Wake County school board approves daily in-person learning for 4th and 5th grades

That follows a vote Tuesday evening from the school district’s board of education. The board approved the measure with only one vote against it, by board member Jim Martin.

The move puts into effect the plan the board had for January of this year, before voting for remote-only instruction for all students because of a spike in community COVID-19 cases and concerns of a shortage in substitute teachers.

Last month, the board voted to allow pre-kindergarten through third grade students to return to class daily, if they choose, and sixth grade through twelfth grades to return to class on rotation among three cohorts. Students returned beginning the week of Feb. 15.

Families can keep their children in the district’s Virtual Academy for daily learning, if they choose.

Superintendent Cathy Q. Moore mentioned the proposal, made by district staff, to the board last week.

On Tuesday, she said the decision is inspired by three things, which the district has been using to determine opening this year: state restrictions, which Gov. Roy Cooper has reduced; state and county spread, which has reduced; and district indicators, which show low transmission of the novel coronavirus within schools.

Moore said five of the district’s schools had secondary transmission of the virus.

Martin opposed the decision Tuesday, concerned about minimal social distancing and the potential impact on COVID-19 spread. Moving more children into Plan A risks prolonging the pandemic, if spread continues, he said.

Martin said he’s not advocating for closing schools but rather being cautious based on health data, because he’s “sick” of the pandemic.

Exchanges between Martin and other board members got heated at times, as they disagreed over Martin’s conclusions and keeping order at the meeting.

Others said they felt comfortable voting in favor of the measure because of advice from health officials in government and outside of the government.

“The CDC has also said schools should be the first to open and the last to close,” school board member Chris Heagarty said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also noted the toll of social isolation on children’s mental health, he said.

Heagarty said pediatricians he’s talked to have mentioned increasing anxiety and obesity among children and worsening abilities to communicate with adults.

“They’ve talked about even just the limited exposure some children received when they are able to go back to school has improved children’s health and well-being," he said.

After an hour and a half of debate, board member Roxie Cash called for a vote, which was seconded and approved by the board. The nine-member board then passed the measure to move fourth and fifth grades to Plan A on a voice vote with only Martin giving vocal opposition.

Before the vote, board member Monika Johnson-Hostler said many fourth and fifth grade parents who chose Plan B may be uncomfortable with moving to Plan A and urged the district to find a way to accommodate for them.

As a parent who chose Plan B, she said, she did not expect Plan A to be an option so soon when she made that choice.

Johnson-Hostler said she has a different comfort level with returning to the classroom than some other parents, whom she knows aren’t ready for Plan A.

Next week, Moore will present a proposal for increasing in-person learning for sixth through 12th grade students before the board. The details haven’t been released yet.

State guidance urges Plan A (minimal social distance) or Plan B (6 feet of social distancing) for pre-kindergarten through fifth grades but recommends Plan B only for middle schools and high schools.

Most Wake County schools, according to a survey of principals conducted earlier this year, cannot maintain 6 feet of social distancing if all students returned to daily in-person instruction.

The district is considering reducing its three cohorts to two for those grades or finding another way to make sure students can be back in the classroom more often than previously scheduled.

The district is working on ensuring every school has adequate furniture for students to return to the classroom full-time.

About 20 schools have said they don’t have adequate desks for students, Moore said.

Many of the lower grades had been using tables to seat two or three students at a time, prior to the pandemic. When students returned during the pandemic, many borrowed individual desks from other schools or from their own fourth and fifth grades so that students could sit separately.

Now, some don’t have enough desks for the fourth and fifth graders, but Moore said the district has enough furniture in warehouses for the students to return daily.

District employees will bring furniture to the schools by Saturday and place it where schools have marked inside the classrooms, Moore said. The district has asked schools how much furniture they need, when they need it and to mark on floor where furniture should go.

Additionally, the district is looking at updating its eating and drinking protocols.

When schools reopened to students in February, some students ate on the floor or facing walls during lunch as schools tried to distance students from one another.

“Schools are implementing it with some difficulty in less than optimal ways,” Moore said, adding that some of the social aspects of school have been removed. District officials are talking with health officials about how to better plan for lunch.

About 5,800 Wake County Public School System teachers have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose at district-organized vaccination events, Moore said.

As of Tuesday, 83% of staff respondents to a district survey said they had received a dose or had an appointment for a shot.

Board members asked district officials how schools were able to accommodate for teachers who might have to leave school for their shots or who might have to take time off because of adverse reactions to the shot.

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources A.J. Muttillo said the district was making calls for substitutes when teachers reported being unable to come in. However, he said, schools will likely still have to cover some classes using other building staff when teachers are absent.