When the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading in North Carolina in March of 2020, public schools were forced to close their doors. First for two weeks, then for the rest of the school year. During that time teachers and administration worked hard to develop best practices on the spot for virtual learning. 

Two women presented a petition to the Jackson County School Board during an Oct. 27 meeting asking the board to consider retiring the Rebel mascot at Cullowhee Valley School. 

Since public school systems have returned to in-person instruction, more COVID-19 cases are being reported in Western North Carolina. 

Elementary schools will open their doors and welcome students back over the next few days, and middle and high schools are getting into the groove of remote and in-class learning. Planning by administrators and teachers has been underway for months. 

By Boyd Allsbrook • SMN Contributor | What do To Kill A Mockingbird, Harry Potter, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and 1984 all have in common? Apart the obvious fact of their bookhood, you’d struggle to find anything thematically similar between them. But this assortment of classics, modern novels, and fantasies are all related in an important way. All have, at some point, been banned from schools or libraries. 

Elementary school students in Haywood County will return to school full-time beginning Oct. 5. 

Students in Haywood County will return to in-person learning Monday, Sept. 28, after being fully remote since the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic in mid-March. 

Haywood County Schools is scheduled to reopen for remote instruction on Monday, Aug. 31 after a significant cyber attack last Monday forced the school system to take down most technology services in order to stop the corruption of school system servers and computers.

After students and staff were exposed to positive cases of COVID-19, Macon County Board of Education decided to suspend face-to-face instruction at Union Academy, Mountain View Intermediate School and Macon Middle School beginning Aug. 26 through Sept. 11.

By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | Internet technology has become the backbone of schools in the time of COVID-19. E-learning has allowed students to carry on their studies while safely at home on a historic scale. However, this reliance on technology has its pitfalls; school systems are now more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks.