Clay County parents have until midnight Saturday to select their child’s learning environment for the spring semester.
While the semester does not start until Jan. 20 for Clay County School District students, Superintendent David Broskie said they need to start planning now and asked every parent fill out the form, even if they are not making a change to their student’s learning environment.
There are four learning options available: in-person learning through brick-and-mortar classrooms, virtual learning through OneClay online, virtual learning through Virtual Academy, and a blend of in-person and online instruction through Blended Learning.
“We’d like to ensure great customer service for our families and our students out there in Clay County," Broskie said. “In order to do that, we simply need to know what environment you are choosing. Remember, we staff teachers and move personnel based on the need of students. And without knowing that information, it makes it almost impossible to do that. So we want to provide you an environment you want. To do that we need a little help from you.”
[Click here to download the student second semester commitment form]
So far, Broskie said about 2,500 students have said they want to learn on campus in the spring.
Below are the district’s current enrollment numbers:
- 31,986 Brick and Mortar
- 1,480 Clay Virtual Academy
- 6,632 OneClay Online
- 1,307 Blended Learning
Broskie also said the district is not considering lifting the mask mandate at this time.
“We have almost daily communication with the Clay County Health Department. They have been an outstanding partner in helping mitigate the virus," the superintendent said. “So we constantly review that. If conditions change, we’ll readdress it. We are open to that. We have to wait for the conditions to be right.”
Asked about whether the administration or school board had discussed the possibility of shifting in-person learning to virtual instruction over the holidays given the national surge in COVID-19 infections, Broskie said they had not. He said they plan to continue with the district’s current format.
“Over 76 percent of our parents have said this is our format that they want for their child," he said. "We believe it’s on the school system to provide the service our parents and students want and need. Clearly in Clay County our parents have spoken and our students want to be back with their colleagues. I would also say that requires everyone’s cooperation and to use good judgment, especially with social gatherings and mitigate the virus so it doesn’t get in the school.”