Guilford County Schools will soon begin a gradual return to buildings. The board of education approved a reopening plan Thursday evening.
The school board approved the measure recommended by Superintendent Sharon Contreras by a 5 to 4 vote.
The process will be staggered. GCS students in elementary and middle school will be returning to classrooms on October 20, with high school students following in January. All of this hinges on positive public health trends continuing in the county.
Contreras says the transition process won't be easy and it will take a lot of patience and commitment from staff and families to keep moving forward.
“Until those doors open, you don't know and we will see when that happens if there are parents who decide that they are going to homeschool their children or something else," she says. "But I can tell you we don't have the personnel to just flip to a different model.”
Contreras stressed that one of the biggest challenges is still transportation, and parents will have to request it.
The district is also launching a COVID-19 dashboard at the end of the month to provide information on staff cases. One for students is also in the works.
Local health officials say since March, 101 school-aged children in Guilford have tested positive for the coronavirus. More than 700 of those cases are 15-19 years old. White teenagers tested positive more than any other demographic.
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