Uncertainty regarding the coronavirus combined with a few operational factors has Pearland ISD weighing its options for the upcoming school year.
Superintendent John P. Kelly revealed the three options the district is considering, none of which include the Texas Education Agency’s intersessional calendar.
Recommended Videos
Kelly said the district’s most preferred option is to carry out a normal school year, which would require personal protective equipment and social distancing measures.
The second scenario the district is considering for its students is hybrid learning, which Kelly said is better than complete at-home learning but not as desirable as having every student physically return to school.
Hybrid learning would allow students to have some face-to-face instruction which Kelly hopes will help the online learning portion run seamlessly.
Following a hybrid learning model, students in pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade would come to school every day for half the day in either the morning or afternoon in order to help mitigate social distancing.
However, students in grades 5-12 would follow a different system since they could have up to seven classes to attend each day.
In that scenario, half the students would attend school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and participate in online learning on Tuesday and Thursday, then the groups would flip schedules the following week so that every student physically attends school the same amount of days.
Kelly said being able to teach students face-to-face part-time will help educators ensure at-school lessons are much better connected to at-home learning.
The district’s least favored option is complete at-home learning; however, the possibility is being weighed.
After abruptly transitioning from face-to-face to online learning this spring, students were told they would pass as long as they completed their school work.
Kelly said that would have to change if the upcoming school year is strictly online.
A final decision regarding the 2020-21 school year has yet to be made.
Watch the full interview with Kelly here: