CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education shifted course on Thursday, opting for a Plan C approach for the upcoming school year.
During an emergency meeting, officials voted to revise the district's reopening plan and approved fully remote learning when school starts back on August 17.
According to a release from CMS, "Under Plan C, teachers and school-based staff without approved medical remote work requests are expected to report to their assigned school facilities from Aug. 6-14 for preparation and professional development. Teachers and school-based staff are strongly encouraged to report to facilities to provide remote instruction from Aug. 17-28 – the last day of the second full week of remote instruction. Beginning Aug. 31, teachers and school-based staff are encouraged to continue working from school buildings, but may work remotely."
District officials say the plan addresses the worsening COVID-19 conditions and is one of the options given to districts by Gov. Roy Cooper on July 14.
“With new information becoming available to us since we initially voted to open schools with two weeks of staggered in-classroom onboarding, we feel this decision better reflects the current environment and offers us the best opportunity to educate our students while protecting student and staff health,” said Elyse Dashew, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education chairperson.
Officials say plans were also approved Thursday to provide in-classroom instruction for students with disabilities that prevent them from getting the necessary instruction online.
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The board previously voted 7-1 in favor of implementing a Plan B Plus Remote plan.
Under that plan, students would have been separated into three groups. During the first two weeks of the upcoming school year, students will attend in-person onboarding instruction on their group’s assigned day. On the onboarding days, students who are not in the classroom will be able to do remote learning. All students will go back to remote learning on Aug. 31.