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School, teachers at odds over teaching from home

Despite the statewide stay-at-home order, a charter school in Franklin County is asking teachers to come in to teach remote classes from their classrooms. Some teachers say they're being forced to choose between their jobs and their safety.

Posted Updated

By
Sloane Heffernan
, WRAL reporter
YOUNGSVILLE, NC — Despite the statewide stay-at-home order, a charter school in Franklin County is asking teachers to come in to teach remote classes from their classrooms. Some teachers say they're being forced to choose between their jobs and their safety.

Youngsville Academy is set to resume classes remotely on Thursday. Several members of the school's staff forwarded WRAL News an email they received Monday from the school's business director, Dan Henson, indicating they'll be expected to teach from campus, not from home.

The email, headlined "Facts vs. Fear," highlights measures the school has put in place to keep teachers safe, emphasizing that the school is already doing more than it's required to by OSHA or CDC guidelines. Those measures include social distancing, limiting meetings to small groups, and requiring everyone to take their temperature before they walk into the building.

"It is clear that many aspects of educational models being implemented by many schools are not working; parents are relieved to find out you will be partnering closely with them," the email says. It also advises staff with anxiety about the work setting to consult mental health services for "coping assistance."

Henson told WRAL News that teachers who have the ability to work from home will be allowed to do so.

But that isn't the message teachers are getting, said one educator at the school who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. He said he was told that if the school allows one teacher to work from home, they'd have to let all the teachers do it. He feels he's being asked to choose between his job and safety for himself and his family.

"As a teacher, it breaks my heart," he told us. "It breaks my heart that I’m expected to go up there for an eight-hour day and do the same thing I could do from the safety of my own home."

He added that other teachers with children at home also requested to work from home. "We were told no, bring your personal children and confine them to the designated areas.”

Under Governor Roy Cooper's Executive Order 120, all public schools are required to be closed to students through May 15th. But under Cooper's Executive Order 121, they're not required to be closed to employees "for purposes of facilitating remote learning, performing critical research, or performing essential functions," provided that social distancing requirements "are maintained to the greatest extent possible."

WRAL News asked the state's Department of Public Instruction about the issue. Attorney Eric Snider told us based on the executive orders, schools as an instructional setting are closed. There is some discretion allowed for teachers coming into the school to pick up materials, but overall, the idea is to keep people home if they can be at home.

Late Tuesday afternoon, DPI spokesman Graham Wilson sent us this statement:

"DPI and the State Board have checked with the school. Youngsville Academy reported back that they have been tracked out the last three weeks and are now beginning to facilitate their remote learning plan. No students are returning to the school building. Teachers are coming in to prepare work packets for the students that do not have access to the internet (approx. 10%). The teachers will be coming in only long enough to get the packets ready and then they will be working remotely."

However, teachers at the school tell WRAL News they received a second email from the school around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon, telling them they'll be expected to work at the school for a couple of weeks while remote learning plans are "eventually" set up. After that, they'll be expected to report one day per week.

We've also asked Governor Roy Cooper's office for a comment on whether the school is violating the spirit of the stay-at-home order. They have not yet responded.

The director of the school declined our request for an interview.

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