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Palm Beach County public schools plan to stop offering distance learning when the school year ends, meaning all students at traditional schools will have to return to campus in August, Schools Superintendent Donald Fennoy announced.
In an email to parents Friday, the school district's chief executive said families should expect all students to be required to attend classes in person when the new school year begins Aug. 10.
"Afull return to brick and mortar this fall is anticipated, and I believe it is in the best interest of our students and staff," Fennoy said.
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The superintendent said that with vaccination rates rising and mounting evidence that virtual classes hurt students' academic progress, establishing aregular classroom setting for all students would be a welcome return to normalcy.
"I cannot overstate the academic, socialand emotional benefits of returning to in-person instruction," he said. "Students thrive while learning among friends and caring adults in their school setting."
Resuming in-person classes for all students "will put an end to simultaneous instruction, which we all know has been a very heavy lift for our teachers, and has left many distance learning students struggling academically," he said.
The announcement appears to resolve a large, long-standing question for tens of thousands of parents and school employees about what the next year will look like.
It comes amid an emerging consensus among public health leaders that schools can safely reopen with proper safeguards.This week, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said she expects all schools to be completely open by September.
"We should anticipate, come September 2021, that schools should be full-fledged in person and all of our children back in the classroom," CDC DirectorDr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC News Wednesday.
The announcement also represents something of a reversal for Fennoy, who has said previously that he expected to offer parents a distance-learning option next year.
But the superintendent said that his decision was driven in part by state mandates.
Public schools across Florida are allowed to teach students online under emergency orders issued by the governor and education commissioner. Fennoy said a factor in his decision was "the State’s strict stance that K-12 campuses must remain open," suggesting he believes those orders may be retracted.
Indeed, last week Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran told reporters his goal for next year is to "get everyone back in the classroom."
School Board member Barbara McQuinn praised Fennoy's decision to announce the cancellation of distance learning four months ahead of time, saying doing so provides some certainty for parents.
“I’m glad he has gone ahead and made the call now," she said.
She added that she supported calling back students to the classroom, saying most would benefit.
“I think there are some exceptions, but most students do better with a teacher in front of them," she said.
A narrow majority of the district's roughly 170,000 students have resumed learning on campus, but many high schools and middle schools still remain mostly empty.
The announcement was applauded by the county's teachers union, which has decried the burden of "simultaneous instruction," in which teachers are tasked with teaching children in the classroom and at home at the same time.
"We need to return to normal and the vaccine and the knowledge we have gained on COVID-19 mitigation techniques will allow us to do just that," said teachers union President Justin Katz.
Calling back all students to campus could present new legal and political complications regarding the use of facial coverings.
Currently, all students and employees are required to wear masks on campus. If the mask requirement continues and parents who oppose masks no longer have a distance-learning option, conflicts could ensue.
“You have many parents who are saying ‘No, I don’t want them to have to wear a mask all day,’” McQuinn said. “In my mind this is going to have to be worked out.”
Parents who are reluctant to send their children back to campus in the fall still have a school districtoption: the district's virtual school.
Space is limited, however. And enrolling in the district's virtual school would require a student to unenroll from their previous school.
McQuinn said as part of the district's return to full in-person learning, administrators are considering adding extra capacity at its virtual school.
“We’re looking at expanding our offerings," she said.
The district announced Friday evening that K-5 students can enroll full-time next year in Palm Beach Virtual School from April 21 - July 15. Students in grades 6-12 can enroll from April 12 - Aug. 20.
More information is available at PalmBeachVirtual.org.
amarra@pbpost.com
