Gov. Roy Cooper has given his blessing for students in kindergarten through fifth grade to return to full-time, in-person instruction.
The decision on whether to return to full in-person instruction will be left up to individual school districts. At press time on Sept. 22, Macon County Schools had not yet released a plan for implementing the new option.
On Sept. 17, the governor said that schools hosting younger students would be allowed to move to Plan A, meaning that students could be in school every day without any capacity restrictions, starting on Oct. 5. Students will still need to wear face coverings to school and observe basic prevention measures. Cooper cited stabilization in the number of COVID-19 cases across the state as the main reason for the decision.
“We are able to open this option because most North Carolinians have doubled down on our safety and prevention measures and stabilized our numbers,” Cooper said. “North Carolinians are doing the hard work to improve our numbers and trends. Many people are wearing masks, keeping social distance and being careful to protect others as well as themselves. We have shown that listening to the science works. And I’m proud of our resolve.”
Macon County Schools public information officer Renee Burt said shortly after the governor’s press conference that administrators were encouraged by the news, but that they would need time to evaluate the status of local schools and make the safest decision for everyone.
“Macon County Schools principals, administrators and board of education will be meeting in the coming days to evaluate what this means for Macon County,” Burt said. An official announcement will be made once a plan is finalized for our district.”
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Macon County Board of Education will be held on Monday, Sept. 28.