RALEIGH, N.C. — Students can and should return to classrooms.
That’s the message from Governor Roy Cooper.
“Now it’s time to get our children back into the classroom,” Cooper said Tuesday during a news conference.
North Carolina schools switched to remote learning in March, and public health experts worked with the state to develop options to make sure education continues despite the pandemic.
He said that all schools should provide in-person learning and continue to follow health protocols.
“What’s new is that research done right here in North Carolina tells us that in-person learning is working and that students can be in classrooms safely with the right safety protocols in place,” he said.
North Carolina State Superintendent Cathy Truitt joined Cooper to present a united force in urging schools to move toward in-person learning.
Cooper did add, however, that teachers who are at risk should continue to teach virtually.
This update comes a day after three Republican state lawmakers filed a bill to require all school districts to operate in-person in some capacity while still providing parents with the option of all-virtual learning if they so choose.
In January, state officials and education leaders told FOX8 that they were waiting to see the positivity rates for the virus to come down. They also wanted teachers to get vaccinated in a timely fashion.
“COVID-19 is going to be with us for a while, as the vaccines are rolling out. We’re learning more how to deal with the virus. But the fact is, we have to learn to live with it,” Rep. Jon Hardister said.
That’s why he wrote a letter to State Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen, urging her and Gov. Roy Cooper to “create a comprehensive statewide plan for students to return to school.”
“Other countries have done it. Other states are doing it, they’re getting the kids back safely,” Hardister explained. “We can kind of look around at the best practices to see what they’re doing to get that done safely. I think we just need to make it a priority.”
Jack Hoke is the executive director of the North Carolina School Superintendent Association. He told FOX8 he’s been speaking with school district leaders frequently on how they can re-open safely.
“If you follow the CDC guidance, and the Department of Public Instruction, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services guidance on wearing masks and staying socially distanced, there’s not been a lot of transmission within schools,” Hoke said.
He said it’s also crucial to lower each community’s positivity rate of COVID-19 to the single digits, a milestone not all counties have met.
Source: Fox 8 News Channel
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