ASHEBORO - As government officials consider the next steps for school systems nationally, Randolph County teachers and parents have mixed feelings on whether in-person learning should be permanent.
Mixed reactions came after an announcement of HB 90 proposed that Randolph County Schools and Asheboro City Schools roll back certain social distance guidelines and push for the option of more in-person learning for kindergarten through high school students for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year.
The House bill that is only signed by specific counties was created as a fail safe if Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Senate Bill 37, the statewide bill that requires public school systems to offer in-person instruction this school year.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is rolling out vaccines for individuals working with children in prekindergarten to high school today, leaving many teachers hopeful for relief.
Since teachers and other child care staff are in public environments that make them susceptible to COVID, they are prioritized as the first essential frontline workers in Group 3 to be vaccinated.
Initially, the state set priority to healthcare workers and adults 65 and older, who may have an increased risk of getting COVID. When the first dose of vaccines came in December, healthcare centers and partnering pharmacies opened appointments for eligible individuals.
Randolph school board hears teachers COVID safety concerns
RANDOLPH - Laura Heflin, fifth-grade teacher at Trinity Elementary School, is very concerned about the spread of coronavirus in the county, asking the Randolph County school board for support as cases increase.
According to Heflin, the latest data shows the county in red with a 18.5% positivity rate, compared to the beginning of the school year at 5%. I m very worried that we haven t changed any of our procedures in place, to make the school better and safer for us.
In a video to the board, Heflin said there have been issues with accuracy in temperature checks.
Local school systems struggle with returning to in-person learning
The Dispatch
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase school systems in the area are struggling to balance the need to return students to the classroom with protecting them and their staff from exposure to the virus.
While several school districts have already resumed in-person learning under an altered schedule, other districts have chosen to remain fully remote until the end of the third nine-weeks in March.
Lexington City Schools
Lexington City School students will not be returning to in-person learning on Jan. 17 as originally planned.
Members of the Lexington City Schools Board of Education voted during their meeting on Tuesday night to remain in Option C, all remote learning until the end of the first semester in March.