Greensboro, N.C. – The Guilford County Board of Education is considering a plan to combine the district’s two virtual schools into one K-8 school.

Launched in fall 2020 during the early months of the pandemic, Guilford eLearning Virtual Academy (K-5) and Guilford eLearning University Prep (6-8) once served a total of over 4,000 students. Since that time, many of those students have returned to in-person learning, and enrollment has dropped to around 1,200 combined, a decrease of approximately 70 percent. Combining these schools into one K-8 school would allow for cost savings, increased efficiency and smoother transitions for students across grade levels.

Current students and staff were notified of the potential change through virtual meetings on Monday. The board will hold a public hearing about the merger at its next meeting on June 28, then vote on whether to combine the schools. If approved, the existing K-5 school would close, and the newly formed K-8 school would keep the name Guilford eLearning University Prep. The combined school’s physical address would be located at Gillespie Park Elementary.

High school students have the option to learn virtually for specific classes while remaining enrolled at their current schools through North Carolina Virtual (NCVPS) or Apex Learning Virtual School (ALVS).