Caldwell County School Board Approves Partnership with Duke University

LENOIR, NC (January 22, 2021) — The Board of Education recently approved a partnership with the Duke Clinical Research Institute, one of the world’s largest academic clinical research organizations that is part of the Duke University School of Medicine.

A study within the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) analyzed COVID-19 transmission for in-person schooling during the first nine weeks of the first quarter. According to the study published in Pediatrics, data from nearly a dozen school districts in North Carolina shed new light on the safety of attending school during a pandemic – the rate of transmission within schools was much lower than the rate of community spread of the disease. This study concluded that there were few cases of transmission within schools.

“We are excited to be part of this collaborative,” said Superintendent Dr. Don Phipps, “which has been formed to help school leaders make informed decisions about returning to school using data from their own communities.”

The Caldwell County Schools provides data within the specification of student privacy and records’ protection, and in turn, the collaborative offers the school district COVID-19 comparative analysis, research projections, and prevention strategies with the ultimate goal to keep teachers, children, and the local community healthy and safe.