JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Duval County Public Schools, along with teachers, students and parents, had the chance to share their experiences during a virtual roundtable Tuesday.
“Coming back into a school with the pandemic, students are scared because they don’t know if they’re going to attract something that they’re going to take back to their home and possibly kill a family member," Seabrooks High School student Winston Alan-Jamal said.
The panel, which included Jill Biden, discussed challenges students are juggling both in class and virtually.
“We’re lucky we have great internet, we have enough devices for our kids to be online and for us to be online at the same time, but this just isn’t true for every family," DCPS parent Sunny Gettinger explained.
One teacher chimed in said safety and the lack of resources have been her biggest concerns so far.
But as far as student and teacher COVID-19 cases, how is the district doing after two and a half weeks back in the brick-and-mortar setting?
As of Tuesday night, Duval County Public Schools COVID-19 dashboard is reporting 34 cases since the start of the new school year.
The First Coast News On Your Side team decided to see how DCPS compares to other similar-sized districts around Florida.
Pinellas County Schools and Polk County Public Schools are most like Duval -- but are both a little smaller – when it comes to the number of students and schools.
Pinellas County Schools COVID-19 dashboard is reporting 39 cases, just 5 more than what DCPS is reporting.
Although, Polk County Public Schools COVID-19 dashboard is reporting 82 cases – about 2.5 times more cases than DCPS.
Both Florida districts started on Aug. 24. Duval students have been in classes two more days.