5 Iredell-Statesville Schools temporarily moving to virtual learning due to spike in COVID-19 cases

IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – Five Iredell-Statesville Schools will be temporarily operating on a remote-virtual schedule after an increase in COVID-19 cases and close contact quarantines.

The following schools will operate on a remote/virtual schedule until Friday, September 10:

East Iredell Middle School
West Iredell Middle School
Lakeshore Middle School
North Iredell High School
Central Elementary School 

“Our number one priority is to continue with face-to-face learning,” ISS spokeswoman Boen Nutting said in a released statement on Thursday. “Sending students home will hopefully mitigate the spread of COVID and allow us to come back healthy on September 13, 2021.”
 
Iredell-Statesville Schools operated on an “optional mask” policy until Tuesday, August 31, when the Board Of Education mandated masks beginning on September 2.  

“We are hopeful that the mandated mask policy will allow us to get back into the classrooms and reduce the spread of COVID as well as the number of close contacts.  When individuals aren’t masked or vaccinated, the quarantine rules inhibit our ability to keep kids in classrooms,” Nutting stated.  “While our community is utterly divided on the topic of masks, I believe that most of us agree that students need to be in the classroom. That’s our primary goal.”