MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Classes are back in full swing as winter break has come and gone. With a new year and a new semester comes new rules and changes.
"One of the first things we'll probably see are more of our students are choosing to come back brick and mortar,” Manatee County School Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said.
Meaning schools are starting to take steps back to normalcy this second semester, as their head count grows. Many students who previously chose to learn remotely are now back in the classroom.
“We knew that second quarter, we had seen an uptick already but collectively we are going to be somewhere between the 85 to 90% rate [during this second semester with students choosing in person learning],” Saunders said.
There are a total 40,960 students in the traditional school district. As of Friday, Jan. 8, 84 percent are on campus and 16 percent are eLearning.
The district says schools have until Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 to finalize their student data, so this information is subject to change.
And with more kids heading back to the classroom, Saunders says she can’t guarantee social distance.
“It's going to be a challenge, so I certainly do not anticipate that every classroom is going to be able to have 6 feet apart,” Saunders said. “But that is why the cleaning of the hands and the wearing of the mask is vitally important.”
Another change you’ll notice this semester is the hybrid schedule is no longer an option.
“Because so many students have chosen one or the other, we were not able to fully staff that,” Saunders said. “So, the hybrid model really will be not in play for second semester.”
But students still have that fully online option.
“It is filling a niche for some students and if they are successful with an online platform, I think it’s wonderful that we are able to keep that,” Saunders said.
She says if there is a class that doesn't have enough virtual learners, they’re making adjustments in order to not overwhelm teachers.
“We are really having to balance to make sure that we have enough brick and mortar teachers to make sure that our classes are not overcrowded,” Saunders said.
She says the district is “clustering” students who want to learn remotely and assigning a teacher.
“It could be that they are instructing students from a number of schools so that I am able to have a full class and offer that option, whether they are kindergarten all the way up to high school,” Saunders said.
Now if a student isn’t progressing academically, Saunders says they will be letting parents know that remote learning is not working for their child.
“eLearning has been a wonderful opportunity to allow us to navigate through this pandemic, but we also know it’s not the most optimal platform for all of our students,” Saunders said. “So those students that have not been successful and have not made academic progress as they should have, we are needing to work with them on different options.”
Saunders says one option, is encouraging them to come back to school physically.
“But we certainly cannot require, nor mandate them to come back into the building if a parent does not feel comfortable,” Saunders said.
But it will be required that a change is made. According the commissioner's emergency order, students who are failing remotely will be transferred into a different mode. They can pick either a brick and mortar school or a different virtual platform.
“If they really feel that an online platform is best for them, or homeschooling of any fashion is best for them, then we will work with them,” Saunders said. “They will then be asked to transfer the student from eLearning to that platform.”
She’s says they’re not doing this to be harsh, but they will be honest.
“Because we want to make them successful in their academic progress but also, they’ve got to feel comfortable with the health and safety of their child and their family,” Saunders said.
Saunders says they're also ramping up their precautionary measures.
“To date, the CDC did make some suggested new adjustments and we will be implementing that and communicating that with our parents,” Saunders.
She says they’ll be taking more of a proactive stance, not waiting until a confirmed case to take action.
“Because the infection rate has climbed over the break, they are suggesting that any student, whether they've tested positive or not, but if they have symptoms that we are treating them as a positive case,” Saunders said.
So, if a student has a fever, cough, or any cold-like symptoms they will be sent home to quarantine.
“They will need to be quarantined for 10 days, unless they have a negative COVID test or a note from a doctor specifying that they do not have any type of infection,” Saunders said.
She believes this will play a vital role in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in their schools.
“I also think it's going to be vitally important to have the vaccine readily available,” Saunders said. “And I do think that will also help reduce and diminish the spread."
The Manatee County School District is working with MCR Health in terms of vaccinations.
The county should be receiving many doses of the COVID vaccine for teachers of any age.
“We are hoping that when more vaccinations become available and they roll it out to the second tier. which would be teachers/employees within the district, we will have a system in place with MCR to make sure that all of those are vaccinated as well,” Saunders said.
Saunders says they have 304 employees in their school district, including teachers, who meet that current age requirement of 65 and older to get a COVID vaccine shot now.
MCR health was expecting a shipment of vaccines two weeks ago but have still not received any. Saunders says she's staying in close contact and hopes to start vaccinating those who want it very soon.
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