FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County public schools will continue distance learning on Aug. 19 and parents will get to choose if students will attend a morning or an afternoon session.
School board members met Wednesday to discuss preparations. Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said administrators are using their experience during the last three months to improve the quality of education.
“Our teachers are receiving additional training over the summer and this training will continue throughout the school year, so they will be most effective in engaging our students,” Runcie said.
Runcie said he is most concerned about providing options for students who are learning to speak English and who require more individual attention due to disabilities.
Those special needs students will be returning to the classroom a few days a week. Runcie said the district has all of the resources needed to be able to accommodate those students safely in schools by following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
After the meeting ended, Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a speech saying he wants schools to reopen. Miami-Dade County Superintendent Alberto Carvalho met with CDC officials. He has said the district’s decision to reopen schools will be congruent with a coronavirus test positivity rate that is lower than 10%.
Broward County school district administrators are preparing to publish the final instructions for parents on the Broward County public schools website. Miami-Dade County’s school district will be announcing the board’s decision next week.
ACCESSIBILITY
Administrators are working with Comcast and AT&T to help about 2% of the parents, some of whom are homeless or in areas that are not connected, to access free mobile hot spots.
The students who prefer physical textbooks will be able to go to a drive-by pickup event on campus.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
The school board is also working to offer two shifts to help parents who need to juggle both work and home school. Parents have to make a decision and stick to it for the rest of the year.
- The elementary school’s morning shift will be from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the evening shift is from 2 to 9:30 p.m.
- The secondary school’s morning shift would be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:55 p.m.
HELP WITH HOMEWORK
Students will have access to the Live Homework Help Broward etutor from 2 to 11:55 p.m. The Broward County Public Library program offers free tutoring in math, science, social studies, English, foreign language and writing.
Here are a few illustrations on display during the school board meeting:
SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOL