Cabarrus County parents and teachers call for more protection for students in the classroom

A group of Cabarrus County parents and educators is calling for more protection before the school district brings back students for more days of in-person learning.

The group gathered outside the Cabarrus County Schools Administration building Monday night, laying out their concerns.

"Every single parent, every single teacher, we want kids in the classroom,” Meredith Newman, a second-grade teacher at Patriots STEM Elementary, said. “We want to fully reopen, but it's just not safe for that yet.

Beginning Feb. 16, Cabarrus County Schools is planning for students in grades PreK-3, grades 4-12 exceptional students, English-language learners, 504, and McKinney-Vento students to transition to Plan A, which is four days a week of in-person learning and one day of remote learning.

The Cabarrus County Association of Educators, parents and other educators who attended Monday night’s news conference said they would like for all educators and staff to have access to the COVID-19 vaccine before returning to the school buildings.

The group wants a guarantee of six-foot social distancing for all students, as well as masks and handwashing. They would also like full transparency of virus infection data, including the exact number and school location of person-to-person infections in school buildings.