Ann Doss Helms

How do you grade students who are learning from home, some of them without internet access, adult guidance or other means to keep up?

North Carolina's year-end testing is likely to be put on hold for this year, as students face at least nine weeks of learning from home to avoid the coronavirus.

It was a strange morning in the Olde Providence parking lot Wednesday, what with the suit of armor wearing a surgical mask and the teachers whooping it up like it was Friday night before a big game.

Then again, there haven’t been any normal days at the south Charlotte elementary school or anywhere else, with schools closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston wants an additional $36.8 million from the county for the coming school year. 

It wasn’t a surprise, but it was still kind of shocking: North Carolina students will have at least nine weeks carved out of their classroom time because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the best-case scenario, they could return on May 18 for a very truncated school experience.

Life amid the coronavirus in North Carolina is about to get more restrictive. First, Governor Cooper announced today that the closing of all schools is extended to May 15. And additional businesses. 

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board’s student representative is getting a lot of public love after he grilled the adults in the room at an emergency board meeting this week.

North Carolina’s public schools are moving fast to create emergency child care, meals for students and online learning plans, a state official told the state Board of Education Wednesday.

Deputy Superintendent David Stegall, who is leading the Department of Public Instruction's coronavirus response, and state board chair Eric Davis, say some questions remain unanswered, including how to ensure seniors can meet graduation requirements and whether the two weeks of closing that Gov. Roy Cooper ordered Saturday can count toward required school time if distance learning is provided.

Updated to reflect Monday night's CMS board meeting.

Last week schools across North Carolina and South Carolina hummed with energy of students learning.

This morning every public school in North Carolina is closed as state and local officials hash out a strategy for keeping kids safe and educated during what could be a prolonged closure for coronavirus protection. The first steps were taken in a series of weekend meetings and phone conferences.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order Saturday closing all K-12 public schools in the state for at least two weeks and prohibiting gatherings of 100 or more people amid coronavirus concerns.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board voted Friday to move up spring break in hopes of buying time to prepare for possible longer closings.

Union County, Gaston County and Iredell-Statesville Schools have joined CMS in canceling or restricting field trips to slow the spread of coronavirus, as the World Health Organization declared the virus and disease it causes a pandemic.