A report touting 76,000 names on charter school waiting lists across North Carolina could give the wrong impression about demand for charters.
It’s true that interest and enrollment have grown in charters, which are public schools but free of many of the rules and regulations traditional public schools must follow. But 76,000 names on waitlists aren’t the same as 76,000 students. That’s a point even the Office of Charter Schools, the agency that regulates the state’s 200 charters, was compelled to make in its 2020 Annual Report to the General Assembly.
In fact, OCS officials, including Executive Director Dave Machado, don’t know how many students are trying get into charters because students’ names might appear on waitlists at multiple schools. This can result in an overcount.
Sixty-one percent of North Carolina counties have COVID-19 transmission that is too high for in-person learning at all grade levels, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The ABC11 I-team compared the guidelines to the latest COVID-19 metrics in North Carolina and found only two counties qualify for K-12 schools to fully reopen for in-person teaching.
This finding contradicts with state lawmakers announcement on Wednesday regarding a bill that will fully reopen public elementary schools for in-person learning. People are getting tired and politicians are ready to try to normalize things by saying we re ready for fully school instruction and I think we need to really, really caution and take care of our people because we don t want higher community transmission because schools are reopening, said Natalie Beyer, a Durham Public Schools board member and a member of Public Schools of North Carolina.
School Board Member Decries Hate and Threats from Teachers
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âNot one word was said about the health and wellness of our students,â school board member Mike Lee said. âIt was about what the teachers want.â
Mike Lee says he has voted with Durhamâs teachers consistently during his seven years on the Durham Public Schools board. But after he and other board members voted to reopen school classrooms that have been closed since March 2020, he says, he was barraged with vitriol, bullying, and personal threats from teachers.
âAfter my vote to open up school on March 15, the hatred, the threats to myself and the mention of my children in a few different comments showed me everything I needed to know,â Lee, the board s vice chair, said at a school board meeting Tuesday. âBecause it was all coming from staff. It was all coming from teachers.â
DPS seemed caught in the middle. Tuesday night finally brought some clarity.
After Monday night s veto override of the GOP-backed school reopening bill failed to pass in the Senate, DPS reconvened to reconsider its decision to send students back to the classroom this month but not before getting an earful from parents on both sides of the debate.
NEW TONIGHT: Durham School Board votes 4-3 in favor of moving forward with in-person learning starting March 15. #abc11#ncedpic.twitter.com/QKUZbI9MOR Joel Brown (@JoelBrownABC11) March 3, 2021 As a mother, I would not like to see schools open until all teachers received their vaccine, one parent wrote the board in public comment.
COVID vaccine live updates: Here s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 12 Simone Jasper and Hayley Fowler, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Feb. 12 We re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Case count tops 814,000
At least 814,594 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 10,376 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 4,128 new COVID-19 cases, down from 4,568 the day before.
At least 82 additional deaths were added to the total Thursday. Deaths don t occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.