During Tuesday night’s July 14th meeting the Osceola School Board approved to delay the start of the 2020-2021 school year by two weeks from Monday, August 10, to Monday, August 24. The delay of course is due to the continued infection rate of COVID-19 in Florida.
Teachers, VPK Paraprofessionals and Leads, IEP Assistants, Lab Assistants, Child Development Assistants, and PreK ESE staff members will return to work on August 10. They will have 10 days of pre-planning, to include a day dedicated to new safety protocols and a day dedicated to the instructional continuity plan, with the first scheduled instructional pay run remaining on August 19. Bus Drivers, another key employee group, will return to work on August 10, and have four days of practice runs and a day dedicated to the new safety protocols. Bus drivers will receive their first paycheck on August 14, as scheduled, have the week of August 17 off, and then return for the start of school on Monday, August 24. Paraprofessionals, School Nurses, and nine-month Office Aides will return to work on August 17, and receive their first paycheck on August 21, just two days beyond their current scheduled payday.
There will be no teacher workdays during the school year, with these days being moved to pre-planning; however, Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break will remain as scheduled, barring a school closure situation caused by a hurricane or other natural disaster.
The last four days of the school year, June 1-4, will be designated for make-up days or instructional professional development days.
For parents depending on child care August 10-21, the district will offer a special two-week extended learning summer camp at elementary schools.
“This decision was made as a result of the continued collaboration and guidance that we have received from the local Department of Health and local and state officials, along with our efforts to monitor and analyze the COVID-19 data in our community and to listen to feedback from our families and community members,” said Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace. “This new calendar will allow us to continue to monitor the data and work towards improvements in both the number of COVID-19 cases and the test positivity rate in Osceola County to ensure a safe and healthy school opening.”
On June 30, the Osceola County School Board approved the Superintendent’s plan for school reopening, giving parents three options for how their children will learn in Osceola County for the 2020-2021 school year. Today, July 15 is the deadline to make the decision of which of three options parents will choose for their children:
1. Face-to-face instruction at schools with comprehensive health and safety precautions in place;
2. Digital learning with their assigned school following a traditional school day schedule for instruction; or
3.Virtual learning for students in Grades K-12 with Osceola Virtual School, which allows learning during non-traditional school hours.
