Dear Valued Member,
In light of the current situation that we all find ourselves, it is my hope that you are doing well and remaining vigilant and optimistic. Because of the unprecedented pandemic and the domino effect that it has on our society and on your personal life, it is easy to understand that you may feel isolated and unsure about the future. During these times of uncertainty you can take comfort in knowing that you will receive ongoing, unbiased communications from the PENC Staff who work very hard to make sure that we are providing you with the most accurate information and the quality service you have come to expect.
As you are aware, the COVID-19 virus continues to spread across the world, the country, our state and our local communities. The news of the pandemic is fluid and continuously evolving. As an example from a state and national perspective, in Governor Cooper’s Executive Order Nos. 117 , decreed on Saturday, March 14 his language refers to a “Mass Gathering as 100 people” and 24 hours later Center for Disease Control (CDC) declared a mass gathering as “50 people.”
What is abundantly clear (and remains consistent) is that this is something that we all need to take seriously and protect ourselves by heeding the warnings of state and local governmental leadership. I strongly encourage you to be mindful about where you obtain your information; choose reliable sources as much of the currently available information may be skewed or somewhat biased.
You have probably met and collaborated with your local leadership earlier today. I hope that many of your questions have been satisfied, and that you have a clear direction and plans for dealing with the temporary school closures. If you are interested in additional information from the perspective of your professional organization, please do not hesitate to contact us via email or through our chat feature on our website located in the bottom right corner. If we do not know the immediate answer to your question, we likely know who to contact in order to answer your question.
PENC will continuously monitor education stakeholders and our government for the latest updates and will provide these in a timely manner. Thank you for being a part of PENC, and I always thank you for what you do for our children!
Best,
Bill Medlin
Executive Director
Professional Educators of North Carolina