RALEIGH — Wake Tech students will be able to be on campus in the fall, officials said Thursday.

The community college will offer the choice between in-person, online-only and hybrid classes during the fall semester, which starts Aug. 16.

“We’ve been carefully ‘nudging toward normalcy’ over the spring semester,” college president Dr. Scott Ralls said in a statement. “With vaccines becoming available and safely protocols in place, Wake Tech staff and faculty have been busily preparing our campuses to resume normal operations. We can’t wait to welcome our students back this fall.”

Wake Tech moved to 100% online instruction in March 2020. The college gradually added back in-person instruction at a reduced capacity for hands-on classes, such as labs, for the current semester. The campus has upgraded its air filtration systems, according to Ralls.

FCS Virtual Academy

Franklin County Schools will offer a full-time virtual academy during the 2021-22 school year.

The academy will offer completely online learning with FCS teachers. Students will receive 5-6 hours of instruction with at least two hours of live instruction, the district said.

Students' daily schedules will be set up much like their in-person peers with high school students receiving four semester-long courses, officials said.

The students will be enrolled in their base school, meaning if they live in Franklinton High’s attendance area, they will be recorded as being enrolled at Franklinton High while part of the virtual academy.

The program is free. Students will be issued a district-owned Chromebook.

Current families will receive applications from their children’s school starting April 12. New families, such as those transitioning from private schools, should complete the online form at bit.ly/FCSENROLLMENT.

All applications are due by May 15 with families being notified of acceptance by June 11.

For more information, visit fcschools.net.

Clusters

Seven child care centers and several K-12 schools in Wake County no longer have ongoing clusters, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. A cluster is considered over after 28 days without a new confirmed case of COVID-19. 

Eight child care centers in Wake County still have clusters, but they haven’t seen an increase in cases in the last week. This includes outbreaks at Foundations Academy, Wakefield Creative School, Millbrook Kindercare, Little Learners Magic Moments Preschool, Oak Village Academy, Precious Lambs Early Learning Center, The Goddard School - Ridge Road and Little Lambs Learning Center.

Five K-12 schools have ongoing clusters, including two public schools: Lincoln Heights and Zebulon elementary schools. No new cases have been reported in clusters at Cary Christian School, Envision Science Academy and Casa Esperanza Montessori School.

Franklin County has one ongoing cluster at Precious Beginnings Daycare, which hasn’t seen an increase in cases from last week.