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Stanly County Schools has posted three “Return to Work & School” surveys for parents, teachers and staff to gauge how they feel about returning to school in the fall.

The parent and student surveys ask which area of the district the children attend school, what grade span the children will be in for the upcoming school year and does the parent/student feel comfortable returning to school in August.

SCS said that while the district plans will “flexibly change over the months ahead, your response will help give us a place to start.”

The information from the surveys gives the school system “a feel for concerns parents and students may have,” said Superintendent Dr. Jeff James. “It also helps us plan how much remote learning versus face-to-face we need.”

The deadline for completing the surveys, which are also in Spanish, is June 30.

New health guidelines were released Monday to help K-12 schools find a safe way to reopen in-person instruction for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) lays out a set of baseline health practices that public schools should follow to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19 for students, staff and families. In addition to specific requirements, the Toolkit recommends practices schools should implement to minimize spread of COVID-19 while allowing in-person teaching to resume.

Some of the requirements include providing social distancing floor/seating markings in waiting and reception areas; providing marks on the floors of restrooms and locker rooms to indicate proper social distancing; and having staff monitor arrival and dismal of students to discourage congregating.

Though cloth face coverings are “strongly recommended,” they are not required.

Schools are also asked to plan for reopening under three scenarios:

• Plan A: Minimal Social Distancing — Will be implemented assuming the state’s COVID-19 data metrics continue to stabilize or move in a positive direction.
• Plan B: Moderate Social Distancing — Will be required if state’s COVID-19 data metrics worsen and it is determined additional restrictions are needed.
• Plan C: Remote Learning Only — Will be implemented only if state’s COVID-19 data metrics worsen to the point where in-person instruction is suspended and remote learning is necessary.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction, will determine how schools can safely reopen based on the state’s COVIS-19 metrics by July 1.