When NC Governor Cooper made a decision on Schools for the fall he had 3 choices. Plan A, B or C. He chose Plan B which presents these guidelines.
Districts must limit their capacity to maintain six feet of social distancing, and students will rotate through in-person instruction for portions of the day, week, or month. Any district or charter school can opt to exclusively teach remotely, but no public school can defy the state’s guidelines and bring back full classes.
Yancey County Schools followed the Governor’s announcement by saying the schools would offer Virtual Academy and seated options for students. At this time the first day of school has been set for August 17th. The Yancey School board held a meeting this morning that discussed the Remote Instruction Plan. Their regular monthly meeting will be Monday evening.
Mitchell County sent out a letter to parents and students stating their biggest concern is safety of students, staff and community. The school buildings have been thoroughly cleaned, furniture rearranged and other safety precautions. Next is to provide quality education including the virtual learning opportunity which includes a free IPAD for each student. This will be different than the remote learning with guidelines students and parents must adhere. Deadline for applications for virtual learning are due July 30th.
What about high school sports? At this time high school sports are set to start September 1st, which is a month later than usual. The first five student days of the school year will be designated as a “dead period” for all sports, allowing school staff to focus on the start of school. In addition, Phase One of summer conditioning and workouts will continue until further notice.