CMS Schools To Revert To Remote Learning Until January

CHARLOTTE, NC — As COVID-19 community spread continues, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will revert to remote learning for K-12 students through the beginning of the new year, beginning early next week. The decision was affirmed through a Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board vote Tuesday night and reverses course for the school district just months after returning elementary and K-8 students to classrooms.

In a 6-3 vote, the school board voted that remote learning will run from Monday, Dec. 14 through Friday, Jan. 15.

The news comes one day after the school district announced that at least 102 schools have reported one or more positive cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

"Simply put, we believe it is in our best interest — again, for the health and safety of our students — to return to remote instruction," CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston said during the meeting, WFAE reported.

Winston said he believed the decision was needed due to recent surge in community cases.

"Discussions with public health experts indicate expectations of more increases in community spread of COVID-19 in the weeks ahead," Winston said. "While these experts have not said that in-person learning is a significant contributor to spread, as cases rapidly increase in the community, schools will feel the impact. We are taking this step proactively."

The decision to return to remote instruction will not impact every student, however. In-person instruction will continue for Pre-Kindergarten students and those with special needs, according to the plan.

SEE ALSO: Positive COVID-19 Cases Reported At 102 CMS Schools

"None of us wants to put our kids back behind a computer screen instead of in the classroom with a live teacher," said Board Chair Elyse Dashew. "But the health and safety of our students and staff comes first – and the COVID-19 metrics indicate that the number of infections is going up and will continue to do so for a while. So we will return to remote learning for K-12 students."

Not everyone on the school board agreed. Rhonda Cheek voted against the motion and advocated for five-day in-person instruction for elementary students. "That in no way means I want teachers to be in danger,” she said, the Charlotte Observer reported. “What it says is that I’m following the letter of the law, making the decision to go remote based on the health and safety of our students, and the data is not there for K-5.”

Highlights of the remote learning plan include:

• Full remote will run Dec. 14 through Jan. 19
• In-person testing for high school and middle school students will still take place Dec. 14 - Dec. 18 as scheduled
• No changes for pre-kindergarten students
• Unused local leave for CMS employees, which was set to expire Dec. 31, has been extended to Jan. 15, 2021.
• CMS students will return to school buildings Jan. 19 according to their rotation schedules. K-5, K-8 and grades six through 12 will return with Rotation A students.

Tuesday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new "modified stay-at-home" executive order aimed at curtailing social gatherings that he said have helped fuel the spread of the virus throughout the state and require residents to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. That order will remain in effect from Friday, Dec. 11 through Jan. 8.

As of Tuesday, Mecklenburg County reported more than 47,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, and 477 COVID-19 deaths. About 11 percent of those tested for coronavirus in the county were positive, according to county health officials.

North Carolina's tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose by 4,670 Tuesday, increasing the number of known cases in the state to 404,032, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

SEE ALSO:

• Gov. Cooper Issues New Modified Stay-At-Home for North Carolina
• Most In NC Will Seek Coronavirus Vaccine: Survey Results
  
• Coronavirus Spread In Mecklenburg: See Your Risk Of Exposure
  
• Here's The Estimated COVID-19 Vaccine Wait Time In Mecklenburg