School officials are robocalling and emailing parents of Springfield Public Schools students to let them know they can once again choose whether they would like their children to attend class either remotely or under a hybrid option. The hybrid option would have students report to school in-person on certain days of the week and learn online on other days.
Registering for the second half of the ’20-’21 school year is not necessary for those who wish to continue on with the option they first chose when registering over the summer. Almost all students have learned remotely regardless of how they were registered, other than a small number of students with special needs. On Nov. 13 it was announced those students and others would be transitioned out of school buildings due to the rise in COVID-19 cases. The school board is following public health metrics to determine when it could be deemed safe for students to return.
In an email to parents, superintendent Jennifer Gill wrote, “We are optimistically planning for the second semester. We have set a target date to return to the classroom with a hybrid model of learning on Tuesday, January 12, while still offering fully remote learning. We understand that your preferences for your student(s) may have changed, and we would like to give all families the opportunity to select their preferred learning model for the second semester.”
The deadline to make the change is this coming Monday, Nov. 30.
“While we have a plan for beginning hybrid learning, the return to this model in the second semester is dependent upon the COVID-19 metrics in our community,” the email from Gill sent on Tuesday reads. More information on how to register is here.
