DCS Superintendent releases message to families on remote learning and meal plans

On Sunday afternoon, Dare County Schools (DCS) Superintendent John Farrelly released the following message for DCS students and their families on the mandated closure of schools across North Carolina, per an executive order by Gov. Roy Cooper.

The message in its entirety from Superintendent Farrelly is below.  

Good afternoon Dare County Families,

While there is much anxiety, angst, and unknown in all of us given the COVID-19 pandemic, our focus at this time is in supporting each other, families, students and community to the best of our ability. I am calling on all stakeholders to pull together in the spirit of collaboration, and resilience that is the Dare County way of life. It’s who we are as a community, the most giving community in the country.

We have held two special called meetings this morning with our senior leadership staff and then with all of our district building-level leaders. Our focus has been on the rollout of the Dare County Schools Remote Learning Plan that our district leaders have been working on for some time now. I’d like to thank the Chairman of the Dare County Board of Education, Ms. Bea Basnight and Vice-Chairman Mary Ellon Ballance for joining us this morning and for their input. Our Board of Education members in Dare County are advocates for all of our stakeholders and champions for education. Thank you to Harvey Hess, Frank Hester, Margaret Lawler, Joe Tauber, and David Twiddy for your many supportive actions and words of encouragement during the past few weeks.

With the Executive Order from Governor Cooper that closes all North Carolina Schools for at least the next two weeks, Dare County Schools is prepared to transition to remote learning for all students grades K-12 on Monday, March 23, 2020. We will use online learning resources to support our students during this difficult and unprecedented time. While we realize online learning cannot fully substitute the quality of a face-to-face classroom, we are prepared to provide our students with creative and unique opportunities to continue their education while schools are closed.

We will leverage our access to technology to limit unnecessary gaps in learning due to this unprecedented school closure. Although we know there will be challenges, Dare County Schools is well-positioned to provide online instruction to all of our students because of our one-to-one Chromebook initiative.

Important Information:

• On Monday, March 16, all of our teachers are attending training on remote learning protocols. Following the training, we will communicate more details to students and parents.
• Our teachers will work to create online classrooms and digital resources during the week of March 16 – March 20. These are required workdays for teachers. Staff have the option to work from home or school.
• Online learning will be available to all students in Dare County Schools. Dare County Schools will provide a technology device for anyone who does not have access to a device in their home. Parents can sign out devices at your child’s school on Tuesday, March 17 from 12:00 to 6:00 pm or on Wednesday, March 18 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Parents/students can also pick up personal effects, books, instruments, medications from the nurse (if applicable) during these two time periods. Students and visitors will not be allowed back in school buildings following these pick-up windows until further notice.
• On Tuesday, March 17, 2020, we will post on our website a list of all of our teachers and information about their remote instruction. Teachers will contact students and parents with instructions on how students can participate in remote learning.
• Students can participate in online learning with any internet-capable device: smartphone, school-issued Chromebook, laptop, desktop, iPad or tablet.
• The first day for students to begin remote learning is March 23, 2020.
• Our Technology Department will be available through email (itsupport@daretolearn.org) and chat to help students, parents, and teachers that have technical support questions. We will do everything we can to ensure that this process works seamlessly.
• We are working to acquire temporary wifi “hot spots” for families that do not have internet connectivity.
• We will post daily updates to this website: https://www.daretolearn.org/about/covid-19-information

Student Meal Program:

Our School Nutrition Department will serve breakfast and lunch to all children that live in Dare County ages 0-18. These meals are at no cost and will be available as long as our schools are closed due to the Governor’s Executive Order. The meals can be picked up at Manteo Elementary School, First Flight Elementary School, and Cape Hatteras Elementary School. Additionally, we are working with local businesses to arrange a meal pick-up location in each community in Dare County. Meals will be served Monday through Friday starting on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Breakfast will be available from 7:45am – 8:45am while lunch will be available from 11:00am – 12:30am. You can contact School Nutrition Director, Kelleta Govan (govanke@daretolearn.org) with questions and for more information.

Please check our website for updates on a daily basis. Remote learning videos will be available to all elementary, middle and high school families this Thursday (3/19) that will provide additional details and expectations. We will also be posting a new remote learning email address that parents can use to submit questions following our Thursday video announcements.

Please do not hesitate to contact our senior leadership team with questions. Thank you for your support.