Jake Browning
reporter@thefranklinpress.com
Just over a week after students returned to Macon County Schools classrooms, positive cases of COVID-19 have put teachers in quarantine and forced the suspension of in-person classes at some schools.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, Macon County Schools reported that several administrators, teachers and support staff members at Franklin High School were under quarantine for 10-14 days after a positive COVID-19 case was discovered at the school.
As a result, in-person classes were suspended at the school through Friday, September 11. Superintendent Chris Baldwin said the closure was not because the school was at too great a risk of further exposures, but rather because too many faculty members are quarantining to provide an adequate level of service on site.
“These staff are essential to the safety of students and the decision to suspend face-to-face instruction was a result,” Baldwin said. “In other words, the suspension of face-to-face instruction at FHS was not due to the identification of a cluster of COVID-19 cases. It was due to a loss of staff due to quarantine.”
The suspensions didn’t stop there. In an emergency called meeting of the Macon County Board of Education held on Monday night, Baldwin recommended that Macon Middle School, Mountain View Intermediate School and Union Academy suspend in-person instruction from Aug. 26 until Sept. 11 as well, citing similar temporary shortages in staff due to COVID-19 related circumstances.
Several of the board members described the decision as one of the hardest they’ve had to make since joining the board, but they backed Baldwin’s suggestion, unable to see any viable alternatives to maintain in-person instruction.
“It’s not like we’re in a big, huge city where we’d have a lot bigger amount of substitutes,” board member Fred Goldsmith said. “We all wanted all of our students in schools. It would have been our choice from day one.”
The silver lining in all of this is the early success of remote learning measures. Curriculum coordinator Josh Lynch said families have been quick to offer feedback on their experiences with Google Classroom and student iPads. While there are still bugs to work out and more devices to distribute, he said the majority of people have enjoyed a simple and effective transition without any unworkable technical issues.
“We feel that the first week has gone very well, and parents and students seem to feel the same way,” Lynch said. “We’re still working on getting a device into every student’s hands, but the first week has gone very well and we appreciate the positivity we’re seeing.”
STEM coordinator Jennifer Love has also been comforted by the results of the first week of school. She’s had to do her fair share of tech support, but that was always to be expected. If anything, she’s pleasantly surprised by the initiative students are showing in figuring out minor details of the technology themselves.
“From a STEM perspective, it’s actually really exciting to see the students responding to these problems and figuring some things out for themselves,” Love said. “I can tell from the emails that they’re sending me that they’re feeling proud of themselves when they learn how to use their devices.”
Baldwin feels that it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the fate of the school system’s restart plan. Students, parents and faculty have expressed their gratitude to have some form of schooling back and concerns over how to do things safely.
“Most staff and families have indicated that they are happy to be back in school,” Baldwin said. “Obviously, with the positive cases at some of our schools, we are also hearing concerns from both staff and families. We understand those concerns and take them seriously.”
Highlands School, Nantahala School and Macon Early College are all staying on their current reopening plans. East Franklin, Cartoogechaye, South Macon and Iotla Valley elementary schools will also stay on their current plans until the school board meets again to reevaluate on Aug. 28.