CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hundreds of parents logged on for the town hall, submitting hundreds of questions surrounding the plan for the upcoming school year.
Many of the questions regarded the metrics CMS will use to determine when it is safe to re-open schools.
School board chairwoman Elyse Dashew acknowledged the importance of having data to guide their decisions.
“We do need to have some sort of objective way of knowing ok now it is safe to re-open,” Dashew said.
Dashew told the town hall participants that CMS has created an internal medical advisory team to assist with the decision.
“They are working with health department leaders as well as private providers to propose benchmarks to gauge when it is safe to re-open schools,” she said.
Many CMS parents also questioned why the district opted to open schools for two weeks to start the year if they have deemed it unsafe for students and staff to gather.
“I am confident that we can practice social distancing and use our masks and keep our students safe for those two weeks,” Dashew said, reassuring parents that if they do not feel comfortable sending their children for in-person instruction they can opt-out.
Dashew described the first two weeks as an “orientation” period to help students receive instructional material and technology they will need for remote learning. Dashew stressed the period is particularly important to level the playing field, and reach the students who may otherwise fall through the cracks.
“It is very important that we can get to all the kids, provide them transportation, get them into the schoolhouse and get them set up,” Dashew said.
Teacher Justin Parmenter also highlighted the importance of meeting his students in-person to help with their buy-in on school work.
“My ability as a teacher to get students to do the work that I put in front of them, especially if it is rigorous work, depends on the quality of the relationship that I have with them,” he told the participants.
Dashew said more and more districts are opting for plans that are similar to CMS’ or that will be solely remote.
Dashew estimates close to two dozen districts representing 40% of the students across the state will be offering remote learning to start the upcoming school year.
Some districts choose a more restrictive Plan C model, which is full remote learning for the immediate future. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opted for its own hybrid model, Plan B+, which brings children back for in-person instruction for the first two weeks of school to allow them to connect with educators and receive technology and other educational materials. Upon conclusion of the first two weeks, the plan then transitions to full remote learning.
Parents are encouraged to enroll their kids in all-virtual learning by July 26 at midnight if they don't want your children going to school in person at all. Then, those kids will have orientation from home during the first two weeks.
Any child attending a CMS school not registered for virtual-only will have to go to in-person classes for orientation during the first two weeks of school.
The following officials took questions during Tuesday's town hall: Elyse Dashew, Chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, Justin Parmenter, CMS Teacher and NCAE Region 3 Director, Dr. Meg Sullivan, medical director of the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department, and three democratic members of the North Carolina General Assembly, Reps. Wesley Harris, Rachel Hunt, and Brandon Lofton.