Some NC school districts temporarily stop in-person classes again due to COVID surge
Two small Western North Carolina school districts have become the first in the state to temporarily halt in-person classes due to the surge in COVID-19 cases from the delta variant.
Both the Graham County and Mitchell County school systems announced this week that they will temporarily switch to remote learning. Both districts, located along the Appalachian Trail, also voted this week to require face masks be worn when students return to campus.
“As many conversations around the pandemic have become political in nature, our board has desired to not let our schools become a political pawn,” Brandon Pitman, chairman of the Mitchell County school board said in a letter to the community explaining the decision to require masking.
“Unfortunately, any decision we make can be presented or interpreted with a political agenda. Our sincerest desire has been and continues to be the physical, emotional and mental well-being of our students, faculty and staff.”
Statewide, 109 of the 115 school districts are requiring face masks as of Sept. 3. A bill signed into law Monday requires those districts to vote monthly if they continue to require masking.
At least 56 school districts that had planned to open the year with masks being optional have reversed their decision.
Return to all-remote learning
All of the state’s public schools had been closed for in-person instruction from mid-March 2020, when the pandemic first struck, through the end of that school year.
The majority of school districts opened last school year using only remote instruction. But by the end of the 2020-21 school year, prompted in part by a state law, all schools were offering at least limited in-person classes.
The delta variant, which is three times more transmissible than the original strain, has caused COVID numbers to surge again. Schools have reported an increase in the number of students and teachers being quarantined since most traditional-calendar students began the school year last week.
School leaders in Mitchell County, located 240 miles west of Raleigh, announced Sunday that students will receive remote instruction through Labor Day. They’re scheduled to return for in-person classes Sept. 7.
School leaders in Graham County, located 330 miles west of Raleigh, announced Monday that the district would switch to remote learning for two weeks. Students will return for in-person instruction Sept. 13.
The bill that was signed into law Monday allows individual classes and entire schools to switch to remote learning due to COVID emergencies.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Some NC school districts temporarily stop in-person classes again due to COVID surge."
