IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Iredell-Statesville Schools announced Thursday that students in grades 6-12 will return to school five days a week beginning April 7, 2021.
Grades K-5 have been in school five days a week since October 2020.
Superintendent Jeff James said he is looking forward to the return to their new normal.
“We are grateful to Governor Cooper and our elected officials for their support of a full return to school. Our students need to be in school five days a week.”
Parents of students in middle and high school will receive a commitment form in the coming days. That form will ask that families make a decision for either Plan A for their student, or Plan C for their student.
“Families can either return to school five days a week, or they can choose to complete the school year virtually 5 days a week. A hybrid schedule will no longer be an option beginning April 7, 2021.”
Currently, between 15-20% of Iredell-Statesville students have chosen a full virtual schedule. The district is hopeful that the majority of the students will decide to return to campus beginning April 7.
In order to operate on Plan A, Iredell-Statesville Schools said they have assured the NCDHHS that they will adhere to guidelines that include a protocol for social distancing, mask-wearing, and hygiene.
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“We believe that school is the safest place for our students to be right now,” stated Superintendent James. “We’ve been able to bring our younger students back to school full-time for months now with minimal spread of COVID-19. We continue to work with the ABC Science Collaborative to gather data, readdress our protocols, and mitigate the spread of the virus.”