With the threat of wintry mix and freezing temperatures on Wednesday night, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools each announced they will operate on a two-hour delay for Thursday morning.
The Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools district shared its announcement with families at 4 p.m., saying the delay will not only provide more time and daylight to help improve any slick road conditions, but will be used to ensure that conditions are not “unexpectedly worse” from the storm. A confirmation of a two-hour delay or further change in instruction will be shared early on Thursday.
As of now, CHCCS will have its elementary schools start at 9:50 a.m., middle schools start at 10:25 a.m. and high school start at 10:55 am. — while all levels of schools will dismiss at their typical times in the afternoon. The delay also means the morning bus routes will run two hours behind their normal schedule. If conditions hold, CHCCS added that afternoon activities and events planned through the district can take place, but warned that updates could come from activity leaders, event planners and coaches.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools returned to normal instructional hours in classrooms Wednesday after holding remote learning days Monday and Tuesday after Winter Storm Gianna dumped several inches of snow across the community. The district has now used four of its five allotted remote learning sessions available.
Meanwhile, Orange County Schools tentatively plans to have students return to classrooms for the first time in nearly two weeks. In its two-hour delay announcement, which came at 4:46 p.m., the district said it will similarly use the delay on Thursday to assess the road conditions, checking not only any impacts from overnight weather but also lingering ice and snow from Winter Storm Gianna this past weekend.
Orange County Schools used its five remote learning days in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern in January, meaning it can now only cancel instruction entirely in the event of inclement weather. OCS did just that after Winter Storm Gianna, with schools closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Because of that, the district is converting a teacher workday scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16 to a typical day of class. This will keep Orange County Schools in line with state law requiring public schools to hold either 185 days or 1,025 total hours of instruction.
In its alert on Wednesday, Orange County Schools indicated its “Ready, Set, Kindergarten!” event for families whose children will be turning 5 years-old and transitioning to elementary school is on track to be held Thursday evening. Families can drop by the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. for advice and Q&A opportunities about preparing for kindergarten, with pre-registration ongoing.
Chatham County Schools operated on a two-hour delay schedule Wednesday after cancelling classes Monday and Tuesday. As of 5:30 p.m., no announcement on the district’s plans for Thursday had been made.
Featured image via Matherly Collins/The Daily Tar Heel.
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