We hope that everyone stayed safe and secure as the severe weather yesterday hit very close to home!

I wanted to take a moment to send out a quick email update to everyone to help “keep you in the loop” of current changes/updates that are taking place in regards to reopening schools.

The last update I sent you was on Wednesday afternoon. Please check your email or our school’s website if you didn’t receive that guidance.

This morning our Clover Garden School Board of Directors’ voted based on updated legislative and State Board of Education requirements for charter schools to move forward with implementing Plan B in-person instruction effective April 6, 2021 for our Middle/High School students. This decision comes after SB 220 which was passed last Thursday 3/11 by Governor Cooper did not include charter schools. However, decisions made by the NC State Board of Education on Monday, 3/15 of this week passed requirements/restrictions that did include charter schools leaving a lot of confusion, discord, and uncertainty in the charter school world as to what was “allowed” for charter schools. A way to rectify this issue comes from the resolution of a legislative fix in regards to allowing charter schools the same options as traditional public schools. There is currently a bill that has been presented to the House of Representatives. Currently, charter schools can only offer Plan B to MS/HS students based on guidance from the NCDHHS or Plan C to those families that opt to stay remote. However, if House Bill 324 passes and is signed into law by the Governor, Clover Garden School will opt to move into Plan A for our Middle and High School students. We will continue to keep you updated on changes/updates as they occur.


One additional update that we were made aware of yesterday during a call with our NC State Leaders is that students in K-5 operating in Plan A will need to operate on “full school days”. This means that our current ½ day schedule for K-5 will be changing to a full day of in-person instruction from 8:00 A.M. until 2:30 P.M. beginning on April 6, 2021. We are also going to utilize a full day of remote instruction weekly on Wednesdays to ensure that we are equitably meeting the needs of our students that opt to remain remote for the remainder of this school year. This means that students will be on campus Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for “in-person” instruction. All students will be remote on Wednesdays. This is something that we will be implementing for our MS/HS students as well. Wednesdays will be remote instruction and no “in-person” instruction will take place on that day. More details regarding your Middle or High School student’s schedule will be provided soon. We are working very hard on the logistics and health and safety requirements in regards to bringing our students back safely to campus.

Please be on the lookout for additional information/surveys coming soon to inquire about your choice of whether you plan to send your student back to school for in-person learning or if you’re planning to keep your student remote for the remainder of the 20-21 school year.

Thank you again for your continued support, patience, and understanding as we continue to navigate these unchartered waters together.

Please see the attached document in regards to what was presented and voted on today in our Board of Directors’ meeting.

 

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