Robbinsville – Graham County Schools are making sure the void of instruction and meals are taken care of during the COV IS-19 pandemic.
During the Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent Angie Knight revealed that while 30-35 percent of students in the county have experienced some form of trouble accessing schoolwork at home – either due to availability or slow connectivity – the system is taking steps to ensure work is being delivered.
Flash drives have been purchased, where assignments can be loaded and worked on off campus. Teachers have also been using the meal distribution cycle to deliver assignments to their students and grants have been applied for to help with setting up hotspots around the county.
In the meantime, students can access a Balsam West hotspot at the courthouse, outside the Graham County Public Library, and WiFi at both McDonald’s and Wendy’s.
A resolution to grant Knight emergency powers was also presented to the board. The motion, which passed unanimously, gives Knight the flexibility to make changes to board policies without approval in order to keep up with recommendations and mandates handed down by government officials during the pandemic.
So far, Graham County Schools has modified system-wide curriculum and implemented the nutrition distribution schedule – which has seen roughly 1,000 meals a day distributed, bringing much deserved praise around the room for the hard work of the cafeteria staff.
“It has slowed down for us, but it has been almost hourly, seven days a week,” Knight said of the ever-evolving orders.
Along with the superintendent resolution, Knight also announced that Graham County Schools will be observing spring break, which begins next week. It will give staff and students a much-needed rest from the whirlwind pace that has been thrust upon the school system, including virtual classrooms and meal preparation. Knight added that the system has been working with MANNA Food Bank, the Duke Energy Foundation and Robbinsville United Methodist Church to make sure the most needed students receive meals during the break.
“The school staff has got to have a little break. We’ve went 400 percent,” Knight said. “Everybody that’s helping with these meals are just exhausted. The kids need a break; they had planned on it anyway, and we’ve been pretty vigilant about sending instruction home.
“There has been a huge need in the county for meal distribution and I could not be more proud of the school staff that have rolled their sleeves up and made that happen. Everybody’s had a part, in some way. It’s been a tough few weeks, but there’s also been a lot of blessings come out of it.
“We’re trying to find a silver lining in all this.”