LEDGER — Local middle schoolers will be able to return to in-person instruction earlier than anticipated.
During a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 31 Mitchell County Schools Superintendent Chad Calhoun presented an updated plan to the Board of Education for middle school students to get back in school earlier.
Under the new plan, students who opted for face-to-face instruction will begin in-person classes on a staggered schedule. Sixth graders will return Sept. 21, seventh graders will return Oct. 5 and eighth graders will return on Oct. 19.
“This way we could ease back into it again,” Calhoun said. “We can get some kids back in quicker and that way we can look at our buses, see where our numbers are and make sure we’re OK in the classrooms, six feet apart.”
Calhoun noted the plan was approved by the Mitchell County Health Department, which the school system has been in regular contact with as they have returned to instruction this academic year.
“Of course, if anything comes up that causes an issue and the health department says we need to back up on this or slow down, we most certainly would,” he said.
Prior to this, the plan was for all middle school students to return Oct. 19, at the end of the first nine weeks.
The board approved the updated plan unanimously and also approved a calendar update for remote learning days on three Fridays in the upcoming weeks on Sept. 18, Oct. 2 and Oct. 16.
Calhoun said these remote learning days would be used by custodial staff to do a “deep clean” of the schools.
“We clean the school very thoroughly through the day, before school and after school, but there are just some things you can’t do when you have staff there,” Calhoun said. “All staff and students will be remote those days, so we can just thoroughly clean our schools.”
The superintendent also informed the board about the enrollment for this year.
Calhoun said in a “normal” school year, they would expect 1,800 students, but they are down about 53 students, with a total of 1,747 enrolled.
However, given the circumstances with the ongoing pandemic, Calhoun noted this number is actually better than he anticipated.
“I expected this to be down between 100 or 300 kids, so to be in the 50s is actually good news,” he said. “I know that we’re down but it is a lot better news than what I expected, especially with not all kids coming back.”
Calhoun said the kindergarten classes were a “huge concern” because two weeks before school started they only had 11 children registered at Gouge Elementary and 42 at Greenlee. Now, Calhoun said, they have 32 registered at Gouge and 79 at Greenlee.
“So, kindergarten parents appreciate what we’re doing and they registered their kids for school instead of waiting for next year,” Calhoun said. “That’s been a surprise and an encouragement, too to see that they trust us and what we’re doing.”