North Carolina public school buildings are now closed until at least May 15, but educators are still working to teach students remotely.
Wake County Public Schools is one of a number of districts across the state providing a website with online resources to give parents and students some guidance on how to maintain learning during this unprecedented time away from the classroom. You can find the website here.
"The intent of the site is to ensure that families and students stay as engaged in learning as they can in the coming week," said Tim Simmons, the chief of communications at WCPSS.
Other districts are providing similar resources to parents and students. In a news conference on Monday, State School Superintendent Mark Johnson stressed the need for parents who are home with their children to provide structure.
"We cannot treat this like a long break," Johnson said. "Your child does not have to master calculus at home, but help keep them engaged in their learning."
The state says it will make sure high school seniors are able to graduate this year, even with the difficulty of continuing classes in a new way.
In the same news conference, the Vice Chair of the State Board of Education, Alan Duncan, said the state is working to resolve equity issues by getting access to technology to more remote districts, and to students who may not have the technology they need at home. Duncan said the state is continuing to work on a plan to resolve these problems.
In and around the Triangle, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Durham Public Schools and Guilford County Schools have all set up websites with online resources and guidance for parents and students.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are scheduled to start online learning next Monday, March 30. Students in grades 6-12 are expecte to complete assignments as assigned in each subject area, and dedicate about 30-40 minutes to each class, each day.
Durham Public Schools is providing supplemental learning activities digitally and in print starting Monday, March 23. On the website, it says the activities, "will not be new learning for students and are not required but will reinforce instruction received in class. In-print activities will be provided for students who cannot access materials digitally and do not have internet access. Internet access or a device is NOT required for supplemental learning."
Guilford County Schools is using the website Canvas to aid with digital learning. Other supplemental resources are also available to students and parents. Lessons created by teachers are available digitally to students starting Monday, March 23.
Wake County Public Schools gave an update to its remote learning plan Tuesday and says it is working to get technology in the hands of students who don't have what they need at home. This week, the district is training teachers for remote learning, and teachers will be reaching out to students by the week of March 30, though many have already reached out. The district will also distribute hard-copies of general instruction packets as needed.
You can find Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools website here: https://www.chccs.org/domain/4023.
Durham Public Schools website is here: https://sites.google.com/dpsnc.net/dpsparents/home.
Guilford County Schools website here: https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/54440.
Wake County Public Schools website here: https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/instructional-continuity-wcpss
