GREENSBORO, N.C. — Some of the first students in Guilford County went back to school Thursday.
Early and middle college students in several schools returned to campuses and classrooms for the 2021-2022 school year.
Superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras was there to greet students at Greensboro College Middle College for their first day.
"They said they were really excited to be the first students back in school, excited to be at the middle college here at Greensboro College, and excited to start their college-level classes," said Dr. Contreras.
Other students with Guilford County Schools will make their return to the classroom throughout the month of August.
Dr. Contrereas said the classrooms this year will look different than last.
"We expect most of our kids to return and we intend to continue with our safety protocols," she said, "the desks are not 6 feet apart. If we did that, we would not be able to bring back students every day and we'd be in a situation like we were last year."
Dr. Contreras said Guilford County Schools was a member of the Duke ABC Collaborative and had very low covid transmission rates as a result of the masking and cleaning protocols that were followed.
The district plans to continue publishing the COVID-19 dashboard that was up on the website throughout the year last year.
"I think for parents it provided a sense of transparency that they knew where there were cases. we also had principals contacting parents and working with the health department," she said.
At the end of July, Guilford County Schools' Board of Education voted to approve the mask mandate for students and staff.
Board members approved the measure in a 6-2 vote.
The district does have a virtual elementary, middle, and high school, but Dr. Contreras said they're not still enrolling.
"Otherwise we'd have to pull teachers and change classes for all of the students in the nonvirtual schools and that caused so much disruption this year the constant changing of classes," said Dr. Contreras.