Grades 6-12 can now attend class in-person 4 days a week

ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Board of Education unanimously approved a transition from Plan B to Plan A for all Pre-K to 12th grade students beginning April 12, the day they return from Spring Break.

Students at all grade levels in Richmond County will be able to attend in-person instruction four days a week, as opposed to the current cohort model which has middle and high school students coming in-person two days a week. Virtual learning is still an option, and Wednesday remains a remote learning day.

The main difference between plans A and B is that Plan A allows students to attend classes in person every day of the week while following COVID-19 guidelines, and Plan B was the cohort model that RCS has been following. Governor Roy Cooper revised the Plan A guidelines on Tuesday to reduce the social distancing requirement to three feet between students.

Many classrooms will be unaffected from this change and students will still be required to wear masks.

Dr. Kate Smith, executive director of curriculum and instruction, said that there will still be social distancing markings of six feet around the schools, water fountains will be covered, nonessential visitors will be limited and mass gatherings will not be permitted.

Contention over a return to 4 or 5 days

Dr. Jeff Maples, superintendent of RCS, said that school principals were asked to collect input from teachers on the prospect of returning to five days of in-person learning. Many of those principals agreed that it was in the best interest for students to be allowed to be in school every day of the week and this policy would build momentum for the end of this year and the beginning of next year.

The board expressed concerns about teacher fatigue and short amount of time to make such a large change before required end of course testing.

Board member Daryl Mason, in particular, advocated for the importance of the virtual Wednesday.

“Teachers, to me, have just gotten settled into this hybrid model that we’ve been using,” Mason said. “Now, we’re going to take that virtual Wednesday away from them? We already meet what the state is requiring — why won’t we ride that system out since we’re now used to it?

Mason cited the “bombardment” that teachers, especially at the elementary school level, felt after the fall return to school. He said the virtual Wednesday was a “stress reducer” and would continue to be for the last five weeks of school.

“Every kid needs to be back in school, but at the same time we need to be smart and make sure we’re taking care of teachers,” Board member Ronald Tillman said.

Chairman Wiley Mabe asked for a motion to approve the return to five days for all students, saying, “Parents are asking me when are we going to be in school five days a week — now, we have that opportunity.”

Board member Bobbie Sue Ormsby made the motion, but no one seconded it. Board member Pat Campbell countered with a four-day-a-week model which kept the virtual Wednesday.

“These children just need to be in school — they’re everywhere else,” Ormsby said, referring to concerns about attendance at the high school level. “We are still responsible for their year of learning. What I can see from the 6-12 [grade levels], they’ve lost a year.”

Ormsby said she hoped that, by establishing a more “consistent” schedule of five days of in-person learning, attendance and engagement would improve.

“I just don’t think we need to put that additional stress (on teachers). Things are not normal,” Mason said with regard to the large number of students who have chosen to continue virtual education through the end of the school year. “We’re getting there, but we’re not there yet.”

Vaccinations update

Since they became eligible, 203 school employees have received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, March 23. There are 269 more employees who are scheduled to receive their second dose on March 30.

Forty-three percent of RCS’s 1096 person-staff will have received their vaccinations through the school-sponsored clinics. It’s unclear how many staff has received the vaccine outside of the school’s clinics due to HIPPA guidelines.