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Watauga County Schools Will Stick With Hybrid Model For Now

Many North Carolina school systems will revisit COVID-19 health metrics after the holidays to determine plans for in-person learning. KERI BROWN/WFDD

Watauga County Schools will continue a mix of in-person and remote learning in the new semester for most students. The district is keeping a close eye on recent COVID-19 spikes in the community.

Kindergarten through 12th grade will continue in a hybrid model, with two days of in-person instruction. Pre-K and exceptional children will remain attending in-person classes four days a week.

The district says it has seen an increase in COVID-19 numbers corresponding to each holiday going back to the summer. Since August, the district has reported a total of 157 confirmed cases.

Superintendent Scott Elliott says the district is working to meet the needs of families.

“Staff members from our central office are going out to help cover classes and doing different things just to keep school open. That's the biggest challenge," says Elliott. "We aren't seeing the spread of the virus in schools. It is the isolations, and our staff members having to stay home. That is the operational challenge.”

Elliott says they hope to bring K-5 back full-time in January, but the health metrics will determine that.

The district is also partnering with the local health department to provide free COVID-19 testing events for the school community.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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