GREENSBORO, N.C. — Parents and teachers are anxious to hear more as they wait for the governor's plan for the 2020-2021 school year. Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday he plans to announce official plans next week.
"We want our schools to be safe for students and for teachers," said Gov. Cooper during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Guilford County Schools held a virtual work session Thursday night to talk about what they know right now, which are the requirements and potential plans that could be presented moving forward.
The school board discussed the latest health data, food insecurity, and reopening plan requirements laid out by the state.
The district said because the data is constantly changing, they need to be ready to shift plans at any time and adjust accordingly to keep students safe.
School districts are being required to create plans that respond to three scenarios as follows:
- Plan A would be the least restrictive for school reopening, based on whether the coronavirus trends stabilize or move in a positive direction.
- Plan B contains more restrictions for social distancing and "reduced density," and will be required if trends in North Carolina get worse.
- Plan C is the worst-case scenario, moving all classes online and remotely if coronavirus trends get significantly worse.
Social distancing and masks would be required both under plan a and plan b.
While it's not clear which plan will go into effect at the start of this school year, teachers and parents are hoping for more clarity soon.
To view the link to the full presentation that was presented at the board of education meeting, click here.
"This is a tough call," said Gov. Cooper during Thursday's news conference, "How to open up schools is something that every single state, every single governor is struggling with."
Cooper said having enough PPE for schools is something that's on the state's radar and they've been securing with both state and federal help.
"When we do open schools, we want to make sure that all the teachers, the faculty, the school employees, and students have enough PPE. The federal government has provided some funding to local schools to help with COVID response. The state of North Carolina will also be helping. We passed legislation that provided I think $7 million for that state money but we hope that additional state money can come," he said.