A laptop goes to all students for online classes
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Head custodian Travis Gilyard hands a laptop to a parent Friday afternoon. This initiative made sure every student at Moseley Elementary has a laptop to do online schooling.
The Putnam County School District is trying to ensure each of its students has the technology necessary to begin online classes Monday.
The school district finalized its instructional continuity plan this week, a strategy that includes temporarily providing students with laptops to complete their virtual coursework.
“We are providing laptops to any students who need it,” Superintendent Rick Surrency said.
According to Surrency, the Putnam County School District has a laptop available for each of its 11,000 students to ensure they can continue learning. He said the school district had given out 4,000 laptops as of Friday afternoon.
The computers are a loan, not a gift. They are to be returned to the school district at the end of the coronavirus schools interruption or the conclusion of the academic year, whichever occurs first.
Parents can call their child’s school to schedule an appointment to pick up a device. Laptops are being given away at every school in the district via drive-thru to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“(The drive-thru) has run smoothly,” said Sarajean McDaniel, Moseley Elementary School principal. “We were preparing all week for it and wiped down the Chromebooks. My staff did a good job of coming together and preparing.”
Surrency said teachers were trained on the district’s instructional continuity plan Thursday and Friday. He said they have been contacting parents throughout the week to see what students’ technological needs are. Chromebooks are being provided for those that are lacking.
Surrency said parents should contact their student’s school if they don’t hear from a teacher or a principal by Monday. He also said the school district has also been reaching out to the parents of children receiving exceptional student education to properly accommodate them.
“There have been some people who we haven’t been able to get a hold of because perhaps their contact information has changed,” Surrency said. “I ask that those parents contact their student’s school directly.”
In addition to calling and e-mailing parents, the school district posted a survey on its webpage to gauge how many students need assistance to complete the academic year.
The school district’s website includes information about its instructional continuity plan as well. Residents can find online learning plans by grade level on the website’s homepage.
Surrency said secondary schools will use Canvas, a web-based learning management system, to educate their students. Elementary school students will use different virtual programs to complete their coursework, he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis instructed all school districts in the state to reallocate unused 2019-2020 funds to help low-income students buy digital devices and internet services.
“It’s our goal to have 100% of our students complete their work online,” Surrency said. “That’s a new way of learning, but we have to be able to do that, especially during this period of time. Obviously, there will be some exceptions, and we will do the best we can to accommodate those students.”
The ability to connect online will be a problem for some, Surrency acknowledged. He said there are areas of Interlachen and Crescent City where students have little or no connectivity. The school district has partnered with the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce to help resolve this issue.
The chamber of commerce and the school district have found numerous local businesses that are willing to let students use their Wi-Fi from outside of their buildings. A list of those businesses can be found on the school district’s website and Facebook page.
For more information, visit putnamschools.org and, on the Facebook page, facebook.com/PutnamCountySchoolsFL.