DCS ponders 5 options for re-opening schools

Supt. details choices in lengthy message to families

(Dare County Schools)

One day after Governor Roy Cooper announced his decision to re-open schools next month under a “Plan B” mix of some in-person and some remote learning, Dare County Schools Superintendent John Farrelly sent a very detailed and lengthy email to school families.

Among other things, the email reveals the results of the survey sent out on July 7 that sought input on several options potentially available if Cooper settled on Plan B.

It also notes that the school administration will present five re-opening options to the Dare County Board of Education at a meeting on Monday, July 20 that will include an audio broadcast via YouTube. A link will be provided on the Dare County Schools website — https://www.daretolearn.org/

Those five options are detailed below and here is a quick synopsis:

• Kindergarten through sixth grade students attend school five days while seventh grade through high school students participate in remote-only learning.
• Elementary, middle and high school split into two cohorts, each group learning in school classrooms on alternating days of the week while participating in remote learning the other days.  Wednesday would be a remote learning day for all students.
• Similar to the second option, but it would have students in the classroom on alternating weeks rather than alternating days of the week.
• All students begin the year learning remotely until a specified date, designed in part to track the trajectory and data concerning COVID-19.
• The entire school system is remote for the first semester or until a Governor mandate to move to Plan A. (Plan A is all in-person learning.)

These plans also contain a virtual learning option during the first semester of the school year. Virtual learning would include a full day and mandatory attendance and grading for all grade levels.

In addition, staff and parents will receive another survey with two questions. One asks if they want to select virtual learning. If they answer no to that, they will then be asked to rank the five options 1-5, by preference.

Here is Farrelly’s message:

Good afternoon DCS families,

I hope this email finds you well. I apologize for the length of this email, but I have a lot to cover. As you are aware, Governor Cooper announced yesterday that NC public schools will either open under Plan “B” with 50% student capacity or Plan “C” where they will begin with remote learning. Please keep in mind that the Governor’s mandate to open with “Plan B” means that DCS would have a maximum of 12 students in every classroom (socially distanced by 6 feet). Thus, all students cannot be served face to face, 5 days a week.

With the announcement yesterday, we are ready to present DCS reopening of school options to the Board of Education for approval this coming Monday, July 20.

Dare County Schools surveyed stakeholders last week to get input on 3 school reopening options provided by state agencies. A staff survey was conducted from July 6-10 while a parent survey was conducted from July 7-10. The results of those surveys are as follows:

DCS Staff Survey Results: 

1. 514 staff members participated. 76% of those who responded were teachers. This means that 95% of Dare County Teachers participated.
2. 23% of the teachers surveyed indicated a preference to teach virtually.
3. Staff was asked which state agency “Plan B” they felt was best for DCS:

• Plan A (K-8 on site 5 days a week/7-12 remote): 193 staff members chose this option first
• Plan B (K-12 alternating days): 191 staff members chose this option first
• Plan C (K-12 alternating weeks): 130 staff members chose this option first

4. 51% of staff members surveyed prefer that elementary students wear face coverings (This was an option until yesterday’s mandate by the Governor)

Parent Survey Results:

1. 1,751 families participated. This is over 50% of DCS families who participated.
2. 29% of all families want virtual learning for their students. The virtual school breakdown is as follows:
   

   School	Summary
   Dare County- All	1,751 Total Responses 507 families (29%) want virtual learning
   CHES	131 Total Responses 47 families (35.9%) want virtual school
   CHSS	125 Total Responses 73 families (58.4%) want virtual school
   FFES	144 Total Responses 41 families (28.5%) want virtual school
   FFMS	344 Total Responses 108 families (31.4%) want virtual school
   FFHS	460 Total Responses 129 families (28%) want virtual school
   KHES	236 Total Responses 54 families (22.9%) want virtual school
   MES	237 Total Responses 61 families (25.7%) want virtual school
   MMS	179 Total Responses 57 families (31.8%) want virtual school
   MHS	242 Total Responses 70 families (28.9%) want virtual school
   NHES	215 Total Responses 55 families (25.6%) want virtual school
   DLA	7 Total Responses 4 want virtual, 3 do not want virtual

3. Parents were asked which state agency “Plan B” they felt was best for DCS:

• Plan A (K-8 on site 5 days a week/7-12 remote): 35.8% of parents preferred this option
• Plan B (K-12 alternating days): 34.9% of parents preferred this option
• Plan C (K-12 alternating weeks): 27.37% of parents preferred this option

4. 56% of parents are not interested in sending their students to another campus.
5. 73% of parents surveyed are not interested in DCS bus transportation.
6. 55.3% of elementary parents surveyed indicated that they would not require their children to wear a face covering.

Our principals and central office leadership team have met several times (almost around the clock for the past three weeks) to examine every possible option working within the framework of the state’s “Plan B” structures.

