instruction, which includes wearing face masks, daily temperature checks and social distancing, is before deciding whether to register in December.
Families may apply and find more information at www.wcpss.net/Virtual-Academy.
Singing, some music instruments banned
The school system also announced Monday restrictions on what musical activities school groups can perform.
School bands and orchestras will not be allowed to play brass or woodwind instruments, and school choral groups will not be allowed to sing. Only percussion and stringed instruments will be acceptable for rehearsals and instruction.
“Recent aerosol studies have led the Wake County Health Department and the ABC Science Collaborative to advise that it is in students’ best interest to refrain from playing instruments or singing at this time.,” the school district says in its announcement.
But Ed McFarland, Wake’s chief academic advancement officer, told the school board on Tuesday that special masks for singing and for playing of music instruments have been ordered. He said they haven’t arrived yet.
The district says these groups can meet and participate in team-building activities, social-emotional learning activities or other music-related activities that do not involve singing or playing instruments.
Even though high schools aren’t offering in-person instruction, Wake allowed on-campus arts activities to begin this week.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
