Murphy – After a long period of discussion at the Cherokee County Board of Education meeting Thursday night, a plan for the upcoming school year was approved, allowing K-12 students and parents to individually choose between attending a partial in-person schooling plan – designated as AAVVBB – or starting the school year on a fully remote learning plan.
The approved AAVVBB in-person schooling plan for the school year will see students split into two main groups by their alphabetical last name, an “A” group consisting of students with last names A-K and a “B” group consisting of students with last names from L-Z.
Superintendent Jeana Conley let out a sigh of relief through her mask as the board approved her proposed Plan B framework for the upcoming school year, just one of the 12 plans that she had developed over the last few weeks alongside the changing guidelines provided by the state.
The decision to split the students into two groups alphabetically was made in part because of having the ability to seat family groups together on school busses, allowing the buses to carry more students to schools. Alterations to this split will be made for siblings or family groups who do not share the same family name.
In this Plan B, the “A” group of students will attend in-person learning at their schools on Mondays and Tuesdays, with Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays operating as fully remote learning days. The “B” group of students will be fully remote learning on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with in-person learning occurring Thursdays and Fridays.
With Wednesdays operating as a remote learning day for both sets of students, it gives the school staff adequate time to clean and sanitize the campuses between groups of students attending in-person learning and allows the teachers extra time to plan out remote learning class work.
Under the “AAVVBB” plan, the school day will end early at 2 p.m. in order to give school staff additional time to clean and sanitize the campuses, plus offer teachers additional prep time for the following day of classes. Schools may also start the year with staggered arrival times for students, as teachers and faculty become accustomed to the welcoming process and check-in guidelines.
Students and parents will have the initial option of choosing between this “AAVVBB” plan or a fully remote learning plan prior to the start of the school year Monday, Aug. 17.
Any students who choose to start the year on the remote learning path are expected to remain fully remote learning for the entire first semester in order to keep school attendance numbers consistent.
The passed motion also gave the superintendent the authority to add additional in-person instructional sessions and days at individual schools as well as to temporarily move individual schools into fully remote learning based on changes or circumstances at her discretion or at the recommendation of local or state health officials. A decision to move Cherokee County Schools into a fully remote scenario in event of a wide-spread outbreak of the COVID-19 virus would require further action by the board of
education.
These provisions allow for an individual school – such as Murphy High – to be temporarily moved into a fully remote learning plan in the event of an outbreak of positive cases at the school.
That comes with the understanding that after proper contact tracing and quarantine of positive cases at the school, the school could eventually return to the partial in-person framework at the superintendent’s discretion.
While students will be required to wear state-mandated cloth masks during the majority of their time on campus, they will be allowed occasional breaks from the mask at the teacher’s discretion. As of Friday, no limit on the duration or frequency of these breaks had been provided by the state.
Students will also be required to wear masks during activities outdoors unless partaking in strenuous activity – a guideline also mandated by the state. However, if a student has a medical condition diagnosed by a physician, they will not be required to wear a mask, and instead might be asked to wear a face shield if possible or taught in an isolated setting.
The AAVVBB in-person learning plan approved by the board is being looked at as “Phase One,” with the potential for the addition of more in-person learning days for students later in the school year if the plan is working well for the district, and conditions in the county and state allow it.
While this is a possibility, Conley stressed that the majority of the teachers and principals she discussed the plan with advocated for a slow start in terms of adding additional in-person schooling days. They need time to alter teachings as they learn how students react to the new programs.
While the plan has been approved, Conley anticipates that issues in the plan will arise as time progresses and chinks in the armor of the plan are reveal. Issues such as the amount of faculty needed to adequate staff the schools, developing a plan for ensuring students who are remote learning have access to school breakfast and lunches, plus finding solutions for families who do not have the proper broadband connections required to partake in remote learning programs are just a few of the challenges the district faces before the school year has even begun.
Students who attend in-person learning will be expected to remain in the same classroom during the school day to ensure that student groups are kept consistent in the event of the need for contact tracing of cases among students, which has become standard among schools choosing to follow Plan B in the state. These students will have individually wrapped breakfast and lunches brought to them
in the classrooms at mealtimes.
Remote learning will take place on the “Canvas” program, which has been provided to the school district for free by the state.