CMS elementary students will get more in-person classes in new plan, but not full-time

Elementary school students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will have in-person classes more frequently than originally planned, but board members stopped short of a full return to classrooms.

The board unanimously approved a plan Thursday that will assign students in grades K-5 into two groups. Students in the first group will take part in in-person learning on Mondays and Tuesdays, while the second cohort will be in the classroom on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays will be fully remote for all elementary grades.

The original plan approved in September, one day before Gov. Roy Cooper announced his school reopening plans, divided elementary students into three cohorts who would follow a three-week rotational schedule. Compared to that plan, students will spend one extra day in classrooms every three weeks.

Meanwhile, middle and high school grades will continue with the rotational schedule, spending one week in in-person learning and two weeks in remote learning.

Superintendent Earnest Winston said while other districts may be moving to less restrictive plans, CMS had to choose the path best suited to its situation. Mecklenburg County has routinely led the state in both the number of cases and deaths, making it a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic that abruptly shut down schools in March to in-person learning.

“Those districts are not Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools,” Winston said. “Factors unique to CMS drive our deliberative approach to getting students back into classrooms.”

Cooper said elementary schools could reopen during the coronavirus pandemic under Plan A. That plan allows those schools to operate at full capacity if social distancing can be maintained. Middle and high schools must still operate under Plan B, at reduced capacity, or Plan C, full remote learning.

CMS isn’t changing any start dates for in-person learning. Pre-K is scheduled to return on Oct. 12, with elementary, middle and high school grades added in three-week phases, as long as coronavirus metrics hold steady or improve.

More in-person contact

Deputy superintendent Matt Hayes said the revision to the elementary school schedule would allow students to make contact with teachers, counselors and other school-based employees more regularly. Teachers would be able to address more quickly any issues that come up regarding devices, internet access and students’ ability to participate in instruction.

Hayes said the district had considered a similar design in June and again in September, but that implementing the change was not possible until Cooper lifted the restrictions on schools.

The district sought feedback and received support from elementary school principals, Hayes said. He noted that principals said they needed the time between now and Nov. 2, when elementary school students are slated to return, to implement the changes. As a result, dates could not be shifted sooner for returning.

“Their whole life has been preparing themselves to educate our kids,” Hayes said. “If I don’t listen to them, that would be irresponsible of me as a leader of this district.”

Hayes said some schools may have a smoother time dividing their three rotational groups into two while maintaining social distancing in the classroom. Some buildings are better suited to social distancing, while schools also have widely varying enrollments in the full remote option.

In elementary school, the percent of students who opted into the full remote option ranges from 12% at some schools to 53% at others. Some students may have to transition to new teachers at more crowded schools in order to maintain social distancing.

Families enrolled in the full remote option will not return to classes this fall. Those wishing to change their enrollment for the second semester have until Dec. 4 to do so.

No full-time in-person classes for students

Board member Sean Strain, who has consistently pushed for a speedier return to full in-person instruction, pressed district administrators on why CMS was not considering implementing Plan A.

Chief school performance officer Kathy Elling said the county’s coronavirus metrics are simply insufficient to support such a move.

“Our health metrics drive the discussion,” she said. “While the state metrics clearly gave the governor comfort to put in Plan A, a Plan A for Mecklenburg County based on where we are, is not the plan we felt comfortable putting forward.”

Currently, Mecklenburg County’s data is hovering in what CMS has defined as the “yellow zone,” or moderate community spread. Elling said the recent data shows roughly 66 new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period and a weekly positivity rate of around 6%.

The district’s threshold for moderate spread are between 10 and 100 new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period and a weekly positivity rate between 5 and 10%.

Under the “yellow” scenario, the district would prioritize bringing in students with the greatest need, such as those in the youngest grades. The district has already brought back roughly 1,200 students with special needs whose accommodations cannot be met in remote learning.