Wake County demonstrates COVID-19 screening procedures all students will undergo before returning to class

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- In-person learning rotations begin October 26th for Wake County Public Schools however the back-to-school routine is well underway at Combs Elementary.

ABC11 was invited to get an inside look as staff members and their children at Combs Elementary demonstrate the procedures in place for students returning to class.

"Of course we have put great precautions in place. This is a week of fine tuning our safety procedures," Principal Muriel Summers said.

With nearly 110 of the school's 700 students coming back in the first week, teachers at Combs are already back on campus. The first thing that everybody has to do is get a temperature check and answer a series of health questions.

For adults, the task is simple but screening specialist Heather Barnes has been training with the oversight of certified nurses all summer long to ensure simplicity is the case for even the smallest students.

"I'll definitely just be taking it down a little bit to give them words they can understand. Quarantining that's a hard word. 'Have you had to stay in your house because someone is sick?'" Barnes explained.

Students who answer no will go to their classrooms, but first-grade teacher Tiffany Norman warns that will be different too.

"Just noticing the desks will be so far apart but realizing the reason why to keep everyone safe," Norman said.

With just days until classes resume, school staff are reminding families to expect delays.

"One thing we want to tell parents is that it's going to take a few minutes, so they're going to have to be prepared for that," Summers said.

The health screening protocols are mandatory. However the specific set up may vary from school to school