Lowndes County School District’s decision Monday afternoon to offer virtual learning to all its students, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, came as a big relief for Carli Hankey.
The New Hope mother of two would have otherwise chosen to homeschool her second-grade daughter instead of sending her into LCSD’s traditional learning environment after two weeks of a “hybrid” environment next month. The district’s initial plan, released Friday, did not include online learning after Aug. 20, except for students with a doctor’s note confirming a medical reason to stay home.
Students now have the option of learning online without any special circumstances or permission if their families do not feel comfortable sending them back into school buildings. Families have until July 31 to sign their children up for a virtual or an in-person option.
Hankey and other parents told The Dispatch they feel returning to a traditional school environment is too risky while cases of the virus continue to increase in Mississippi.
Hankey said her daughter might have qualified for the medical exemption, but LCSD did not appear to view virtual learning as a viable option, stating in a survey administrators sent to parents that long-term virtual learning did not measure up to face-to-face instruction.
Homeschooling materials are expensive but seemed like a worthier investment at the time, Hankey said.
“(It would be) a strain on our family financially, but it’s the safer option because we have a newborn as well,” she said.
Parents and guardians’ concerns since Friday’s announcement prompted Superintendent Sam Allison to take a second look at the district’s plans. He met with other administrators Monday morning and then spoke with school principals before making a new decision, he said.
“It’s not that we didn’t want a virtual option,” he said. “It was more that we didn’t feel we could offer a virtual option that was comparable to the classroom, but in talking to principals and district staff, we want to serve our people (and) meet their needs.”
The board of trustees will decide at the end of the fall semester if virtual learning will still be an option in the spring. Hankey and Natasha House, also a New Hope mother of two, both said the timeline was their first question upon hearing the news.
House shared Hankey’s distaste for LCSD’s dismissal of virtual learning and said she sees it as a legitimate form of education.
“People do virtual learning all the time and they get the same certificate, diploma, education, et cetera as the person that is going to the campus school,” House said.
Like Hankey, House also considered homeschooling, as did New Hope grandmother Frances Blanton. One of her four grandchildren has asthma and finds it difficult to breathe through a protective face covering, which LCSD will require students to wear at school.
Blanton said she does not believe virtual learning is the best option for all students, since some need one-on-one interaction with teachers in order to learn, but her grandchildren will learn online for their safety. She believes the worst of the pandemic is yet to come and children should not return to school in person until at least September.
“How are you going to make a kindergartener keep a mask on?” Blanton said. “I have a hard time making (my granddaughter) keep it on when we go to town, so how are they going to keep it on all day at school?”
Hankey said she might find a remote part-time job since she does not have to homeschool, but she will still be closely involved with her daughter’s virtual learning.
“I want her to have the best education possible, but I also want her to be safe,” she said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.