Elementary school students in Granville County will shift to four days of in-person learning at the end of March, but middle and high school students will remain under Plan B or Plan C of remote instruction.
The Granville County Board of Education met on Monday, Mar. 1 and voted 7-0 to allow students in grades PK – 5 to move to the four-day in-person learning, according to Dr. Stan Winborne, assistant superintendent of operations & human resources and public information officer.
Currently, elementary students in prekindergarten through Grade 5 attend school two days a week – either a Monday/Tuesday attendance or a Thursday/Friday attendance, according to Winborne. The two groups attend classes virtually the other three days of the week.
Beginning on Monday, Mar. 29, the two groups will merge into a single group and all in-person students will attend school each weekday except Wednesday. Wednesday remains a remote learning day for all students. Currently, the state only allows students in grades PK-5 to shift to Plan A, according to Winborne; students in grades 6-12 are only allowed to attend school under plan B or C. Plan B calls for two days of in-person learning; Plan C is all virtual learning.
All families who previously chose to have their students remain in Plan C – all virtual learning – will do so for the remainder of the school year.
Granville County had a mass-vaccination clinic on Feb. 24, when more than 430 educators got their first dose of the Moderna vaccine. The second dose is scheduled for Friday, Mar. 26, which Winborne said will mean the day of remote learning will switch from Wednesday to Friday for that week.
Parents will receive details about this change soon, he added.
The board also approved a 10 percent increase in the daily substitute pay in hopes of attracting more qualified candidates to the pool of substitute teachers. Starting pay is now $90 a day for subs with minimum experience, and can go as high as $116 a day for experienced or licensed teachers.
“If you love children, are 18 years or older, have a GED or high school diploma and can pass a full background check, then please consider becoming a substitute teacher,” Winborne said. “We need you and will train you prior to entering the classroom.”
Although all schools currently need additional substitutes, elementary schools typically experience a higher demand for substitutes, Winborne said.
Interested candidates must complete an application which can be found on our district website. Questions can be directed to Kathy Bradley, HR specialist at bradleyk@gcs.k12.nc.us.
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