- A Pre-K-7 private school in North Carolina notified parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus a few days after it reopened for in-person teaching.
- The school stated that the staff member had been present at the school for training on Monday and interacted with at least 16 students, according to NBC affiliate WRAL.
- The News & Observer reported that a spokeswoman stated the school would disinfect the classrooms with a Clorox Total 360 machine and resume in-person classes on Friday.
- While public health authorities have released guidelines for when and how schools can safely reopen, teachers have dismissed those recommendations as unrealistic and argue could put them at high risk for infection.
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A Pre-K-7 private school in North Carolina notified parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus a few days after it reopened for in-person teaching.
Thales Academy, a private school that has eight locations across North Carolina in addition to new branches in Tennessee and Virginia, resumed in-person teaching on Monday.
On Thursday, Thales Academy Raleigh told parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported. The school stated that the staff member had been present at the school for training on Monday and interacted with at least 16 students, according to NBC affiliate WRAL.
The school emailed parents that “the staff member in training was asymptomatic” and “passed the temperature check,” according to WRAL. The News & Observer reported that a spokeswoman stated the school would disinfect the classrooms with a Clorox Total 360 machine and resume in-person classes on Friday.
Private schools are not governed by the same requirements as public schools. As The New York Times reported out earlier this month, public schools “tend to have less money and larger class sizes,” allowing for less flexibility to accommodate in-person teaching in comparison to private schools.
While many private schools in North Carolina plan to have in-person learning, a majority of public schools will start the new academic year completely online, according to EducationNC.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said mid-July announced schools would reopen for the fall term and operate in a series of plans like holding classes with reduced capacity or only remote learning.
“There is much risk in not going back to in-person school,” Cooper said. We know that schools provide so much more than just academic lessons.”
Meanwhile, teachers across the country have expressed concerns for reopening, especially those with scarce resources for large classrooms and younger children, Insider’s Ellen Cranley recently reported.
Schools across the US are announcing revised plans for the beginning of this school year, including delayed starts and extended remote learning. Though public health authorities have released guidelines for when and how schools can safely reopen, teachers have balked at the recommendations they consider unrealistic and could put them at high risk for infection.
North Carolina has recorded over a total of 100,000 coronavirus cases so far, according to Johns Hopkins University. Wake County as a total of 9,630 confirmed cases according to JHU.
Thales Academy did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
