Dare County Schools return to all-virtual classes following COVID-19 cases
Dare County is shutting down in person classes and will return to all virtual learning after a COVID-19 outbreak.
The county’s Board of Education made the decision late Friday after six schools reported a total of 17 positive cases since on-site classes resumed Oct. 26. Ten tested positive this week.
The biggest problem, school officials said, is having enough teachers remaining to carry on the work.
As of Thursday, 379 students and 69 staff members who were in direct contact with positive cases are in quarantine, according to a release from Dare County Schools. Most of the quarantined staff members are teachers.
“I think we’re at a complete breaking point right now,” said school board member Mary Ellon Ballance.
As more cases arose, physical education teachers and art teachers are having to fill in for math teachers and some virtual classes have swelled to more than 100 students. The quality of instruction has fallen, said the school district’s superintendent John Farrelly.
Board member Harvey Hess was the lone dissenter. He wanted at least pre-kindergarten through 5th grade to continue in-person classes. He question the quarantine protocols that force so many people without the virus to stay home.
“I don’t want us to cave into our fears,” he said.
The all-virtual classes will continue until the end of the semester in mid-January. Special education students will continue with in-person classes. Sports, band and other extracurricular activities will continue.
Cape Hatteras Elementary School closed Friday after a positive case on Thursday. Another case was also reported Thursday at Manteo Elementary School, the third at the school this week.
On Wednesday, the school system announced seven cases were reported in four schools including Kitty Hawk Elementary, First Flight Elementary, Manteo Elementary and First Flight Middle School. All four schools were closed for cleaning.
A quarantine lasts 14 days from the last contact with someone who tests positive.
The spread in the schools coincides with a surge in virus cases in Dare County. The county has seen 162 new cases in the last two weeks, caused mostly by gatherings of family and friends who were not following protocols, said county Health and Human Services director Sheila Davies in a Facebook video.
“I’m concerned the worst of the pandemic is still ahead,” she said. “The virus has shown that if we let our guard down it can surge ahead at breakneck speed.”
Jeff Hampton, 252-491-5272, jeff hampton@pilotonline.com
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