BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said Wednesday his heart was aching for the district’s seniors who will not be able to experience prom and other related activities because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Runcie said the district is working on personalization and will launch a new platform for remote instruction on March 30th. The district will be distributing computing devices and parents will need to go to pick them up from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the student’s school.
“We have over 90,000 devices that are ready for distribution, should they be needed, basically laptops,” Runcie said. “We are also working to make sure that connectivity is available to those who don’t have it.”
Runcie said Comcast’s Internet Essentials will be providing free internet service for the first 60 days and then parents will have to pay a $10 monthly service. Runcie said officials are working with Comcast to negotiate a better rate.
“We have our curriculum and content that has been developed over the years,” Runcie said, adding students in music and the arts will be able to continue their work remotely.
Teachers will receive training on Friday. Runcie said district employees will not see any disruption in pay and the district will be answering specific questions at PayrollQuestions@browardschools.com.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday schools should remain closed until April 15 and the remaining state testing for the 2019-20 school year was canceled. Runcie said parents are going to have to be more engaged in their children’s education.
According to the Florida Department of Health’s latest report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 80 COVID-19 cases in Broward County by Wednesday morning.