Private schools consider COVID-19 in reopening plans
Parents given option for students to continue online learning
By Steve DeVane
Staff writer Fayetteville Observer
Private schools in Cumberland County are preparing to begin the 2020-21 year as the COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult to determine whether some or all classes will need to be online.
Several schools are planning to hold some in-person classes while giving parents the option of having their children attend remotely. Schools are prepared to revise their plans if the situation changes.
Fayetteville Academy is putting in place safety precautions so it can start the year with students on campus, according to a statement postedontheschool’swebsite.A committee that includes medical workers, administrators and teachers developed the plan and realized that some parents might not feel comfortable sending their children to the school or some students might have a high risk of catching the virus, the statement said.
“Therefore, the planning committee has developed two different options for our families,” the statement said.
Some private schools in Cumberland County say they’re planning to hold some in-person classes while giving parents the option of having their children attend remotely. [FILE PHOTO]
The school plans to begin the year with classes on its campus with specific health and safety procedures, according to the statement.
“In the event that government agencies enact laws that prohibit physically attending school, students will transition to virtual learning,” it said.
The academy also is offering a “hybrid learning” option that will include live online instruction and “teacherdirected material,” the statement said.
“The committee has developed guidelines for teachers and students regarding online instruction based on feedback from parents, teachers, administrators, and outside sources,” the statement said. “Classes are taught by academy teachers and are not outsourced.”
Fayetteville Christian School has developed a plan that assumes that groups of 25 people will be legally allowed to meet indoors, according to a statement on its website.
“Should that not be the case, we are developing contingency plans for a seamless start to the new school year,” it said.
The school is offering parents four options, but its plan assumes that students will return to the campus for inperson classes. Only healthy students and staff members would be allowed on campus, the statement said.
The school also is offering an option that allows students in all grades to take classes online. This option would include some live instruction online and some recorded lessons, according to the statement.
Students in third through 12th grades also can participate in the school’s Online Academy, which will use homeschool curriculum. The parents could choose to have a classroom spot reserved for their children or have their children attend only if space is available, the statement said.
Village Christian Academy has developed a “hybrid” approach to operating the school, according to its website.
Toby A. Travis, the academy’s superintendent, said in a video posted on the site that he knows the plan won’t please everyone. He said school officials are prepared to make changes to the plan if needed.
“We are called to be patient in our afflictions,” he said. “God is our God in all seasons of life.”
The plan includes a “healthy only” policy that calls for students and teachers to stay at home if they have flu-like symptoms or have been in contact with anyone who has symptoms, according to a statement on the school’s website. Parents have to sign and have notarized a “legallybinding waiver of liability and health screening agreement,” the statement said.
“Violators may lose their privilege to return to campus for the duration of the pandemic,” it said. The plan calls for the school campus to reopen with the facility receiving increased cleaning and sanitizing, the statement said. The number of students in groups would be contained in case contact tracing is needed, it said.
Parents can continue having their children learn remotely, the statement said. Travis encouraged families to select this option, because he said it will make it easier for the school to keep students apart in the facilities.
“We want our students on campus but we have to be prepared for this to be our new normal for an indefinite time into the future,” he said.
Northwood Temple Academy said in a “draft document” on its website that it plans to welcome students back to school for a “face-toface learning environment.” The school also plans to put in place a “healthy only” policy and require parents to sign a health screen waiver and agreement, according to the document.
Freedom Christian School said on its Facebook page that it intends to return to “in-class instruction” when its school year begins Aug. 19. Details were expected to be announced by Freedom’s new head of school, James Drury, it said.
Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver. com or 910-486-3572.
Parents given option for students to continue online learning
By Steve DeVane
Staff writer Fayetteville Observer
Private schools in Cumberland County are preparing to begin the 2020-21 year as the COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult to determine whether some or all classes will need to be online.
Several schools are planning to hold some in-person classes while giving parents the option of having their children attend remotely. Schools are prepared to revise their plans if the situation changes.
Fayetteville Academy is putting in place safety precautions so it can start the year with students on campus, according to a statement postedontheschool’swebsite.A committee that includes medical workers, administrators and teachers developed the plan and realized that some parents might not feel comfortable sending their children to the school or some students might have a high risk of catching the virus, the statement said.
“Therefore, the planning committee has developed two different options for our families,” the statement said.
Some private schools in Cumberland County say they’re planning to hold some in-person classes while giving parents the option of having their children attend remotely. [FILE PHOTO]
The school plans to begin the year with classes on its campus with specific health and safety procedures, according to the statement.
“In the event that government agencies enact laws that prohibit physically attending school, students will transition to virtual learning,” it said.
The academy also is offering a “hybrid learning” option that will include live online instruction and “teacherdirected material,” the statement said.
“The committee has developed guidelines for teachers and students regarding online instruction based on feedback from parents, teachers, administrators, and outside sources,” the statement said. “Classes are taught by academy teachers and are not outsourced.”
Fayetteville Christian School has developed a plan that assumes that groups of 25 people will be legally allowed to meet indoors, according to a statement on its website.
“Should that not be the case, we are developing contingency plans for a seamless start to the new school year,” it said.
The school is offering parents four options, but its plan assumes that students will return to the campus for inperson classes. Only healthy students and staff members would be allowed on campus, the statement said.
The school also is offering an option that allows students in all grades to take classes online. This option would include some live instruction online and some recorded lessons, according to the statement.
Students in third through 12th grades also can participate in the school’s Online Academy, which will use homeschool curriculum. The parents could choose to have a classroom spot reserved for their children or have their children attend only if space is available, the statement said.
Village Christian Academy has developed a “hybrid” approach to operating the school, according to its website.
Toby A. Travis, the academy’s superintendent, said in a video posted on the site that he knows the plan won’t please everyone. He said school officials are prepared to make changes to the plan if needed.
“We are called to be patient in our afflictions,” he said. “God is our God in all seasons of life.”
The plan includes a “healthy only” policy that calls for students and teachers to stay at home if they have flu-like symptoms or have been in contact with anyone who has symptoms, according to a statement on the school’s website. Parents have to sign and have notarized a “legallybinding waiver of liability and health screening agreement,” the statement said.
“Violators may lose their privilege to return to campus for the duration of the pandemic,” it said. The plan calls for the school campus to reopen with the facility receiving increased cleaning and sanitizing, the statement said. The number of students in groups would be contained in case contact tracing is needed, it said.
Parents can continue having their children learn remotely, the statement said. Travis encouraged families to select this option, because he said it will make it easier for the school to keep students apart in the facilities.
“We want our students on campus but we have to be prepared for this to be our new normal for an indefinite time into the future,” he said.
Northwood Temple Academy said in a “draft document” on its website that it plans to welcome students back to school for a “face-toface learning environment.” The school also plans to put in place a “healthy only” policy and require parents to sign a health screen waiver and agreement, according to the document.
Freedom Christian School said on its Facebook page that it intends to return to “in-class instruction” when its school year begins Aug. 19. Details were expected to be announced by Freedom’s new head of school, James Drury, it said.
Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver. com or 910-486-3572.
