CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thousands of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students are back to doing a mix of in-person and virtual learning.


What You Need To Know

  • Some families are leaving CMS, turning to homeschooling or switching schools altogether

  • Yevgeniya Minovskaya put her nephews in a different school after virtual learning was not working for them

  • The family also made the tough decision to hold the children behind one year

 

However, some families concerned about their children’s learning are leaving the district, turning to homeschooling or switching schools altogether.

Yevgeniya Minovskaya lives with her mother and nephews Dayan and Nathan. In the fall, Dayan went to first grade and Nathan was in second grade at CMS.

The children, who speak both Russian and English, were signed up in Plan B, which includes in-person and virtual learning. However, Minovskaya says most of it ended up being virtual.

“We went last year only the eight days in school in person,” Minovskaya says.

Minovskaya says virtual learning and the structure of the classes were not working for them. Dayan, who is an energetic 6-year-old, was having trouble sitting behind a screen for an extended period of time and staying engaged during his classes.

“From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (he spent a) total of maybe two and a half to three hours easily on mute,” Minovskaya says.

This family also says the constant change of schedules and the lack of interaction with other students weren’t beneficial.

“We went from fully virtual schedule to broken-down schedule and who knows what's going to come up next. We had to constantly change the schedule. They are not there yet. We are. Adults cannot keep up with the schedule,” Minovskaya says.

The family noticed Dayan needed more support for fluency, and Nathan needed help with math. This meant some days they had 10-hour school days between lessons, tutoring, and homework.

“We had no time for anything else,” Minovskaya says.

The hardest part to swallow was the children were falling behind.

“We couldn’t pull through. We were not a 100% at anything,” Minovskaya says.

The family switched them to Mountain Island Day Community Charter School, where they go to in-person school four days a week.

“When was the last time you heard a kid say: 'Is it an in-person day? I want to go!' ” Minovskaya says.

They also made the tough decision of holding them back one year.

“They feel confident that they're going to do better instead of crying and not understanding,” Minovskaya says.

The kids have a longer commute because the school is 30 minutes away from home. Minovskaya, who has a full-time job, says this just means extra planning. She and her mom alternate on giving them rides.

“For being the in-person education to another state. Yes, I’ll drive 30 minutes. I’ll drive to another state,” Minovskaya says.

She says the children look forward to going to school and they are happier.

“We are arguing less. No one is crying,” Minovskaya says.

She says they are also learning and having more time to spend together as a family when they are home again.

Currently, CMS elementary school students under Plan B are going to school in-person twice a week. Middle and high schoolers are separated in three groups. Each group attends one week and does virtual learning for two weeks.

This could change on Tuesday night during a CMS School Board of Education meeting.

Spectrum News 1 reached out to CMS for comment, but the district still has yet to respond.