Three moms and professionals talk with host Stephanie Carson about challenges they’re facing during COVID-19 and virtual learning. Angie Newsome, Mom and Executive Director at Carolina Public Press, Jennifer Bringle, Mom and Reporter at Carolina Public Press and Jessica Burroughs, Mom and NC Campaign Director for MomsRising talk about their challenges as they embark on an uncertain school year. They also talk about the hardships other families are facing as they juggle work, a down economy and additional demands at home.
The largest schools have chosen not to bring children back to classes yet. More than 60% of students statewide attend school in districts that will not hold in-person classes for weeks under the state’s Plan C guidelines, if not several months.
Schools that allow in-person classes must follow the state’s strict guidelines — with more than 20 pages of requirements. Before entering the school, each person’s symptoms and temperature must be checked.
There must also be enough room in each classroom for students to remain 6 feet apart, and every student from kindergarten through 12th grade must wear a mask unless eating or drinking. You can read more about the impact on school systems at this link.
The changing education model is prompting a record number of parents to enroll their children in home school, which actually crashed the state’s system in recent weeks.
According to Nan Sanseverino, director of communications at the NC Department of Administration, the NC Division of Non-Public Education has seen an increase in homeschool students in the state for the 2020-2021 school year.
This summer, the state website for homeschool registration crashed several times due to high traffic, with more than double the number of notices to establish a news homeschool as during the same period in the previous school year.
During the period of July 1-August 24, 2020, the agency received 10,281 notices of intent to establish a homeschool, plus 767 re-open requests. Comparatively, during the same period in 2019, there were 3,529 notices of intent and 321 re-open requests.
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