Raleigh middle school will switch to online classes Friday because of COVID-19
A Raleigh middle school will switch to remote instruction on Friday because of a shortage of school staff as COVID-19 cases continue to soar statewide.
Carroll Middle School will become the first individual school in the Wake County school system to suspend in-person instruction due to COVID-19 since schools reopened during the pandemic. Wake County school officials have been stressing how they want to keep in-person instruction going as much as possible.
“Our school will be moving to remote instruction for Friday, January 14, 2022,” Carroll said in a message to parents. “We are expecting more than 30% of our staff will be out tomorrow and absences will be across all grade levels.
“We will not hold before or after-school athletic or extra-curricular activities today or tomorrow.”
Wake had set up a system this week where principals at schools with 20% or more of their staff who are out due to COVID-19 can begin considering remote instruction. Principals at those schools are to contact their area superintendent to discuss their options.
Tom Benton, Carroll’s interim principal, had recommended that the school switch to remote instruction on Thursday. But due to it being 10 p.m., it would have given very short notice to parents, according to Lisa Luten, a district spokeswoman.
Chris McCabe, the Northern Area Superintendent, decided instead to deploy 13 central office employees to staff Carroll on Thursday.
On Friday, students at Carroll will be expected to virtually join every class at its regular time. Attendance will be taken.
The school is closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Tuesday is a teacher workday. Luten said Carroll hopes to reopen for in-person classes on Wednesday.
Schools closing due to COVID
Statewide, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction says 26 schools have notified them that they’re temporarily switching to remote instruction due to COVID-19. This includes two Wake County charter schools — Carolina Charter Academy and Longleaf School of the Arts — which are both operating remotely due to insufficient personnel.
Under a change made in state law, schools and classes can only switch to remote instruction in a COVID-19 emergency this school year if they don’t have enough staff or too many students are quarantined. The change in state law makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for entire school districts to switch to remote instruction.
Schools are so shortstaffed that Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that state employees can use their 24 hours of paid community leave to become substitutes at schools. He said state employees can serve in roles such as substitute teachers, school bus drivers and cafeteria workers.
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 3:36 PM.
