ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The start of school is right around the corner.
Leaders with Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools said students and staff head back to school on August 17, but COVID-19 is creating its own set of challenges.
“We are planning for a pandemic that we didn’t see coming and that no one has done this work before,” explained School Superintendent Catherine Edmonds.
In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper announced schools can reopen with a mix of in-person and virtual learning.
“Principals are back in their buildings and working with central services to actually map out in classrooms what does that look like,” Edmonds said. “We are looking at how do we lay the classrooms out, physically going in and putting the signs up for social distancing and then we can calculate how many students we can have in our building on any given day.”
Edmonds said the district will operate under Plan B. That plan is a mix of in-person and remote learning. The state requires students to social distance and wear face coverings.
“But we also have a Plan C option for families who have students that are vulnerable or that may be in a high-risk category or someone in their home is at a high-risk category," Edmonds explained.
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School leaders sent out a survey to parents. It closes next Monday, and they are hoping to get more responses from parents on what they think is best for their children.
“We don’t want to have a default that if we don’t hear from you then your child will go to x plan," Edmonds explained. "We want to hear from families so we can ensure what we provide is appropriate on what parents would like for their children.”
Edmonds said a survey is also out for teachers. They too can decide if they want to head back into the classroom or teach from home.
Sean Bratton has a daughter going into kindergarten at a private school, but she said that her daughter's school follows Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools guidelines.
“I’m more for going back into school. My daughter is very social and thrives in school and she’s struggling having to stay home,” Bratton explained.
The first day of school is August 17. Edmonds said things could still change depending on the virus.
“I don’t think any plan will be final because I think we will always have to look at the data and look at what’s happening and be able to pivot when we need to,” she said.
Edmonds said she plans to get feedback about the schedule at a board meeting at the end of this month.