List: School reopening plans
Schools across the Carolinas are modifying plans as the school year continues amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
When schools resumed in August, students, teachers, and staff had to combat the ongoing safety and health concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
At the beginning of the school year the state forbid schools to allow students to return to buildings full time, but in early September North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced it was time to all elementary students back into classrooms. The announcement means school districts are allowed to open full time for students beginning October 5.
In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster called for schools to open for in-person learning five days a week over the summer. However, some local districts preemptively announced other plans for their own communities.
As school districts continue to announce their updated plans, WCNC Charlotte is committed to providing you the latest in the evolving details. Details will be added and updated as information becomes available.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Charlotte
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board has voted to allow students to return to school buildings under a hybrid plan starting with Pre-K students.
Under the new plan, Pre-K students will return to school buildings first and would report to school five days per week. All other students would be phased-in by grade level and report to school for one week, then return to remote learning for two weeks.
- Phase 1: Pre-K would return October 12
- Phase 2: K-5 would return November 2
- Phase 3: 6-8 would return November 23
- Phase 4: High School would return December 14
Students in the district began the school year on August 17 doing all remote learning.
Governor Roy Cooper announced elementary students in the state could return to in-person learning full time beginning October 5. CMS leaders said they will not change their plans or speed up the plans to get students back into school buildings at this time.
Currently, students in the Exceptional Children Program and CMS Pre-K students are back to in-person learning full time. They were among the first to go back to classrooms as the district determined those students were the most in need of face to face instruction.
RELATED: CMS Board of Education approves phased-in plan approach for returning to in-person instruction
York County, South Carolina Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Clover
Rock Hill Schools
Students in Rock Hill returned to school under a hybrid plan that is a mix of in-person and remote learning. The Board of Trustees voted to go against Governor Henry McMaster's push to get all students back in class full-time at the start of the school year. The district also offered an all remote option for families.
Over the summer the school district released a video detailing new health and safety measures that were in place when students and staff returned to the buildings on September 8.
Fort Mill Schools
The school district will move forward with plans to have elementary students return to in-person instruction full-time starting Monday, September 28.
The middle and high school students in the district will continue on an A/B schedule for now.
Students in the district returned to class August 31 with a hybrid learning model. Elementary students are currently operating on a Family Model and rotating into school buildings on an A/B model on assigned days. That Family Model was only scheduled to last through September 25.
Fort Mill Virtual Academy
Fort Mill Schools offers a full virtual option for students in grades 5k-12 for the 2020–2021 school year. This option will differ from the remote learning experience that students had in the spring of 2020 during the schools’ closure. The FMVA will provide a more consistent curricular and instructional delivery model. Students will be assigned to a class or classes with dedicated Fort Mill School District teachers and with other students throughout the district.
Clover Schools
Students in Clover Schools returned to class Monday, August 24 after the start day was pushed back to allow the district more time to prep and plan.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:
Elementary students are operating on an A/B schedule and report to class only certain days. This will last for a minimum of two weeks.
Eventually, elementary students will be moved to what's called The Family Model. Elementary students will report to school at their regular time (7:30 – 2:20) five days per week. Students will receive all instruction, meals, and related arts in their classrooms. They will get to go outside for breaks, recess, and PE with their “classroom family” only. Buses will run at half capacity (only 39 elementary students per bus). Route times will have to change to accommodate these smaller loads.
MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOLS:
Middle and high school students attend school on alternating schedules, with half attending Monday and Wednesday - and the other half of Tuesday and Thursdays. Students attend virtual classes on the other days. Small groups are scheduled for Fridays. Students are divided into groups based on last name.
Lancaster County, South Carolina Transportation plan
Lancaster County Schools
Lancaster County Schools began class on August 31with two different learning models for the 2020-2021 school year. Option 1 is a face-to-face schedule A/B schedule. Option 2 is a remote or virtual learning plan.
Option 1 Virtual Instruction: This option allows students to learn at home using school-issued Chromebooks. The district is working with families who do not have access to the internet to upload information weekly using hot spots. There is also an opportunity for remote students to rotate into the school in small groups on Wednesdays. Kindergarten and 1st-grade distance learning includes traditional paper packets and more support from school staff. School officials note that virtual lessons will be significantly different this fall than they were in the spring.
Option 2 The A/B/C Plan: This option is an alternative schedule that allows students to return to school in smaller groups which rotate days in the building throughout the week. A group of students attends on Monday and Tuesday. B group students report for in-person classes on Thursday and Friday. The C group is a possible rotation day for remediation nor acceleration programs and meet on Wednesdays.
