New Hanover County Schools Board of Education Chair Stefanie Adams surprised families when she said she would no longer support moving into Plan A. (Port City Daily photo/Alexandria Sands)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY – New Hanover County Schools has once again changed its plan for elementary schoolers in the spring semester.
Students will not return in-person to classrooms full-time starting Jan. 19 as planned. Instead, K-5 students will continue in Plan C, all remote learning, for an additional week.
On Jan. 25, elementary schools will resume Plan B, a hybrid model in which students attend school face to face twice a week and learn from home the remainder of the days. In all three scenarios, families are given a 100% remote option.
The Florida Department of Health reported 71 new cases of COVID-19 in Volusia County schools and 29 new cases in Flagler County schools last week.
The state has tallied a total of 825 cases in Volusia and Flagler schools a number that includes private school cases between Sept. 6 and Dec. 12. That s 116 more cases than were reported in the previous week.
Differing numbers reported by the different entities have been a problem all year. According to a FAQ on the state s coronavirus update web page, any inconsistencies should be taken up with the district and not the state. The numbers presented by the state are collected by county health departments and through state epidemiological investigations.
High schools in the two districts continue to report the most cases per site. This week, Flagler Palm Coast High reported an additional 10 cases, bringing its total to 41. In Volusia County, DeLand High has the highest number of cases with 31.
Differing numbers reported by the different entities have been a problem all year. According to an FAQ on the state s coronavirus update web page, the inconsistencies should be taken up with the district and not the state. The numbers presented by the state are collected by county health departments and through state epidemiological investigations.
The districts usually report more cases, but the state s report includes a breakdown of how many cases are in each school information the districts have been unwilling to provide. Neither agency is providing information about how many students or staff members are in quarantine. However, last week nearby St. Johns County reported that almost 1,500 students were in quarantine after being expos