— courtesy Granville County Public Schools
GCPS Makes Winter Shift to Full Remote Instruction – Return to “Plan C”
At their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, December 7, 2020, the Granville County Board of Education voted unanimously to shift all students back to remote learning effective Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Superintendent McLean, working closely with officials from the Granville Vance Health Department, recommended this shift due to the surge in the pandemic, which has negatively impacted the readiness indicators for the school district.
Dr. McLean explained, “We have been closely monitoring the metrics that impact our ability to provide in-person learning to our students. The recent trends have made it increasingly difficult to do so in a safe and effective manner. Therefore, in order to keep our students and staff safe, we will be shifting to full virtual learning to bridge us through the winter holiday season.”
In person learning, or a shift back to “Plan B”, could resume as early as Monday, January 25 if the readiness indicators improve. The Board will review updated metrics at their next regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, January 11, 2021. Until then, all students will be served remotely, with the exception of traditional calendar high school students, who are required to take NC standardized final exams in person on December 16 – 22. These high school students’ individual schedules are being shared with students and their families for each school.
Since all students will be shifting to remote learning during this time, families are encouraged to take advantage of the various services offered by the district. Additional support with laptop repairs, free MiFi hotspots and paper learning packets are available for students. In addition, the district will also be giving away a limited number of student desks to families just before the winter holiday break. These desks are being provided to partner with our families in providing productive home learning centers. Also, the meal service program will provide enough meals for students to have breakfast and lunch for each day during the winter break. More information about these programs will be provided to families via email, phone calls and letters home.
Chairman David Richardson offered his perspective on the change in instructional services, stating, “We know that this shift to Plan C will create some new challenges for our families. However, based on the recommendations from our local health experts, we feel that the safety of our students and staff must be our top priority. We will do all we can to continue to keep students’ learning the focus during this time while remembering that grace and flexibility should be practiced by all.”
Written and provided to WIZS Radio by Dr. Stan Winborne, Assistant Superintendent of Operations & Human Resources, Public Information Officer, Granville County Public Schools