Orange County Schools students will see another day of remote learning on Thursday, Jan. 29, as the district said it would continue to prioritize caution as below-freezing temperatures led to lingering ice in the community.
Chatham County Schools took their concern a step further, calling off instruction for Thursday and designating it as an optional teacher workday. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, meanwhile, expressed enough confidence in their crews’ clearance around campuses that it announced a two-hour delay for in-person instruction.
A message from the school district — which covers central, northern and much of western Orange County — alerted families and students at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The move marks the third consecutive day of remote learning in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern and is the fourth of the academic year for Orange County Schools.
“Our Transportation team is visually checking roads morning and evening,” said the district’s official communication. “We can confirm that many important routes in our county are still unsafe for travel, with temperatures expected to remain below freezing until Thursday afternoon. Our Operations team is also busy preparing campuses to reopen safely, and we are thankful for our collaboration with state and local authorities who help us evaluate conditions for safety in Orange County and beyond.”
The post shared on Facebook with the district’s message included several photos of roads that still had icy patches, which could create issues for school bus transportation and typical travel. Similarly, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office shared on its Facebook that while main thoroughfares are mostly cleared, the low temperatures are causing shady spots on rural roads in the county to still be “dotted with sheets of ice.”
North Carolina public schools are allowed five remote learning days a year amid requirements to hold either 185 days or 1,025 total hours of instruction, meaning Orange County Schools has just one remaining. Each school system can structure their calendar to build in buffer days for weather before scheduled teacher workdays or vacation days have to be changed to instructional days. Orange County Schools already canceled classes for two days in early December out of concerns for road conditions.
Because of Orange County Schools holding remote instruction and due to the weather forecast, the school district also announced its enVision Math Night for kindergarten through eighth grade students and families has been postponed from Thursday evening. The new date and location is now Thursday, Mar. 19 at A.L. Stanback Middle School.
Similar to Orange County Schools, the Chatham County Schools district has held remote learning this week and has used almost all of its remote learning days available. In addition to cancelling classes for Thursday, the annual district-wide spelling bee set to be held at Seaforth High School was postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 4. The district also shared photos on social media indicating the icy roads their transportation teams saw within its community.
Meanwhile, CHCCS credited its operations staff for working Wednesday to prepare the district’s schools for a safe reopening, saying they “made a lot of progress” on Wednesday. The delay will provide crews additional time to treat icy patches on school grounds and provide road users more time and daylight to safely travel. School buses will arrive to routes two hours later than they normally do and the daily schedule across the district is:
- Elementary schools starting at 9:50 a.m. and dismissing at the usual time of 2:35 p.m.
- Middle schools starting at 10:25 a.m. and dismissing at the usual time of 3:20 p.m.
- High schools starting at 10:55 a.m. and dismissing at the usual time of 4 p.m.
“For everyone: ‘Thank you’ isn’t nearly enough, but on behalf of the district, we extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation for your attention, thoughtfulness, flexibility and feedback during this latest winter weather event,” wrote CHCCS in its alert to families. “We’re also keeping an eye on the snowy forecast this weekend, and we plan to stay in touch as often as necessary.”
That forecast referenced by CHCCS is for another winter weather storm is brewing and expected to impact North Carolina. According to the trends shared Wednesday, the National Weather Service is predicting central North Carolina could see snowfall on Saturday, Jan. 31 paired with bitterly cold temperatures affected by a wind chill.
Featured photo via the Orange County Schools district.
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