From excitement to fear: Reaction is very mixed to Wake’s new daily, in-person classes
The return of more than 20,000 Wake County elementary school students to daily in-person classes on Monday is drawing both praise and complaints from the public.
Some critics complain public health is being put at risk by having Wake PreK-3 students and K-12 special education regional program students back on campus at a time when coronavirus rates are spiking in North Carolina and nationally.
But some other parents said the return to full-time in-person instruction was a day they’ve been eagerly awaiting for their children.
“I don’t think we should be scared,” Christy Wagner, a Morrisville parent, said in an interview Monday. “We can’t live in fear our whole life or we’ll never be back in school.”
Wagner’s youngest son returned to second grade at Cedar Fork Elementary School in Morrisville.
Monday marked the first time since March 13 that Wake County’s elementary schools had all grade levels on campus. In addition to the full-time return of PreK-3 students, Monday was the first day for some fourth- and fifth-grade students who are on a rotation of one week of in-person classes and two weeks of online classes.
Middle school returned last week on that three-week rotation plan. High school students are staying with only online classes for the fall semester.
On Tuesday, the school board is scheduled to vote on a plan for the spring semester that would have elementary school students and special-ed regional program students who are not in the Virtual Academy get daily in-person classes. The plan would also have middle school and high school students use the three-week rotation.
Wake cuts back on social distancing
Wake had phased in the return of the K-3 students, having them come back in small groups starting on Oct. 26. But on Monday, they were all together on campus at the same time in rooms with as many as 19 students.
Due to the full class sizes, Wake warned families last week that some K-3 classrooms would not be able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing. Instead, they’re providing 3 feet of distancing.
Gov. Roy Cooper is allowing North Carolina elementary schools to operate on “Plan A,” where social distancing is recommended but not required in classrooms. Students still have to wear face coverings, pass daily health screening and wash their hands frequently.
Wake accused of being reckless
Multiple people have gone on social media to say Wake should slow down on bringing students back for in-person instruction. A. Scott Honeycutt, a Garner resident and father of a teacher, pointed to how high the COVID-19 rates are in Southeast Raleigh.
“Why are you having in person school in this zip code?” Honeycutt tweeted Sunday. “Your recklessness endangers the health of all in this area including your very valuable staff. We’re watching and holding you accountable.”
The school district announced Monday that it was suspending public attendance at school board meetings because of Cooper’s recent executive order limiting in-person gatherings to 10 people. The order doesn’t apply to schools, but some critics noted the irony of board members having smaller room sizes and more social distancing than students and teachers in some classrooms.
“This is a joke, right?” Dane West, a Knightdale High School teacher, tweeted Monday. “Meanwhile PreK-3 just went fully in-person and I’m suppose to give final exams in-person in 4 weeks.”
Some people on social media said school leaders would be accountable if teachers or students die from COVID-19. Kristin Beller, president of Wake NCAE, said in an interview Monday that it’s not fair for people to say that the blood of educators will be on the hands of school board members. But she said she understands why people would feel that way.
Parents say virtual learning not working
But some parents say that the remote learning that’s been used in place of in-person learning isn’t working, especially for younger students.
“My daughter woke up all happy ready to get back,” Claudine Libey, a North Raleigh parent, said in an interview Monday. “She couldn’t wait to get back to the bus stop this morning. Virtual learning has been very difficult for her.”
Libey’s 6-year-old daughter is a first-grade student at Abbotts Creek Elementary School in Raleigh. Libey said it was hard to keep her daughter engaged online so she had to observe her classes to help keep her focused.
Bonnie Fagley, a Garner parent, said a return to in-person instruction was exactly what her 6-year-old daughter needed.
“My 6-year-old has no interest being on a computer and learning remotely,” Fagley said in an interview Monday. “She has no interest in being an independent learner (in remote learning).”
Like other districts in the state and nationally, Wake County has seen an increase in the number of students who’ve failed classes while using online learning. School district staff will give an update Tuesday to the board on the grading issues.
Parents downplay health risks of in-person classes
Some parents say they’re not worried about the potential health risks of returning to in-person instruction.
The Wake County school district reported 26 new COVID-19 cases last week. But Wake and state health leaders say that children are less at risk of catching and transmitting COVID-19 than adults and aren’t driving the increase in cases.
Fagley, a pediatric nurse, said she’s fine with her children returning to classrooms even though there could be less than 6 feet of social distancing.
“As long as they’re wearing their mask and not taking it off for more than 15 minutes, then they’re OK to be less than 6 feet,” she said. “It’s not ideal, but it’s not going to be a problem. It doesn’t have to be both 6 feet and a mask.”
Fagley says the learning and benefits to student mental health far exceed the potential health risk.
Learning benefits are why Jared Leake, a Zebulon parent, was so eager to get his 3-year-old son back into a regional program for special-education students. Leake said his son, who is on the autism spectrum, saw major improvement when he began attending the Pre-K program at Lake Myra Elementary School in Wendell in February.
His son was on the right track to conquer his disability, Leake said, until the coronavirus pandemic closed schools in March and forced them to switch to remote learning. He says they need to catch up on eight months of critical development time that was lost due to the school closure.
Leake said the family is following all precautions and being safe. “If he gets it and brings it home and one of us dies, that‘s not as bad as him not being in school,” he said in an interview Monday.
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
