Alachua County Public Schools students who study and learn online in the Alachua Digital Academy may keep doing so for the rest of the school year.
There had been worries that state education officials, in their zeal to push students back into physical classrooms, would take away the option.
The second semester of this school year begins Feb. 1.
Under an emergency order issued by Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in late November, Florida school districts must notify parents or guardians of students who aren’t making “adequate progress” in an online format so that they can be encouraged to return to in-person learning. The parent must indicate in writing if they want their child to move to in-person schooling or remain online, according to a news release from Alachua County Public Schools issued Monday.
Schools will send letters home to the families of students who are not making adequate progress based on grades, attendance and regular assessments. Families will be invited to meet with teachers or administrators to discuss the child’s progress and options before deciding how to proceed.
Letters to families of students not making adequate progress are scheduled to go out the week of Jan. 19.
The district will also expand support to students not making adequate progress whether they are attending in person or not. For example, additional staff will provide targeted help for individual students and small groups, and tutoring will be available before and after school and on Saturdays.
The district will increase efforts to ensure students are attending school either in person or online, including home visits and wellness checks, truancy teams, incentives and rewards for attendance, the release said.
