With a Friday deadline looming, the parents of fewer than half the students in Orange and Seminole public schools have submitted their selections on how they want their children to learn in the fall. And so far, the majority are choosing virtual options.
Central Florida school districts are moving forward with reopening plans that include in-person, on-campus schooling — as required by the state — along with virtual options.
Judi Hayes, 47, Orlando has registered her incoming seventh grader and an incoming third grader, who has Down syndrome, for the LaunchED@Home option, in which students can have live lessons and a full school day from home.
The family selected the option that was best for keeping her sons connected to the school, community and their friends, while ensuring funding still went to Blankner School in Orange County.
“We don’t know what it’s going to look like. That’s our only path forward if we want to maintain a robust, strong and accessible form of public education,” said Hayes, who is also on the board of the Parent Teacher Student Association at Blankner and attended OCPS schools growing up.
The Orange County Public School district has received nearly 69,000 responses so far, with 64% preferring the LaunchED@Home option and 30% preferring face-to-face, according to the district on Wednesday.
There were about 212,000 students enrolled last year, but the numbers are “very fluid” at the moment, said Michael Ollendorf, district spokesman. Based on last year’s enrollment, this means roughly only a third of students in the district have selected an option so far.
Similarly, 5.8% prefer Orange County Virtual Schools and 0.7% listed “other” as their preference, according to the district
In Seminole County, 26,000 of more than 67,000 students in the district have selected an option. About 19,000 opted for an at-home option while 7,000 chose face-to-face learning, according to the district on Wednesday.
More than 3,900 chose Seminole County Virtual School with the “Save My Seat” option, which allows them to take their classes online but return to their traditional school when ready, while more than 7,500 chose Seminole Connect, a remote option that follows a school day schedule with live instruction, and about 7,600 chose a hybrid or traditional Seminole County Virtual School.
There are always students who want to take all their classes online through SCVS, but the “Save My Seat” option is for students who are choosing virtual school full-time in light of the coronavirus pandemic, said Michael Lawrence, Seminole’s district spokesperson. but plan to return to their respective schools next semester or school year.
About 46,400 still need to make their selection by noon on Friday, he said.
About 30 percent of parents in Osceola County had not made a selection for their children by the July 15 deadline, said Dana Schafer, the district’s spokesperson. They now are asked to contact their school directly to make their wishes known. School administrators are also making personal calls to parents they haven’t heard from yet.
So far, 47% of students in Osceola, or 17,858, have chosen face-to-face learning and 46%, or 17,480, have chosen digital learning with their assigned school, according to the district. About 6.7%, or 2,530, opted for Osceola Virtual School.
Parents in Lake County have until July 29 to make a choice for their children. Lake school officials did not respond to requests Wednesday for the number who have picked so far.
Central Florida schools are pushing for programs that keep children at home through the schools’ virtual programs, in order to not lose funding if a child switches to Florida Virtual Schools. If enough money is lost, teachers could potentially face layoffs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials say.
Reopening schools in Florida amid a spike of coronavirus cases has caused protests, debates and concern over what’s to come this school year. Central Florida teachers are arguing that being required to teach in classrooms may put lives at risk.
Two lawsuits filed this week by educators and parents across the state, are looking to delay the reopening of public schools. Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, in a tweet, said one lawsuit filed by Florida’s Teachers Union is “frivolous,” and that people are misunderstanding the situation.
In a brief speech in Tallahassee on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his view that schools need to reopen for in-person classes — with virtual options for students and teachers — but that Floridians “shouldn’t allow ourselves to be paralyzed by fear.”
DeSantis ordered schools shut down in March, and Beth Young of Orlando said spring semester wasn’t too difficult for her high-schooler but caused a lot of issues for her and her 7-year-old. Young recalls difficulties logging in and finding assignments, along with technical issues.
“It was just driving me bananas,” she said. “It was just so hard.”
Young is selecting the LaunchED option for the fall, but was initially wary about doing so.
The thought of a regular bell schedule amid a virtual platform is daunting, but Young said she works from home and believes her family will be able to make it work. Her youngest is sad she won’t be able to ride the school bus and see her friends, but her husband is in a “high-risk” category and she believes this is the best option.
“I know I’m luckier than many, many people, I have a job and can keep them at home,” she said. “But I’m also kind of worried about how it’s all going to work out.”
For Hayes of Orlando, the goal is to keep the momentum going to ensure her two children stay on track, and her third-grade son still has access and support to school resources. Spring semester was a rough transition to virtual, but she’s grateful she has the flexibility to help her kids and is worried about how in-person schooling will actually play out.
“It’s not going to look like it did before spring break,” she said. “Parents of kids will be very disappointed when they see the reality.”
dacassidy@orlandosentinel.com