Several hurdles remain before more NC students can return to class

While almost everyone from the governor, state education leaders and lawmakers down to school administrators and parents appears ready to send students back to North Carolina public school classrooms, a number of details still need to be worked out.

Posted 12:55 a.m. Feb 4, 2021 — Updated 12:55 a.m. Feb 4, 2021

Adam Owens

, WRAL anchor/reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — While almost everyone from the governor, state education leaders and lawmakers down to school administrators and parents appears ready to send students back to North Carolina public school classrooms, a number of details still need to be worked out.

Gov. Roy Cooper and other officials urged school districts statewide on Tuesday to resume in-person instruction for students after months of online classes during the coronavirus pandemic. Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, cited a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that children can return safely to classrooms learning if precautions are taken.

Meanwhile, the state Senate is expected to approve a bill Thursday that would require school districts to offer students the option of in-person classes. Students who wish to could continue with remote learning, but no district could have all of its classes online only.

“We want kids back in person," said Bettina Umstead, chairwoman of the Durham Public Schools board.

The district has been online only since last March and has told parents that situation would continue through the spring semester. Umstead said logistics from bus routes to providing adequate distance among students in classrooms would need to be addressed before school can resume in person.

"We want to move them back in person when it is safe to do so. That includes getting our teachers vaccinated. That includes making sure community spread of the virus is at a lower transmission rate," she said.

Teachers: Vaccinate us first before reopening schools

Numerous teachers have expressed hesitation about returning to class before they are vaccinated. Having enough protective gear in schools also is a concern for many.

"We were looking at [resuming in-person classes in] the fall with the hope our teachers would be vaccinated by that point," Umstead said.

“We did open for a while," said Les Atkins, spokesman for the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District, noting that elementary schools had in-person classes from October to December.

But then coronavirus infections in the district started to mount, from 10 in October to 80 in January, and schools returned to all online classes in January.

The district's latest plan is for elementary schools to resume full-time, in-person classes on March 16. Middle schools and high schools would have a mix of in-person and remote classes.

Parents rally in downtown Raleigh with one message: Reopen the state's public schools

But as with Durham, Roanoke Rapids schools have to iron out the details.

“Some classes only fit 10 desks," Atkins said of the district's older buildings. "We only have one Spanish teacher, so that teacher would have to teach her face-to-face students and then teach her virtual students separately."

Staffing is also a concern, he said.

"We have had a number of teachers who, for various reasons, they don’t want to come back to the classroom and take something home to their families,“ he said. "Our teacher assistants serve as bus drivers. So, if they have to do multiple routes a day [and] we need them to also be in the classroom, that presents another challenge for us.”

After hearing overwhelming support from parents, the Wake County Board of Education voted Tuesday to resume in-person classes in the state's largest school district in two weeks. Elementary school students would attend class full-time, while middle school and high school students would be in a three-week rotation of one week in class and two weeks online.

Umstead said, however, that all districts face their own challenges.

"We know that learning for many of our students is best in person. We have to do it safely, and that is where I think how that safety looks and what that looks like have been different for so many groups of people," she said. "But we have the same goal of getting our students back."

Suggest A Correction