CMS Reports A Positive Covid Spike For Staff, But Some Teachers Say The Infection Rate Is Even Higher

CHARLOTTE, NC. — CMS says 1,029 teachers were absent on Friday. They filled 400 of those spots with substitutes. The CMS metrics dashboard breaks down covid positive tests, quarantines, and clusters of students and staff by school. A CMS teacher who wants to remain anonymous questions whether the numbers are accurate.

“When I looked at the dashboard this morning and looked at the numbers from my school, didn’t reflect the reality that I know from being in school all last week. The numbers there were far lower than what I knew them to be both student numbers and staff numbers,” the teacher says.

The teacher says it’s important for the data to be accurate so the district knows if safety measures are working.

“That raised some red flags for me just because I think it’s so important that this data is accurate and that the community understands what we’re dealing with in school and with the level of risk is in our building.”

Central office and learning community staff are stepping in to help. Superintendent Earnest Winston subbed at Eastway Middle School Monday.

Steve Oreskovic is one of the hundreds of teachers out last week with covid.

“I had different people cover my classes different days,” Oreskovic says.

Because of a state law, district-wide virtual learning is not possible. Individual schools can go remote if there are not enough school personnel or because of required student quarantines. Orkeskovic says lawmakers need to rethink that.

“I wish the state cared more about kids than politics and would allow us to do some preventative here but obviously, that’s not the way things have gone.”