WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools Board of Education approved a phased reopening plan Thursday. The plan will gradually transition students from remote learning to a blend of in-person and remote classes. The plan is based on continuing positive public health trends for Forsyth County and could be modified should those standards change.
“Our focus is a safe return to the classroom for our students and employees,” says WS/FCS Superintendent Dr. Angela Hairston. “We continue to work with the Forsyth County Department of Public Health to monitor health trends very closely and believe a phased approach best enables us to create classroom environments that are both safe and provide the positive learning experiences our students need.”
Within the approved plan, students will begin returning to in-person learning based on grade and program. The plan will have students attend school in person for a certain number of days per week with the remaining days being taught remotely. The plan details can be found on the Our Safe Return page of the WS/FCS website.
The very first group of students to return to the classroom will be those attending Career & Technical Education classes who require hands-on learning. Those students and teachers will return to the classroom on Oct. 5.
Then Elementary schools will begin their phased return with Pre-K starting Oct. 26 followed by grades K-3 on Nov. 2. Exceptional Children and students in EC Separate-Setting/Assigned, EC-OCS or ESL programs will also return Nov. 2. Grades 4-5 will return on Nov. 16. These students will attend school four days a week with Wednesdays being used for remote learning to enable schools to undergo deep cleaning.
WS/FCS says middle school students will be divided into cohorts and attend school in person either two days every week or two days every other week depending on school enrollment. Middle schools with larger enrollments will have cohorts on alternating weeks. The alternating schedule will enable schools to reduce the number of students on campus and maintain social distancing. Students in grade 6 will return on Nov. 2, and grades 7-8 will return Nov. 16.
In addition, high school students will return as soon as Jan. 11 for in-person testing. In-person classes will start on Jan. 25. Those students will be divided into cohorts following a schedule similar to middle school.
“We must start safely. This phased approach enables us to do that, to build on that success as we add more grades and more students,” says Hairston. “By Oct. 5, every school will have been audited and plans put in place to support our teachers and staff as they begin welcoming back smaller groups of students. We’ve also done extensive training, brought in new technology and added personnel. This work reflects months of detailed planning by our COVID-19 Committee and work groups. I cannot thank those individuals enough for their dedication to our safe return.”