ROCKY MOUNT â Cole Hanson was a high-achieving student before the COVID-19 pandemic led to shutdowns of Franklin County school buildings.
When he could go to school in person, he had a team of teachers who helped him excel despite a combination of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and executive function challenges. Heâs failing now because heâs been unable to adjust to virtual learning, the 15-year-old Franklin County High School sophomore said.
The small protest he and his mother held at Mondayâs meeting of the Franklin County School Board illustrated how tensions persist over how far schools should reopen, even as the district stuck by a plan to have in-person instruction happening four days a week by Jan. 26 for households that prefer that option.