Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board makes decision on bringing students back to school
All Chapel Hill-Carrboro students will return to class in person in April — the first time in over a year for some students, the school board decided Thursday.
The board also authorized Superintendent Nyah Hamlett to buy classroom air purifiers and more face masks, face shields and other protective equipment for students and staff.
The unanimous decision to reopen schools under a Plan B hybrid of in-person and online learning comes after several months of debate among board members about how to keep students and staff safe. The board had continued to delay its decision as the number of COVID-19 cases rose over the holidays. In January, the board moved its decision about reopening schools to Feb. 18.
However, the decision was moved up earlier this week after Gov. Roy Cooper urged school districts statewide to provide in-person classes. Republicans in the state Senate also filed a bill this week that would require schools to give K-12 students the option of in-person learning.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro students in pre-kindergarten through second grade, sixth grade, ninth grade and exceptional children’s programs would return to a hybrid schedule on April 19. Students in grades 3-5, 7-8 and 10-12 would return on April 26.
The schedule will require staff members who have not obtained a disability exception to return to school by March 15. Hamlett could ask some staff to come back earlier to help administer required state tests.
Students would be placed in either Cohort A or Cohort B when they return to school in-person. Cohort A would attend classes in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Cohort B would attend in person on Thursdays and Fridays. Students would attend remotely on days they are not in in-person classes and on Wednesdays while staff cleans the schools.
The district will let families know which group their students are assigned to by Feb. 26. Families will have 10 days to switch to remote or to in-person learning.
District officials also will continue to monitor local COVID-19 data.
The district’s only option is “to get it right,” said Patrick Abele, assistant superintendent for support services.
“We need to make sure that we’re following through and ensuring that our campuses are safe for all individuals, whether it’s staff, students or anyone else that comes on the campuses,” Abele said. “We can’t eliminate all risk … but we can take the right mitigation strategies to eliminate it in the most effective ways possible.”
The board also voted Thursday to add March 26 to the school calendar and two days at the end of the school year, which now will end June 10.
Hamlett also could expand in-person support programs immediately for at-risk students and work with principals to give students and parents more opportunities to participate in outdoor clubs, activities, sports and other events.
Falling cases, more research
The decision comes as pressure has increased across the state to return students to in-person classes.
“We’ve learned much more about this virus, and now it’s time to get our children back into the classroom,” Cooper said Tuesday at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 37 — In Person Learning Choice for Families — would require schools to provide in-person classes for students with an individualized education plan, such as those in exceptional children’s classes. It also would require districts to give all students the option of only in-person classes or a mix of in-person and online learning.
Orange County has reported 492 COVID-19 cases for every 100,000 residents in the last 14 days, district officials reported Thursday. That is down from 525 cases for every 100,000 residents reported Jan. 21. The rate of positive COVID tests also has declined, to 2.4% Thursday, down from 3.8% on Jan. 21.
Health officials and the ABC Science Collaborative — a medical and research group helping to reopen school districts across the state — have pointed to research that shows younger children are less likely to catch and spread the virus.
Danny Benjamin, collaborative co-chair and Duke University School of Medicine pediatrics professor, has told local school boards that students and teachers can return to school safely if they consistently use face masks, maintain a physical distance from each other and practice good hand hygiene.
The risk of contracting the virus in schools remains very low compared with the risk in the community, he told the Orange County school board in January.
Some schools are open
Many school districts already have returned to a hybrid schedule, although some made the decision to return to remote learning after the holidays. Wake County students will remain in remote classes until Feb. 15.
Durham Public Schools plans to keep students in remote classes through the end of the school year, but the district is watching the Senate bill, Superintendent Pascal Mubenga has said.
Orange County Schools reopened classrooms for its K-1 students on Jan. 25 but is not scheduled to bring back grades 2-12 until April 6.
The district is monitoring the Senate bill, officials said Tuesday. They noted that some older students could return to in-person classes this month for extended orientation sessions and small-group instruction.
“Should future state legislation mandate a different expectation, then the Orange County Board of Education will meet and adhere to those guidelines,” district officials said in the statement posted to the district website.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 10:19 PM.
