JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind — Greater Clark County Schools announced it will extend virtual learning the week of Sept. 7 due to the likelihood of positive cases following Labor Day weekend.
In an email to parents, GCCS said it will move to eLearning Sept. 7-10. Sept. 7 was already scheduled for eLearning as a professional development day, and the district said continuing virtual learning will decrease the potential spread of COVID-19 among students.
The week of Aug. 21-27, GCCS reported 57 positive cases and 523 student and staff quarantines.
"The three day extension of eLearning will allow all schools to recoup professional development time affected by close contact tracing procedures, catch up on deep cleaning issues affected by staff shortages, and maintain regular academic progress while scheduling support time with students who have been quarantined to provide catch up sessions," the district said.
Some Greater Clark parents are in favor of the change, telling WHAS it is better to be safe. Others, though, are scrambling for childcare options.
"If we had more advance notice, like at the beginning of the year, we could have set up stuff with my kids going to my mom," Jenny Ott said.
After the announcement, Ott rushed to make sure her kids would have childcare. They normally go to Youth Link of Southern Indiana, which serves around 500 kids from several districts.
The program is expanding next week to provide e-Learning services for Greater Clark families.
"It is a little bit different dealing with the virtual environment so we have to make sure staff understand what that looks like," Executive Director Tabitha Underwood said.
Services will be available to GCCS students from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $100 for the week of Sept. 7-10.
Ott said she's lucky, able to afford the service. Even with help, she knows her kids will struggle, saying they have special needs and are better off in person.
"I do wish they had offered the option for other parents so they could have offered virtual, because there would be less students there and less cases," Ott said.
Summer Smith thinks the district made the right choice. She said e-Learning will be safer and possibly more productive.
"They're being taught by subs which is fine but their environment at school isn't normal either," Smith said.
Underwood said if GCCS has to schedule more virtual learning days, Youth Link should be able to continue providing services.
"Last year taught us to pivot very quickly and how to adjust based on quarantines as well," Underwood said.
As of Tuesday, 38 students have already signed up for Youth Link's extended program. Priority is being given to parents they already serve. Underwood said they expect even more parents to sign up in the next week and the number of students they can take will be determined by staffing.
GCCS said teachers will be available every eLearning day from 9 a.m. to noon for immediate feedback and communication. They will then intermittently check emails throughout the school day.
Students will be marked as absent if they do not complete a Google Form each day. All work will be communicated through Google Classroom and should be submitted by Sept. 15.
GCCS will offer free food pick-up Sept. 7. Students will receive four breakfast and lunch meals.
Preschool programs will not be open during eLearning days and parents will not be charged for the week. Elementary athletics are canceled, while middle and high school athletics will continue their evening schedules.
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