Suwannee County School District superintendent Ted Roush gave an update Wednesday regarding school operations amid coronavirus closures:
On Tuesday, Florida public schools were notified by the Department of Education that in-person classes would be suspended until April 15, 2020; however, during this statewide extension, education for students will resume.
Food Service will begin on Monday, March 30, 2020.
At this time, there are two potential possibilities. We are awaiting approval from the federal government for our emergency feeding plan. There are potential feeding sites that will open in Live Oak and Branford, similar to the summer feeding sites that are available in the summer months. We are also exploring using school buses to deliver meals and student assignments twice weekly. More details on the feeding program will be made public as they are available.
LOCATIONS: Suwannee High School (drive thru) Branford Elementary School (drive thru)
MEAL PICKUP TIMES: Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., beginning Monday, March 30, 2020
OTHER INFORMATION:
State Food Service guidelines require the student to be present for meals to be distributed.
Any person 18 years old or younger can be served at the Food Service pick up sites.
Students may pick up meals for themselves without a parent present.
Meals may only be picked up at the school sites listed above. There will be NO onsite dining.
RESUMING ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION FOR ALL STUDENTS PreK-12
Since Friday evening, the Suwannee County School District has been preparing for the possibility of an extended school closing, through April 15, 2020, by developing an Instructional Continuity Plan.
The ICP outlines the District’s intent and ability to provide for all students to continue their education with their current teachers from home. Although not all details of the plan are completed, like all districts throughout Florida, the SCSD will continue to work to complete the details of the plan for implementation to begin on Monday, March 30, 2020.
The District’s website and Facebook page will have the most up to date information regarding specifics related to how and where students will be able to receive their instructional materials. An overview of the plan is provided below.
The Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 Plan will support students with prepared instructional materials by grade level in reading, math, science, and social studies.
Beginning on March 30, parents will be able to download the packets from the home page of the District website, pick up instructional packets at the school sites, or possibly receive packets from school buses that will be traveling their normal transportation routes. Details regarding the exact times and locations will be made public in the next couple of days.
The Grade six through Grade 12 Plan will support students using online instruction in the Canvas learning management platform.
All students in grades six and up already have an assigned a Chromebook, and most have been utilizing the Canvas system to access course materials in some classes for the last two years. In the event that a student does not have internet access, an alternate paper assignment will be made available for download, pickup, or delivery by school bus.
RIVEROAK Technical College (adult, secondary, adult education, and English as a Second Language programs) will support students utilizing online instruction via the Canvas learning management platform, other web-based standalone programs, and/or instructional packets.
If needed, instructors with specific information that will include directions for accessing Canvas and web-based programs will contact its adult students.
Additional information will be pushed out to all social media platforms and the RTC website at: www.riveroakcollege.com
NEWS RELEASE SUWANNEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Additional District-wide information includes the following:
All school extracurricular activities and events are canceled through Wednesday, April 15, 2020.
Schools are planning for students to return to classes on Thursday, April 16, 2020.
All statewide testing for the school year has been canceled; as well as, ACT and SAT testing until at least June. We have not received final guidance on Advanced Placement assessments.
We will monitor all developments closely and provide staff, students, and families with information as it is made available.
