FORT MILL, S.C. — School leaders across the Carolinas are outlining some major changes for the upcoming academic year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every parent now knows the challenge of having kids learning at home, but the question remains: Is it safe for kids to go back to school this fall? Now, education leaders want parents to plan for more remote learning in the next school year.
"We have to keep contingencies in mind, especially if there are spikes or outbreaks," said Alan Walters, a member of the South Carolina State Board of Education.
Experts across South Carolina are doing just that, working on multiple plans for when school reopens, and for if it shuts down again.
"If you don't have a Plan B, Plan A is not really good," Walters said.
State leaders said they expect local districts to do the same. That preparation for a possible second wave of school closures is now a requirement in North Carolina, as legislators passed a law directing all school districts to develop remote instruction plans for the 2020-2021 school year.
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One of the biggest challenges will be bridging the technology gap between families.
"Districts and the state need to use the summer months to formulate plans to address the digital divide as much as we can," said one education leader.
South Carolina's education task force is getting closer to sending guidelines to local districts about how to open in time for summer school, as well as fall. The task force is requesting millions of dollars from the state to potentially add six instructional days to the school year, plus expand the summer program.
They're requesting millions more for things like cleaning equipment and personal protective equipment. They're even considering putting a nurse in every school for a while.
"We've spent the last couple of years talking about how an SRO in every school and which threat's going to be greater? I think it's the health threat right now," Walter said. "I think there's going to be a lot more people in the nurse's office when school starts back."
The task force also heard the results of a parent survey. One of the questions they asked was if parents think their children are learning everything they need to be prepared for next school year. Seventy (70) percent said they are satisfied while 25% said they were very satisfied. But it was an electronic survey,which means it did not reach parents who don't have access to the internet, so results could have been very different.