CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — The big question for school leaders is whether or not to continue virtual learning into the Fall 2020, or bring students back into the classroom.
School districts in Southwest Florida said all options are on the table at this point. One is even considering having students in the classroom part time and doing part-time virtual learning.
Michael Riley with Charlotte County Public Schools said parents, teachers, and students can agree that learning from home has been hard the past couple months
“As far as for the kids, this is tough. This is tough,” said Riley.
He said and unfortunately it may continue next year.
“We’re looking at just going ahead with e-learning just like we’re doing now,” he said.
He said Charlotte County is also considering a hybrid program where students spend half the time learning in the classroom, and part-time learning online. The details haven’t been revealed yet.
He said sole virtual learning could be difficult for some students who hadn’t logged onto virtual learning since March.
“We had about 1.5 percent, which would be about 250 of our students who never did log in,”
It’s unclear if that was any of the 350-500 homeless students the district has enrolled on any given year, but Riley said it’s possible.
If the pandemic continues, Riley doesn’t see students learning on campus this upcoming year. Especially with the Centers for Disease Control’s social distancing guidelines.
“Then you look at lunches, serving lunches. You can have 800 kids in a cafeteria on two or three shifts. It’ll be very, very difficult,” said Riley.
The Florida Department of Education is asking parents what they think. In an online survey the DOE wants to know how they feel about students returning to campuses in the fall.
A Lee County Schools board member also shared that district is putting a task force together to make decisions for the next school year. and collier county school district says school leaders are talking regularly about it.
One thing Riley says he doesn’t have to question. the students resilience when it comes to hard times.
“They went through Hurricane Charley here. And now this. So, they’re tough,” he said.
Riley said the district’s ultimate decision will be based on what Governor Ron DeSantis and the Department of Education decide.