The district's goal is to continue to monitor statistics provided by SC DHEC and reopen fully to students when it is safe to do so. At a minimum, the district will consider the following criteria before opening:
1. Incidence Rate
2. Trend in Incidence Rate
3. Percent Positive Rate
RELATED: Lancaster County Back to School Plan
RELATED: 'We must give parents the option' | South Carolina schools must reopen 5 days, governor says
Iredell County, North Carolina Mooresville High School
Iredell-Statesville Schools
Iredell-Statesville Schools will welcome elementary students back into classrooms starting October 5. The district announced plans to bring younger students back into the buildings following Governor Roy Cooper's decision to allow in-person learning for elementary students on Thursday.
The district said the buildings will be ready for students in grades K through 5 to return to class five days per week. All other grade levels will continue the district's hybrid learning plan which is a mixture of in-person and virtual learning.
Grades 6-8: Students with the last name A-M, attend in-person instruction Mondays & Tuesdays. Students with the last name N-Z, attend classes at the schools Thursdays and Fridays. Students attend virtual lessons on days they are not in the school building.
Grades 9-12: Students in high school practice blended learning Monday through Friday. Individual high schools designate days to provide support in-person. Students also had the option of learning remotely.
Sunday, August 16, the district announced that all 7th-grade students and teachers at Third Creek Middle in Statesville will begin the school year with remote learning after a positive COVID-19 test. Seventh-grade students are expected to return to Plan B on campus on August 31.
Mooresville Graded School District
The district moved to Plan A for students in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade on October 19. Plan A means students returned to in classroom instruction five days per week at 100% capacity.
There will be a transition period for students and staff that will divide students into several groups to do a mix of in person and remote learning for the first two weeks. The transition period will last from October 19 - October 30.
The school district is putting enhanced health and safety measures in place inside all schools to mitigate the risk of the spread of Coronavirus.
Earlier this year, the district has approved Plan C which is a remote learning plan for the first nine weeks of the school year. Students attended live virtual lessons with teachers Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and were expected to complete individual work at home each day. Wednesdays were used for small group intervention, office hours for teachers and tutoring opportunities.
Mooresville High School
Mooresville High School suspended all optional co-curricular activities, including athletics and band, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Iredell County and North Carolina.
Union County, North Carolina
Union County Schools
In a special meeting Tuesday, September 22, Union County School Board approved four days of in-person learning for students in grades Pre-K through 5 starting October 26. Under the plan, students would go to school Monday through Thursday and do remote learning every Friday.
Board members decided to hold a meeting to discuss new plans after Governor Roy Cooper announced he would allow elementary students to return to class fulltime due to dropping Covid-19 numbers in the state.
Currently, the district is operating under Plan B which is a hybrid of virtual learning and in-person learning. Students attend school one day per week on their assigned day and Friday is remote learning for all students. The district had plans in place to move to a two day in-person learning rotation later this month.
The school district has also created a virtual learning option for students in grades 2 - 12. Registration was required for participation in the virtual academy.
RELATED: Union County Back to School Plan
Cabarrus County Schools Kannapolis City Schools
Cabarrus County Schools
In a 4-3 vote, the Cabarrus County School Board decided to bring students back into school buildings beginning October 19. Students in grades Pre-K through 12 will return to school buildings under Plan B, which is face to face instruction two days per week and remote learning three days per week.
The changes to the schedules came after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper gave the green light for elementary schools to bring students back full time starting October 5.
See below for a breakdown of the revised Plan B.
Over the summer the board voted for an all-remote learning schedule for the 2020 school year. Under the plan, students receive live remote lessons and video lessons Monday through Thursday. Fridays include independent practice, time for project work and office hours for the teaching staff.
The district has also announced a full-time remote learning option is available for families who wish to do all learning virtually.
Kannapolis City Schools
The Kannapolis City Board of Education voted Monday to move to Plan A for elementary students. The students will return to in-person instruction Monday, November 2.
Families may choose for their child to remain in the Remote Only option instead.
School leaders did not announce any changes for Kannapolis Middle School or A.L. Brown High School.
Currently, the school system operates under a hybrid plan, Plan B. Students are in class for part of the week and do remote learning on other days.
Rowan-Salisbury School System
Rowan-Salisbury School System
The district instituted a combination of remote learning and in-person classes this school year. Students are divided into two groups and attend in-person learning two days per week. The other three days of the week are for remote learning. Wednesdays are used for universal cleaning of the school buildings.
