GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Guilford County Schools is on track to send grades 3-5 back to the classroom one week from today on January 5.
The metrics in the county are higher than the last time reentry plans were called off in the eleventh hour, so some parents aren't convinced it's really happening.
But a lot has changed since October when the gradual reentry plan was stalled, including a shift from an emphasis on COVID-19 metrics.
As of today, there is no indication the district will delay the Guilford County Board of Educations' voted-upon plans.
In fact, the district posted on Facebook and Twitter Monday that the back-to-school plan is still very much in motion.
In an interview a little more than a week ago, WFMY News 2's Jess Winters asked Superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras how concrete the back-to-school plan is.
Here was her response at the time:
"We are planning for students to return however we see the dire situation we're in with the numbers of individuals who have contracted the virus and we continue to talk to the health department we'll be talking to the board of education as well."
Tuesday's Guilford County COVID-19 data indicates the positivity rate at 10.9%.
School board members initially focused on metrics.
"Over the summer when they were coming up with their plan and whatnot the board said we had to have a lower than 5 percent positivity rate, and we’re not there," GCS mom Emily Harris said. Her son is a fifth-grader.
But the board has since additionally factored in mental health, learning loss and the success of mitigation strategies like mask-wearing and social distancing.
"My biggest concern is lack of communication from Guilford County Schools and lack of information about this hard shift from the metrics reemerging into school," Harris continued. "Why are the metrics no longer important?"
Another GCS mom who is excited for her daughter to return next week said the numbers aren't everything.
"I know the metrics are bad but there have been kids in school since August and they seem like they have enough things in place to handle issues as they come up," Emily Stevens explained. "I feel like parents who want to keep their kids at home have a lot more options."
Either way, Harris said she wishes the district would give consistent updates on the back-to-school plans since history shows things could change.
"It would be helpful if we got up-to-date calls saying 'this is what we're looking at, this is what we're doing,' not just a Facebook post because there's so much uncertainty out there."
The district couldn't be reached for further comment because of holiday break.
"I'm excited I hope they actually follow through with it and don't cancel last minute like they did in October," Stevens said.