CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The school year is winding down, but teachers throughout the state are already looking ahead to the fall to figure out what learning will look like as we battle the coronavirus.


What You Need To Know

  • Students around the country have been out of school for months because of the coronavirus pandemic

  • Schools are starting to plan for the fall, when students will hopefully be allowed back in a classroom

  • One Charlotte charter school says indoor lunch and recess are among the recommendations by the CDC to keep students and faculty safe

Quachira Robinson and Jasmine Cox teach kindergarten and first grade at Aristotle Preparatory Academy in Charlotte, and say the classroom used to be all about community.

“There’s one cubby [at each table] and they’re sharing the pencils, they’re sharing the crayons that’s in the cubby, they’re sharing the markers,” Robinson says. “They partner read, so sit right beside your partner, turn your chair the opposite way, you’re reading to each other.”

“Our kids, you can see them outside playing and holding hands, they like to share things,” Cox says.

The “sharing is caring” mantra is now a thing of the past in schools.

“Now it's just retraining their brain. A lot of our kids want to know the ‘why’ cause and effect,” Cox says.

Changes are also happening outside the classroom. Indoor recess and lunch will become part of the daily procedures. This way the playground can stay clean, and kids aren’t sharing equipment like swings.

“It just really makes you have to be creative, and teachers have to be up for the challenge of making sure you’re creative because it’s really about making sure the students get all they need,” Robinson says.

As of now, most schools in Charlotte are preparing to open in August. The plans are constantly changing as recommendations from the CDC and the governor evolve.