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Press Release
 For: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: September 11, 2020 

Contact: Leigh Anna Marbert, Public Information Officer

 

 

ASHEBORO (NC) - On Thursday night, the Asheboro City Board of Education approved a phase-in approach in order to bring students back into the classroom. This decision was made after many months of strategic planning and monitoring a number of critical data points. 

 

Phase 1 will begin on Monday, September 21 and will only affect students attending the district’s five-star Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC). These Pre-K students will receive in-person instruction five days a week. It’s important to note, ECDC is regulated by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), the same agency that oversees childcare centers across the state. ECDC can go back to in-person instruction for five days a week because the facility has small enough class sizes and limited density to comply with state rules and regulations.

 

Two weeks later on Monday, October 5, the district will open elementary schools and welcome back kindergarten through fifth-grade students under the district’s original Plan B. Plan B follows a hybrid model in which students receive two days of in-person instruction and remote instruction the remaining three days.

 

The final phase (Phase 3) will begin Monday, October 19, where sixth through twelfth grade students will come back to school, also under the Plan B hybrid model.

 

“We believe this is the best way to strategically bring back students for in-person instruction. By staggering our students this way, we can continue to monitor our data points and make sure our safety protocols are being followed and working,” said Dr. Aaron Woody, Superintendent.  

 

Students enrolled in the district’s ACCESS Ed Remote Learning Program will continue to receive online instruction as they have since the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. 

 

The leadership team with Asheboro City Schools has been working since March on a return-to-school plan in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Administrators and educators have implemented safety procedures and protocols as recommended by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), NCDHHS, and the local Randolph County Health Department. In addition to safety measures, the team has worked diligently on creating instructional plans and numerous communication tools for students, families, and staff. Over the course of the last several months, the district has monitored local transmission rates of COVID-19 and surveyed district staff to gain an understanding of their concerns, suggestions, and questions.

 

To learn more, please log on to the www.asheboro.k12.nc.us. Families are encouraged to contact their child’s principal for specific questions.