Some students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools will soon begin returning to classrooms. The board of education approved a reopening plan during its meeting Thursday night.
Superintendent Angela Hairston made the recommendation to gradually transition back into buildings. The phased-in approach will use a mix of in-person and remote classes.
Career Technical Education students in nursing, firefighting, and EMT programs will return to the classroom on Monday. Pre-K will follow in late October and all grades except for high school will return by mid-November.
Grades 9-12 will have to wait until January. The district says this will allow them more time to install new technology that will give these students a virtual and face-to-face learning option.
Superintendent Hairston says the district is ready for a safe return.
“We've since received additional CARES dollars, so we are actually hiring additional health professionals or nurses to help us with our contact tracing and with isolation rooms and simply to be available for principals," she says. "We have additional bus supervision.”
The reopening plan is based on positive public health trends for Forsyth County but could be modified if those metrics change.
As of Thursday, there have been more than 7,100 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Forsyth County. Local health officials say according to the latest data available, 15 to 24 year-olds had the highest number of cases of any age group, comprising more than 21 percent of the cases.
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