Guilford County Schools Will Delay Reentry for Some Students

Guilford County Schools is slowing down its reentry plan for some grades.

Superintendent Sharon Contreras made the announcement late Wednesday. 

The revised plan brings back students in pre-kindergarten through second grade on Oct. 20 for in-person instruction five days a week. However, sixth graders will not return as originally planned.

Pending review of health data, students in grades 3-5, students with special needs, and some high school students in CTE programs would return during the first week in November, but the district will announce that decision on October 30.

Middle school students would return on November 12.

Contreras says met with officials from the Guilford County Health Department, and the decision is based on recent COVID-19 community health metrics.

For now, high school students are still scheduled to return in January.

The district says families of students in grades K-2 who indicated they prefer remote learning over in-person instruction may continue to receive instruction at home, except at schools where interest was not high enough to support the program.

The addition of a remote learning option will require changes to teacher assignments and class rosters. Principals will share new classroom teacher assignments for grades K-2 with parents and guardians prior to the start of school on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, the GCS Board of Education approved a measure to ask the state to waive class size requirements in grades K-3. The district says this would give elementary schools more flexibility to offer larger online classes if necessary.

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