By LARRY LANNAN
Families with students in Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will have the chance to opt into a virtual learning program for the upcoming school year after the school board voted to approve the recommendation from school administrators detailed in a Tuesday morning work session. The vote was 6-1 with Suzanne Thomas voting no, saying she wants more time for public comment.
The plan calls for HSE teachers to instruct virtually grades K-6, with some type of virtual plan for pre-school. Indiana Online, which has provided summer school virtual learning for HSE Schools, will provide the virtual classes for grades 7-12.
Indiana Online had planned to charge HSE Schools $2,800 per student, but agreed to lower that fee to $2,400 per student once state lawmakers went back to 85 percent funding for virtual students in school year 2021-2022.
Parents may apply for the virtual learning program beginning May 3 and ending May 14. The school district wants a commitment for the first semester of the coming school year at minimum.
A webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5 to explain the virtual program for grades K-6. Indiana Online will conduct a webinar for grades 7-12 on a date yet to be announced.
Superintendent Allen Bourff is retiring at the end of June and Dr. Yvonne Stokes has been hired to replace him as of July 1. Dr. Bourff told the board, in answer to a question raised by board members in Tuesday’s work session, that he had discussed the virtual learning proposal with Dr. Stokes and she is supportive, with one caveat. Stokes is concerned that the 7-12 Indiana Online curriculum might not be as rigorous as HSE’s program.
Board members discussed that the comments from the public centered on knowing whether masks will be required before deciding on a virtual option, but school officials said there is no way of knowing what Centers for Disease Control and other experts recommendations would be in August of this year.