February 26, 2021
Dear parents/guardians,
New Hanover County Schools (NHCS) looks forward to welcoming students in grades pre-K through 5 back to our classrooms for daily in-person instruction under Plan A, beginning on Monday, March 8, 2021. Considering some students will choose to remain in full-time remote learning, and middle and high school students continue with a hybrid model under Plan B, NHCS is providing additional guidance to support virtual instruction.
Some families have experienced difficulty participating in live Zoom classes because of scheduling, child care, and technology issues. Therefore, NHCS will begin recording courses on Monday, March 1, 2021, to make teaching and learning available on-demand to support students who cannot attend classes in real-time. Recordings will be available for 30 days within individual online classrooms to provide opportunities for students to review their lessons.
During live instruction, comments may be visible and audible during recording. The recordings will focus on teaching as much as possible, and children and parents are permitted to turn off the camera on computers during classes. Attendance is taken in live classes on Zoom to encourage participation.
Under Board Policy 8700, this “directory information” may be disclosed only to students enrolled in the same online/virtual class who need to review audio or video recordings of particular online/virtual courses for instructional purposes:
- Name, to the extent it is displayed or referenced during the audio or video recording;
- Any photograph or pictorial representation of the student used in the online/virtual class session; and
- Any audio or video recording of a student participating in an online/virtual class session.
Parents/guardians who wish to prevent the disclosure of “directory information” as defined in this Policy must inform the school principal in writing not to release information about their student without prior consent. In such an event, the “directory information” will not be disclosed without parent/guardian consent except as allowed by law. Opting out of disclosures of directory information may limit the extent to which students are able to participate in virtual/online classes.
Parents/guardians and eligible students will be notified annually of their rights and privileges through each student’s final report card, school’s student handbook, and/or parent/guardian handbooks distributed to parents/guardians of all students enrolled in New Hanover County Schools, or other means approved by the Superintendent or designee. If a student has a primary language other than English, the school system will make a reasonable effort to notify the parent/guardian in that language.
We appreciate the support you provide students and schools and look forward to working with you to provide a high-quality education for every child as we complete a successful school year.
Sincerely,
Dr. Charles Foust
Superintendent
