A new school year starts for NC students, but COVID challenges remain
North Carolina students are getting the in-person first day of classes that many missed out on last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 1 million students are walking into schools Monday, filling buildings to levels not seen since March 2020. This year’s opening day is far closer to a traditional opening of a school year than last August, when the majority of students held a virtual first day of classes.
But there are constant reminders of COVID-19 with most students and teachers still wearing face masks. Signs throughout schools encourage students to keep their distance and to wash their hands regularly. Hugs are still discouraged.
“They want to come up to you and hug you so we had to come up with something creative like elbow kisses, air high-fives,” said Cynthia Mack, a kindergarten teacher at Conn Elementary School in Raleigh. “But it’s really great to see the students coming back in for their first day of 2021-2022.”
Monday is the first day of classes for traditional-calendar school for most of the state’s students. Some districts, charter schools, early college high schools and year-round schools began their school year in July or earlier in August.
The school year is beginning while the delta variant, which is three times more contagious than the original coronavirus strain, is rapidly spreading throughout the state. The number of COVID-19 clusters and outbreaks in schools could potentially skyrocket this week.
“We were hoping to come back in a little bit better circumstances than last year,” said Gabriel Chidester, principal of Conn, where students returned Monday to their rebuilt campus. “But we’re ready and geared up for a new school year and we’re excited to see what’s going to happen this year.”
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Mask or no mask?
One of the starkest differences from the last school year is that not every public school is requiring face masks to be worn.
Gov. Roy Cooper didn’t extend the statewide mask mandate, but he has urged that schools require them to be worn.
As of Saturday, 87 of the state’s 115 school districts are requiring face masks. This group includes all the Triangle-area districts: Wake, Durham, Johnston, Orange, Franklin, Granville, Chatham and Harnett counties and Chapel Hill-Carrboro.
These 87 districts represent 77% of the state’s public school enrollment.
The 28 districts not requiring masks are all in rural or “red” areas that voted for Donald Trump in last fall’s presidential election.. They account for 15% of the state’s students.
Another 9% of students are in charter schools, laboratory schools and the Innovative School District.
At least 34 school districts decided this month to reverse their earlier decisions to make face masks optional.
Health and safety of students
Due to COVID, schools are still focused this year on health and safety rules. But full school buildings mean it’s harder than last year to maintain social distancing.
The Wake County school system spent $38.6 million rebuilding Conn Elementary’s campus in east Raleigh. The new campus includes more outdoor spaces for classes and for students to eat their lunch.
“Last year was very challenging with everything going on and making sure that our students felt welcomed, those who were in remote learning felt a sense of community,” Chidester said. “This year with most of our students coming back, we’re hoping to have a somewhat normal opening, again with the health and safety precautions being our top priority.”
Concerns about the rising number of COVID-19 cases has caused some Wake parents to ask the school system to reopen admission to the Virtual Academy program.
Some parents are hoping for the best.
“They are excited to be back,” said Rameisha Robbins, who brought her three daughters to Conn on Monday. “We are (nervous). But we also trust the county, trust the school, trust the leadership here that they’re putting the kids in a safe place.”
Helping student readjust to school
In addition to keeping students safe, schools have a big job helping some students who are taking in-person classes for the first time in 18 months. For instance, the majority of Wake County students attended the Virtual Academy last school year. It’s less than 10% this year.
At Wakefield Middle School in Raleigh, principal Alison Cleveland said she’s got two of her three grade levels that aren’t used to physically being at the school.
“We are welcoming them and intentionally spending a full week just relearning how to do school,” Cleveland said. “We’re gong to spend a lot of time this year building relationships, building trust, building community and building understanding.”
Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore is trying to reassure families as they start a new school year.
“While we begin the year with certain challenges that have become all too familiar, we also acknowledge that as students walk through our doors they do so with the same energy, wonder and hope as in pre-pandemic times,” Moore said in a message sent to families last week. “We aim to honor and nurture their excitement and their dreams, just as we always have.”
Photojournalist Ethan Hyman contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 8:16 AM.
