Shooting at a constantly moving target has proved both difficult and frustrating for Macon County Schools staff.
With less than a week until the first bell rings on Monday, Aug. 17, superintendent Chris Baldwin updated the school board on the progress being made to ensure students safety in the classrooms and to get the district’s virtual academy up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During Tuesday’s specially called meeting, Baldwin informed the board that the format of the virtual academy will not be what was originally planned.
“When we got word from the governor’s office in July that we would be reopening in Plan B and that we would have to have a virtual learning option in place, our plan was to have the virtual academy operate as a separate entity with separate staff,” Baldwin said. “Looking at the numbers of parents who have chosen the virtual academy against those who have chosen in-person instruction, that format just isn’t possible with the amount of teachers we have.”
Baldwin explained that some teachers will have to teach both in-person classes at their school buildings, and virtual academy classes. When asked about the time it takes to develop a virtual academy class, and the stress that will put on teachers, Baldwin noted that the lessons will overlap.
“For most of the teachers who are doing both formats, they will be able to film their in-class lessons and then just put those videos online for the virtual academy,” Baldwin said. “There will be accompanying materials that students can download and do at home.”
A total of 799 students across the district have been enrolled in the virtual academy, roughly 25 percent of the district’s total students. Baldwin noted that number continues to change as more parent surveys come in and parents flip flop about sending students back to in-person classes.
“We have tried to be flexible and we even extended the survey deadline, but we still have around 800 surveys that have not been returned,” Baldwin said. “We don’t know whether those students are going to show up at school on Monday or if they are going to want to enroll in the virtual academy on Monday.”
On Aug. 17-18 in Highlands, where proper social distancing of students is possible based on the number of students and square footage of the building, only elementary school students will be on campus at Highlands, while middle and high school students do remote learning online. Elementary and middle school students will be on campus Aug. 19-20 with high school students doing remote learning.
Friday, Aug. 21 will be the first on-campus day for high school students with elementary and middle school students doing remote learning.
The second week of school will follow the same schedule as the first.
Beginning on Aug. 31, all students will be on-campus Monday through Thursday and all students will do remote learning on Fridays through the end of the semester.
According to Baldwin, enrollment is up at Highlands but the total number of students in the building at any one time will be down.
“I talked to principal Jetter today and he informed me that Highlands ended last year with 380 students and this year they are looking at between 400-410 to start the year,” Baldwin said. “That increase is offset however by the fact that 44 students have already been enrolled in the virtual academy.”
Schools across the state are trying to navigate Gov. Roy Cooper’s “Plan B” for reopening public schools with a mix of in-person and online learning, which was announced on July 9. A majority of schools in Western North Carolina will be operating under some form of alternating day schedule in order to socially distance students in the classroom, while also offering an online-only option for students who are at high-risk for COVID-19 or do not feel comfortable returning to in-person classes.
“We are doing the best we can to get the school year started but we can’t do everything that every person wants,” Baldwin said. “It’s just not possible and we need parents to be understanding and realize what we are trying to pull off in a very short amount of time. We aren’t going to throw the doors open on Monday at 8 a.m. and be teaching calculus at 8:15 a.m., it’s not going to happen.”