Durham Public Schools plans for another school year impacted by COVID-19

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, the Durham Board of Education will discuss protocol for field trips, afterschool activities, sports and other events as coronavirus cases rise again.

One suggestion in their plan eliminates capacity limits at spectator events and suggestions reopening concession stands, serving only pre-packaged food.

Durham Public Schools is already requiring masks for the 2021-22 school year and will use contact tracing to monitor COVID-19 cases.

While some parents are hesitant, most families in Durham have opted for in-person learning. DPS spokesperson Chip Sudderth said they've had at least 600 families apply for and enroll in the academy, considerably less than the number seen last year.

"We keep hearing that this is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and we think about we’re sending all of our unvaccinated kids right back into the same room, all together," said Daniele Berman, one DPS parent. "We need to do everything we can to keep these classrooms from becoming super spreaders themselves."