Providing safe, healthy, and effective instructional program options that meet state requirements has been our top priority. Now that the Governor has made a reopening decision, the Dare County Board of Education will meet this Monday, July 20 in a special called meeting at 2:00 pm. I will provide the board with a comprehensive report that includes five reopening options to consider with the intent to approve a DCS reopening plan.

I am also taking a DCS virtual school program and guidebook to the board for approval. With approval, the virtual school registration process will begin the next day. Due to the mass gatherings mandate, this meeting will be broadcast in audio via YouTube. A link will be provided on our website for those of you interested in listening. Due to the meeting being “special called” there will be no public comments. However, we are providing another staff and parent survey today that will provide our stakeholders with a chance to provide input. PLEASE LOOK FOR A SEPARATE EMAIL today with the survey link. The five re-opening options that will be presented to the Board are as follows:

DCS Hybrid Option 1:

Hybrid Option 1 has been developed because it is impossible to staff K-8 every day with a maximum of 12 students who are socially distanced in a classroom. We are much better equipped to provide remote learning opportunities particularly for 9-12 due to the significant number of online classes already being taken.

• Virtual learning option for the first semester for anyone in K-12
• Preschool attends school every other day
• Grades K-6 attend school on-site 5 days a week (spread out among campuses if needed based on student numbers)
• Grades 7-12 remote learning (with potential options to schedule additional instructional support on-site)
• 7-12 special populations (EC,504, ESL) have the option of attending daily

DCS Hybrid Option 2:

• Virtual learning option for the first semester for anyone in K-12
• Preschool attends every other day
• PreK- 12 attends onsite in A/B cohorts onalternating days each week/Remote learning on off-site days:

Ex. Cohort A (half the alphabet) attends Monday/Tuesday and are remote Thursday/Friday

Wednesday is remote for all (deep cleanse of buildings)

Cohort B (the other half of the alphabet) attends Thursday/Friday and are remote Monday/Tuesday

• Students in the same immediate family will be grouped in the same cohort as much as possible
• Special populations (EC,504, ESL) have the option of attending daily

DCS Hybrid Option 3:

• Virtual learning option for the first semester for anyone in K-12
• Preschool attends every other day
• K-12 attends onsite in A/B cohorts on alternating weeks. Remote learning on off-site weeks

Ex. Cohort A attends on-site weeks 1,3,5 and remote weeks 2,4,6

Cohort B is on-site weeks 2,4,6 and remote weeks 1,3,5

• Students in the same immediate family will be grouped in the same cohort as much as possible
• Special populations (EC,504, ESL) have the option of attending daily

DCS Option 4

• Virtual learning option for the first semester for anyone in K-12
• PK-12 begins the year in remote instruction until a specified date (Ex. September 1, September 15, October 1). This concept provides time to see if local COVID-19 related data and mitigation efforts improve.
• PK-12 then transitions out of remote to a plan above (DCS 1, 2 or 3)

DCS Option 5

• The entire school system is remote for the first semester or until a Governor mandate to move to Plan A

Staff and parents will receive surveys today (in a separate email). The surveys will be open until Monday at noon (we will monitor responses daily- 75% of all participants responded within 48 hours of our last survey). Parents will be asked 2 questions:

1. Do you want a virtual option? (If they chose this they are finished with the survey)
2. If they answered ‘no’ to virtual- they will get to rank their preferred options 1-5.

I will provide this data to the BOE on Monday and share our entire presentation with stakeholders following the board meeting. In addition to the comprehensive presentation, the virtual school guidebook and application will be released. Further, we will be sending out separate staff and parent reopening guides next week that will cover many topics including the requirements for

• Social distancing and minimizing exposure
• Cloth face coverings
• Protecting vulnerable populations
• Coping and resilience
• Cleaning and hygiene
• Monitoring for symptoms
• Handling suspected, presumptive or confirmed positive cases for COVID-19
• Communication
• Water and ventilation systems
• Transportation
• Additional considerations

The district will also be releasing several videos over the next two weeks related to bus procedures, dally temperature checks/health screenings, revised staff responsibilities, social distancing structures, breakfast/lunch in classrooms, a COVID-19 decision tree chart, best practices while teaching with social distancing and operational guides.

​In closing, let me assure you that we are trying to prepare to the best of our ability to support staff and students with safe, healthy, and effective teaching and learning environments. ​The strains of this pandemic are many. I can assure you that we have spent countless hours considering all options and have had many sleepless nights trying to consider how best to move forward. Thank you for your support and partnership. We have a very talented group of district administrators who have collaborated on decision making throughout this process and considered stakeholder input along the way. Please look for and take our latest survey when you get a moment. Your input is greatly valued. Stay well.