GREENSBORO, N.C. – School systems had to get creative when turning entirely to online learning. They also had to take extra steps to make sure all students were engaged.


What You Need To Know


  • School counselors and teachers checked up on students at home

  • New Hanover County Schools created a portal to help keep track of attendance

  • Guilford County Schools says their attendance rates were higher than others across the state and country

Guilford County Schools Chief Academic Officer Whitney Oakley says school counselors and teachers would go to students' houses, leave messages in the mailbox, and call to check in on those they hadn't heard from.

She added that the system's overall attendance rates stayed about 80 percent, which is higher than what she had heard from other districts.

“Some weeks it was a little higher than others, but that’s the percentage of students who had logged in for learning that week, which is the best way we had to capture what we would have called face-to-face attendance," Oakley said.

Maria Madison is the principal of College Park Elementary School in the New Hanover County Schools system.

She said they had groups, like the family intervention team, that used the online platforms to make sure all was well at home.

“We met weekly because we reviewed what students put in the google classroom, who logged in, who was there, and during that time we did have to make some critical decisions in the safety of our students," Madison said.

She believes they're prepared for the next school year, because the system created a portal for tracking elementary school students' attendance.

“That documentation will be great. So, as a school district, we are prepared to differentiate instruction for our students that are coming in, and we of course have qualified and effective teachers to make sure that happens," Madison said.