Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Here’s how online schools will work in South Florida
Districts will be offering laptops to families that need them
South Florida schools are embarking on an abrupt and unprecedented switch to online education, in an effort to ensure students continue to learn in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
This experiment, the result of an order by Gov. Ron DeSantis to keep schools temporarily closed, begins in Broward and Palm Beach counties after students return from next week’s spring break. Broward makes the virtual switch on March 30; Palm Beach County starts March 31. MiamiDade schools are already underway, as online classes started
Monday.
Online only education could last anywhere from two weeks to the rest of the school year. Here’s how it will work.
Will families supply their own computers or will the districts
provide them? Both. Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie announced that 90,000 laptops will be issued to parents at their children’s schools from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
Families who already have computers do not have to show up. The district has 240,000 students, so it’s unclear if the district will have enough.
“We understand that not every student has a computer at home, and we will be able to lend a laptop to students in need on a firstcome, first-served basis,” Ian Murray, principal at Indian Ridge Middle in Davie, wrote to parents.
Chief Academic Officer Dan Gohl said he believes there are enough laptops “to meet demand at most and hopefully all schools.” The district will determine if more computers are needed after Friday’s distribution, he said.
Palm Beach County schools have 110,000 Chromebooks to give
out. The district is asking parents to fill out a survey describing what technology they have at home and what they need. So far, 46,000 have responded, with 6,000 saying they need a device and 2,000 saying they need internet. Devices will be given out at students’ schools after spring break. There would be one device given out per household, officials said.
Miami-Dade County has distributed 50,000 devices already, and distribution continues through Friday. A district spokeswoman says they have plenty of computers to meet demand.
Low-income families who don’t have internet and live in Comcast service areas can sign up as new customers and get 60 days of free internet. The price increases to $9.95 per month after that. For details, go to www.internetessentials.com.
Teachers will have the capability to do live or recorded sessions. Most online courses offered through colleges and Florida Virtual School, a statewide all online school, are generally designed to allow students to work at their own schedules. Teachers offer video instructions and lesson plans and give students materials to review and assignments to perform by a deadline.
Teachers in Broward and Miami-Dade are required to have office hours for three hours a day where they are available to interact with students by phone, email or online chat. Palm Beach County teachers will have office hours where they’re available for video chat.
“This is so they can still see the face of a teacher. That’s really important. Even if it’s on the screen, it’s something,” said Diana Fedderman, assistant superintendent in Palm Beach County.
In Broward County, some have and some haven’t, according to Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco. A formal online training is scheduled for Friday. “The district has a staff ready to help with any training and troubleshooting needed,” she said.
Most Palm Beach County teachers have received some online training, but not likely to the level they’ll need for this effort, said Justin Katz, president of the county’s Classroom Teachers Association. Training will be held Thursday and March 30.
Miami-Dade teachers are already instructing classes online.
Students are expected to be graded, but details are still being worked out.
The state has canceled standardized testing set for this spring, including end-of-course exams, which generally count toward a student’s grade. But the online systems do allow teachers to grade students’ work.
Miami-Dade, which started its online courses this week, authorized teachers to only count grades this week if it helped students for the third nine-week period, which ends Friday.
“None of us want students penalized academically while everyone adjusts to this new normal,” the district wrote in a list of frequently asked questions.
None of the South Florida districts have released plans for how grading will work for the final nine weeks of school, which starts after spring break.
Yes. All three counties have schools that serve as distribution sites for free meals, provided on a take-out or drive-through basis. Broward County keeps its list on its browardschools.com/coronavirus website. Nine schools currently offer meals, but more are expected to be added after spring break.
Palm Beach County sites are available here. Miami-Dade is currently offering take-out meal service at all its schools.
Yes, the state or districts have an online curriculum for every major class, even ones that involve more hands-on learning than book learning. Florida Virtual School offers many of these courses, and the classes often blend reading materials and participating in online activities with real-life experiences.
For example, Florida Virtual School has taught online P.E. for years, where students have learned exercise techniques and health information online, and then do an exercise of their choice and measure their heart
rates.
Broward students and teachers access students’ individual education plans through the online system, according to the office of Broward schools Chief Communications Officer Kathy Koch. Officials from all three districts say they have online classes and resources to assist students with special needs.
They will need support from an adult, such as their parent or guardian, Runcie said. “That’s the reality we’re in. Parents are going to have to be more involved in their child’s learning process, and at the end of the day, that’s probably a plus.”
The online education platforms offer flexibility so teachers can assist their own children as well as children they instruct at different times. “Teachers are resourceful. Just like any other parent that will have to work, they will make it work,” said Fusco of the Broward Teachers Union.