With students heading back to the classroom, is six feet of distance possible?

How will students socially distance upon return to the classroom?

Posted 11:17 p.m. Feb 5, 2021 — Updated 4:29 p.m. Feb 8, 2021

Leslie Moreno

, WRAL reporter

CARY, N.C. — In just 10 days, teachers and students in Wake County will be walking into classrooms for the first time in almost a year.

"I think Wake County can do it. I think we can. I think we need to be proactive and do it and fix things along the way," Emily Wilmoth, a Wake County parent, said.

Wilmoth has a second grader and a seventh grader. She knows there are risks but believes the emotional and social well-being of students is vital, and it’s up to the entire community to make a return to in-person learning work.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services recommends all middle and high school students return to the classroom under plan A, which is daily, in-person instruction, but only if they can keep 6 feet of distance at all times.

State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson says social distancing is a bigger priority for high school students.

"Overall we are seeing, in our younger kids, elementary students, overall lower rates of infection, but in our older kids they start acting more like adults so a little bit more high rates of transmission," Tilson said.

In Wake County, pre-kindergarten through third grade students will be on Plan A, where social distancing isn’t required but is recommended. Students in grades 4 through 12 will return under Plan B, where they will rotate between in-person and online instruction.

Wake County recently surveyed principals on whether they could keep students six feet apart if students attended school daily or on a rotating basis. For middle schools, 85% said yes, but only if students attended school in rotation. Only 5% said they could maintain enough distance is the entire student body attended daily For high schools, 93% said they could maintain six feet of social distance if students attended in rotation. None said they could keep six feet of distance if students attended daily.

Wilmoth says parents, teachers and administrators may have to start thinking outside the box. She wonders, "Can the gym be utilized? Can cafeteria be utilized? Can the library be utilized? Can they use a football field? Heated tents?"

In addition to the six feet of distance requirement for middle and high schools, both Plans A and B require that students sit one to a seat on the school bus, unless they are sitting next to a family member. WRAL reached out to Wake County School to see how the district plans on handling the school bus aspect, we have yet to hear back.

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