The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board Wednesday voted that schools will begin the year with two weeks of in-person learning, then fully remote instruction by the third week of school, which will last until further notice.
The plan, called Plan B-Plus Remote, will have students in three different groups rotate through schools during the first two weeks for in-person onboarding instruction. All students will move to remote learning by August 31. Parents do have the option to enroll their students in a fully remote option without the in-person learning.
“We are confident that Plan B-Plus Remote is the best plan for educating our students,” said Elyse Dashew, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education chairperson. “We want to provide a rigorous educational experience in the safest way possible for our students and staff.”
CMS says they plan to use best practices learned during the end of the last school year for a robust remote learning experience. “Our first priority is to provide access and equity in the learning experience for each of our students,” Superintendent Earnest Winston said. “Our staff is developing dynamic programs that will engage and inform students in exciting ways as they move into the new school year.”
The vote by the CMS board came the day after Governor Roy Cooper gave school districts the option of either Plan B, a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning, or Plan C, which is fully remote learning. Plan A, which called for all in-person classes, was taken off the table.
“This is a difficult time for families with hard choices on every side,” Cooper said. “I am committed to working together to ensure our students and educators are as safe as possible and that children have opportunities to learn in the way that is best for them and their families.”
In-person instruction guidelines include social distancing and the wearing of face coverings by students, teachers and staff members along with temperature checks, hand sanitizer for every classroom and cleaning and disinfecting of common surfaces.