Fort Bragg families prepared to start school online

On Monday, some of them got an extra boost with backpacks filled with supplies and meals. The Morale, Welfare and Recreation Division at Fort Bragg handed the supplies out to about 200 families.

"The families are going through a unique situation with the going back to school situation. So, we're trying to help them out, give them a little supplies and get them ready for the school year," MWR coordinator Heather Ybarra said.

"It's going to bless us tremendously," said Christy Hardy, who has two children in school. "It just helps us with ... not having the stress going out in public and getting them."

Classes start on Fort Bragg on Aug. 24, and many parents said they're glad they won't be sending their children into school, which they say is still unsafe.

"The only concern I have will be just the back and forth," Hardy said. "Say somebody contracts it, and we have to take the kids out of school, and then it keeps going back and forth. Like, how many times will that happen?"

The Department of Defense Education Activity operates nine schools on Fort Bragg, which have a combined enrollment of about 5,000 students.

When virus trends improve, the schools could start shifting students back to in-person classes. Parents who opted to enroll their children in the Virtual Academy that's administered by the Defense Department will continue online learning when other students head back to the classroom.