By Allie Nigro, Olivia Sugg and Maura Trivette, Staff Writers
A real-world civics lesson unfolded for students Thursday as the Dare County Schools Board of Education met at First Flight High School to discuss back-to-school plans. The livestreamed meeting was being watched in several classrooms as students and teachers awaited the decision.
After just more than an hour of discussion, the Board voted 6-1 in favor of all students going back to school four days a week.
“It’s not an easy decision to make and there’s a lot of consideration from the students to the parents to the teachers. I think that Option 2 was the best,” Board Chairperson Mary Ellon Ballance told Nighthawk News after the meeting. “It brings kids back into the building and still gives parents the option to keep their kids virtual.”
The new schedule will officially start on Tuesday, April 13, after the Board voted on the new plan that includes using the Monday after Spring Break (April 12) as a teacher planning day.
Three options were presented during the meeting, with the first being to continue with the hybrid schedule that had elementary school students attending four days a week and students in grades 6-12 being in-person two days a week in A-K and L-Z cohorts. The second option – which was selected – sends all students in preK-12 back four days a week, which leaves Friday as a virtual day for students.
“The teachers need that Friday,” Board member Susan Bothwell said during the comments portion of the meeting.
The third option was to send all students back five days a week.
“With all three options, there are hardships for everybody: Hardships for students, hardships for parents, hardships for teachers,” Board member Joe Tauber said during discussion. “I think Option 2 is a good transition to what might hopefully occur in the fall.”
A major deciding factor for choosing Option 2 opposed to attending school five days a week was to give teachers an opportunity to have time for planning. School officials mentioned in the meeting that Friday planning time was extremely important for elementary teachers, especially, due to the fact that younger students spend all day in one classroom rather than leaving for specials like art and music. At middle schools and high schools, officials pointed out that teachers essentially are doing twice as many tasks in working with in-person and remote students. Option 2 lets teachers keep Fridays as a time to plan and also work with students in small groups as needed.
After the three options were presented, Johanna Parker, Dare County Schools Director of Innovation, went over responses from the staff and parent surveys. A common theme mentioned in the “additional comments” was keeping continuity for students and staff after a year with so much change. BOE member Margaret Lawler, who was the lone “no” vote for Option 2, seemed to speak for many students, parents and teachers with her comment during the meeting:
“We only have seven weeks left,” Lawler said.
Now, parents have six days to decide how they want their students to spend those seven weeks. In an email to parents Thursday afternoon, Dare County Schools Superintendent John Farrelly explained the decision and instructed parents to complete the Virtual Learning Status Change Form in Powerschool before Wednesday, April 7, should they wish to enroll or un-enroll in virtual learning.
“The Board has spent a lot of time studying options with every scenario possible,” Farrelly told Nighthawk News after the meeting. “You can’t please everyone. Not everyone’s going to be happy. But I think the Board was very considerate of all the feedback we got from parents and staff.”
What do you think about the decision? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Sophomore Allie Nigro can be reached at 23Nigroal20@daretolearn.org.
Sophomore Olivia Sugg can be reached at 23suggol52@daretolearn.org.
Sophomore Maura Trivette can be reached at 23trivettema00@daretolearn.org.
