TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Romules Durant laid out a new virtual school option for students Thursday, as many wonder what a post-coronavirus school year could look like.
The district notified the Ohio Department of Education of its plans to open an online virtual school for the 2020-2021 school year.
Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to provide guidance for reopening schools before July 1.
"We want to make sure the community knows that you have options moving forward in this fall school year. At the end of the day, we have some parents that are acting very quickly and wanting to put their kids in home school," Durant said.
TPS representatives say through this virtual classroom, students will receive a TPS Chromebook and a WiFi connections spot if they don't have access to these, as well as at-home learning packets and daily instruction from a certified teacher. There are other benefits available to the students, including daily meals and access to extracurricular activities and athletics, they said.
"Safety is the number one priority for Toledo Public Schools. We know that all families have different walks. Some are immune-challenged, some have parents and grandparents that they're concerned about and they don't want their student to physically attend," Executive Transformational Leader of Curriculum, Jim Gault said.
The virtual classes could begin as soon as the fall semester starts, and would be available to grades pre-K through 12. Enrollment for the virtual academy open July 1. Additionally, TPS staff is expected to announce the final school opening plans the week of July 6.
Leaders say the virtual classroom does not replace traditional learning, but does allow parents peace of mind if they're not ready for their kids to return.
"Whatever degree of safety they want, they can have. Whether it's full-time at home, half-time at home, or if the governor allows social distance restrictions, that allows all kids to come back, every child back within the building" Dr. Durant said.
TPS classes are scheduled to begin on Aug. 16.
TPS leaders are also asking parents to continue taking its survey available detailing how parents would like to send their kids back to school in the fall.
TPS will have three plans in place:
- A normal plan, which looks just like any other school year
- An A/B plan where your children would only be in the building with their group certain days a week
- And remote learning, which would offer a full curriculum online.
Parents can take the survey here until next June 26.
The school board is also held its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. That meeting was open to anyone.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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