Decision likely Monday on opening Dare Schools

The seven-member Dare County Board of Education is expected to vote at its meeting tomorrow on selecting a plan for opening the county’s public schools next month—with choices ranging from every student beginning the year learning remotely to all students alternating days or weeks in the classroom with remote learning.

The vote is expected to take place after Dare Schools Superintendent John Farrelly makes a presentation on the options. Here is a summary of those choices.

• 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 students 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-classroom learning.)

The special session of the Board of Education will take place at 2 p.m. on July 20 at First Flight High School. Anyone interested can listen to the meeting  via link that will be provided on the Dare County Schools website — https://www.daretolearn.org/