CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to give Superintendent Earnest Winston additional flexibility with remote learning.
Winston will now have the authority to shift an individual school to remote learning if the school meets pre-defined criteria. This authority will last until the end of the school year, on June 30, 2021.
In order for a school to be shifted to remote learning, it has to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- When the Mecklenburg County Health Department directs that an individual school building be closed for COVID-19 reasons
- When district staff, in collaboration with the Mecklenburg County Health Department, believe remote learning is needed for health and safety reasons
- When the superintendent determines that staffing levels at an individual school prevent the school from providing a safe and healthy educational environment for students
In any case, the superintendent is expected to return students to in-person learning as soon as it's determined to be safe.
“The COVID-19 pandemic requires us to pivot quickly and decisively,” Board Chair Elyse Dashew said. “If a school’s metrics indicate a risk to students or staff, or if staffing levels are so reduced by quarantines, leaves or illness that it’s impossible to operate an individual school safely, we need speedy decision-making. Giving Superintendent Winston this authority will make that possible.”
If a school is to be moved to remote learning, parents will be notified by school staff through Connect5. CMS district leaders will monitor the number of COVDI-19 cases at each school and provide weekly metrics to the district and to the public.
Winston said he wants to keep students in the classroom as much as possible, but safety is a key priority. He added, "this virus can move very quickly, so we need to be able to move quickly too.”