In addition, the school system has approved an all-virtual learning option for families with students in grades K - 8.
High school students also have a virtual learning option available. The option is based at the student's home school. Each school is working with individual students to make schedule adjustments as needed. Students were asked to commit to an entire semester if they chose this option.
Gaston County Schools
Gaston County Schools
Gaston County's Board of Education has not revealed plans to allow students to return to class, but is working toward moving to Plan A for elementary students first. The board met on September 21 to discuss plans for returning elementary students to school full time. The discussion could come after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced it was okay for children grades Kindergarten through fifth to return to school buildings starting October 5.
Gaston County’s Board of Education voted in favor of reopening schools this August using alternating schedules of in-person instruction and online learning. Students began reporting to classes on Monday, August 17.
Currently, students are divided into two groups with group 1 reporting to school on Mondays and Tuesdays. Group 2 reports Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays are used for remote learning for all students.
Families also had the option of remote learning and had to apply for the Gaston Virtual Academy. Students are guided through lessons by local teachers who are trained to teach in an online setting.
RELATED: Gaston County Back to School Plan
Caldwell County Schools
Caldwell County Schools
Caldwell County elementary schools will be reopening starting October 19. The decision to follow Plan A was approved at a Board of Education special session on September 29.
Grades K-5 will return starting on Monday, October 19, the first day of the 2nd 9-week grading period. Students in grades K - 5 will return to classrooms four days a week with Wednesdays being used for remote learning. Schools will require health screenings, face coverings, frequent hand washing, and social distancing as often as feasibly possible.
However, students may continue to opt for full remote learning through Caldwell Connect.
Over the summer, the Caldwell County Board of Education approved a blended learning plan for the 2020-2021 school year. The plan offers in-person instruction as well as remote learning. Families could also opt in to a full remote learning plan.
Caldwell Connect Remote Academy: Under this option, students do not report to a school building at all. The Caldwell Connect program allows those students to participate in real-time learning taught by Caldwell County Schools' teachers.
Watauga County Schools
Watauga County Schools
In Watauga County, after starting the school year with nine weeks of remote learning, students will transition Plan B beginning October 5.
The special meeting came on the heels of an announcement from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper that allows elementary schools to reopen at full capacity in the state.
At a special meeting September 21, board members voted unanimously to implement a reopening plan for in-person learning for grades K-3. Beginning October 5, students in those grades will be able to return to school in-person with a 2x3 flex schedule, with two days in the classroom and three learning virtually.
Beginning October 19, students in grades 4 - 12 began returning to the classroom two days a week.
Over the summer, the Watauga County Board of Education decided to open the 2020-2021 school year with nine weeks of remote learning. Previously, school officials called for a flex plan where students would attend in-person classes for two days and then work remotely for three days.
The board ultimately decided on the remote only option due to guidance from local health officials and concerns raised by teachers and parents at the time.
Families could also opt to take part in a virtual academy. That option requires students to continue learning remotely through the end of the first semester.
RELATED: Watauga County Back to School Plan
Catawba County Schools Subtitle here
Catawba County Schools
Catawba County Schools are weighing options about getting some students back into school buildings in light of the announcement from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. The announcement on Thursday, September 17 allows elementary students to return to classrooms full time beginning October 5.
Superintendent Matt Stover posted a letter on the district's website letting families know his team is working with local health officials on the next steps.
Currently, Catawba County Schools are open under North Carolina's "Plan B" option. This means schools are operating at no more than 50% capacity with a mix of in-person and virtual learning. According to the district, families have been given the choice of full remote learning or the hybrid plan.
Under the hybrid plan, most students attend two days of in-person classes with three days of remote learning. Students are socially distanced and masks are required for all students, staff and visitors. The district said it will allow for "face mask breaks" for students in certain situations as they adjust.
Catawba County also offers an online K-12 virtual academy for free. Students who enrolled in virtual learning are allowed to join extracurricular activities like sports and band when they're allowed to reopen.
Lincoln County Schools
Lincoln County Schools
Lincoln County school leaders voted to allow elementary students to return to classrooms on Tuesday Oct. 13. The Board of Education met and voted on the new plans Thursday morning. Families who wish to keep their children in remote learning must provide medical documentation, per the school district.
The county has 13 elementary schools which will return to classes full time.
Currently, Lincoln County is operating under a hybrid plan with remote learning and in-person learning.