Almost 4 out of 10 New Hanover County School teachers say they have personal issues that prevent them from working face-to-face with students. That’s according to a newly released survey by the school system. But as WHQR’s reports, New Hanover County has chosen to implement Governor Roy Cooper’s Plan B, which involves all staff returning in-person.
At a press conference on Wednesday, July 15th, outside of School Board Offices, New Hanover County Interim Superintendent Del Burns gave details about the District’s plans for reopening: Students will be on a 3-week rotation of 1-week in-person classes and 2 weeks online:
"What I think the District is going to start with is reasonable, so that we can determine if the logistics are going to work, and give us an opportunity, if necessary, to make adjustments."
He also says it’s his hope that if there’s a decrease in the number of coronavirus cases, the District would consider increasing the number of students allowed in schools.
The Interim Superintendent also discussed the options teachers and staff will have if they feel that returning to school is unsafe:
"In each building, there are going to have to be decisions made about who teaches remotely. At the Central level, there’ll be some cases where that decision will be made. That’s going to be very difficult; there will be some staff members who are not comfortable at all coming in. And we will do our best to accommodate, but we still have to staff the buildings in order to meet the needs of the students."
For the next steps, Burns says they’ll be releasing in the coming days a ‘Family Guide’ for school reopening, and they are conducting a follow-up survey with both staff and families. The staff survey will determine whether a teacher would prefer to instruct remotely -- and for the families, whether their student will choose solely an online option for school.
Click here view Interim Superintendent Del Burns’ Press Conference Video, July 15, 2020
New Hanover County Schools’ Correction to 7-15-2020 Press Conference Statement
View the New Hanover County Schools Staff/Community Survey Results
StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12), Interim Guidance, Updated July 14, 2020