ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Like many other school districts, St. Johns County is trying to figure out how to balance its plan for the new school year with this week’s state mandate to open schools in the fall.
Meanwhile, some parents are wondering if their children should go to a school building.
"It’s a scary time," Renee Unsworth of St. Augustine said. She has three daughters. One just graduated, one is in high school and her youngest is going into the fifth grade.
Unsworth, like most parents, dealt with virtual learning in the spring because of COVID-19.
"We survived it," she chuckled.
Now she and the other parents of St. Johns County school children have to choose from four options the district is offering for the fall.
Students can either go to a brick and mortar school, choose school-based distance learning similar to what was done in the spring, attend virtual school or do home education which is homeschooling.
This week, the Florida Department of Education announced its mandate for all school districts to open brick and mortar schools at least five days a week for all students.
St. Johns County Schools Superintendent Tim Forson said all four options will remain. Some tweaking may be needed, but he says the school-based distance learning still must be provided.
"I think we have to have it because we never want education to stop," Forson told First Coast News. "We have children who will have to be out for 14 days for self-isolation or we might have some children who are in households where someone gets ill with the virus. They're going to have to be out. So we've got to have that continuation of service."
While school districts are trying to figure out how to swing into a new school year during a pandemic, President Trump made his support known regarding opening schools in the fall. Wednesday morning he tweeted “May cut off funding if not open.”
When asked for his thoughts about the tweet, Forson said, "I think in Florida, without Department of Education, they’ve given us a road map to ensure funding. So I have confidence that whatever we do and put into place will meet the expectation s of that.. that funding is not compromised."
As for Unsworth, she and her husband haven’t decided how their daughters will learn this school year.
"We don't know. It’s hard to watch the numbers. It’s hard to watch the infection rate go up." She also said, "It’s scary to put them (our children) in any environment, indoors where they could potentially get someone else sick."