Update: Wadesboro Elementary School will serve as a meal site for children up to the age of 18 years old and/or currently enrolled in Anson County Schools beginning Wednesday, March 18. Parents and community volunteers may pick up meals and deliver them to students who may not have transportation. Meals are handed out at vehicles. Individuals need to provide the school with the number of meals needed and assure them they are being delivered to students.
ANSON COUNTY- North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order to close all public schools in the state for at least two weeks has caught parents and school officials off guard. Anson County Schools Superintendent Michael Freeman and his team are working overtime to address the concerns and needs of the county’s parents, students, faculty, and staff.
Many parents around the county depend on the school system to provide breakfast and/or lunch for their children. Families across the county are concerned about how their children will be fed during the school closure. “We will be issuing official statements on any options we secure to provide food for our students. If we are able to do this it will be within specific guidelines. I hope to have information for parents by Tuesday afternoon,” said Freeman.
In addition to how to feed their children, countless parents are worried about what to do if they or their children become ill. “I would recommend that parents review medical information provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as their medical provider, We have safety standards that are followed when students are in school such as basic handwashing techniques, social distancing, etc. We also take efforts to sanitize our schools regularly,” said Freeman.
The mental well-being of students and their families could be adversely affected by the stress caused by COVID-19. “Parents and all adults set the tone in situations such as this,” said Freeman, who added “We must model for children how to react in times of uncertainty. I hope all adults in our community will support one another so we can focus on the positives and not get so stressed out over the negatives.”
It’s not just parents and students that are impacted by the closure Anson County Schools is one of the biggest employers in the county and the two-week closure could heavily affect their paycheck. “We are exploring options at this time,” said Freeman, who added, “Many of our staff will continue working. Schedules and work locations may be different; however, we intend to remotely provide continuous learning opportunities for students. Technology will be a huge resource to help in this area.”
When schools do re-open, new guidelines may be put in place as a response to COVID-19. “We currently have policies to govern many aspects of operating schools. Some do cover medical challenges. I suspect everyone in the Nation will be reviewing policies to see if changes should occur based on our reflection of COVID-19,” explained Freeman.
Two-weeks represents a good chunk of instructional time and making it up could prove to be an issue. “We are not in the process of addressing this currently due to establishing our initial plans to implement while students are absent,” explained Freeman, who added, “We do have state laws and policies that govern this. If changes are made within the state laws the North Carolina General Assembly will take action in this area. Fortunately, in Anson County, we bank time so our current status of accumulated minutes is in good standing. I am hoping the state will consider ‘forgiving’ some time and allowing us to count the technology-supported learning as part of our required instructional time.”
“My prayer is that we face each day and build children up. Parents will be stressed so strategies to manage this stress must be utilized so we will not induce unnecessary stress on children. This is easier said than done. I would encourage families to finds ways to spend quality time together to make the best of this unfortunate situation. Simply put, a healthy and well family has a lot to be thankful for during this crisis,” said Freeman.