NC charter school postpones in-person student return due to COVID surge
Charter school Socrates Academy — the first school in the Charlotte area in 2021 to require all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or lose their jobs — temporarily closed this week because of a high percentage of positive tests among its faculty and staff.
The school in Matthews, which has upward of 830 students enrolled in K-9, was closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Students were set to return from holiday break to in-person instruction on Tuesday.
Students moved to remote instruction Thursday and will continue remote through at least Monday.
The Socrates Academy Board of Directors on Wednesday approved metrics that allow the principal to move any individual classroom or entire grades to remote instruction based on thresholds of student infections and the availability of qualified substitute teachers in case of teacher infections.
“Our faculty is testing positive at an increasing rate, and we simply do not have the sub coverage to cover these absences,” Principal Vanessa Baker said. “As we make decisions to protect the health of our school population and ensure the best learning environment possible, we also want to be very intentional in considering the burden of remote instruction and the continued pivoting on our faculty and also on the families.”
Socrates Academy’s dashboard, updated Monday, reported a total of 13 active cases among staff and students, including seven staff cases. To date, 100% of faculty and staff members are vaccinated. It is unclear if all those employees got boosters.
Since school began, there have been 63 total cases among students and staff. Socrates Academy continues to provide free weekly screening tests for those who have signed up. Parents must give permission for students to get tested.
“I know so many people who are quarantined from the winter break,” parent Jessica Burke said. “I’m happy Socrates is taking precautions. I believe we will fare OK with this since 100% of our staff is vaccinated. This means they can quarantine less and are hopefully less severe cases. I have a 4-year-old at home who can’t get the vaccine yet so I appreciate the school taking extra safety measures.”
The vaccine mandate, announced in September, riled some parents and teachers, although nearly 9 of every 10 employees at Socrates were already vaccinated by the time the requirement was introduced. Some quit or resigned.
The omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing cases to spike locally and across the state. North Carolina health officials reported more than 10,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
As of Sunday, Mecklenburg County recorded a testing positivity rate of 27.6%.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 6:15 PM.
