By LARRY LANNAN
With only a few days left to sign up, only 109 students in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school district have committed to be virtual-only for the fall semester of 2021. That’s out of a total student population of about 21,500.
Superintendent Allen Bourff told the school board Wednesday night that families will have a deadline of Sunday night (May 16) to make the virtual commitment. The district is expecting students electing all-virtual learning to commit to the entire fall semester.
Of those electing all-virtual classes so far, 55 are kindergarten through sixth grade, 16 in grades 7 and 8, and 38 at the high school level.
Bourff said a number of questions have been submitted about the virtual option commitment. For answers, he pointed to webinars that can be accessed at this link.
In other school board news from Wednesday night’s session:
- Ryan Taylor, Director of Staff and Student Support Services, presented the board with results of a walk zone study, looking at areas where students could walk to school. This was also studied in 2003 and 2015. Taylor detailed what needs to be done with other government entities in order to provide the infrastructure needed to provide walk zones. This was presented as an information-only item. You can find his presentation at this link.
- The board gave final approval to block scheduling for the coming school year at both high schools, Fall Creek Junior High and HSE Intermediate/Junior High.
- The school district is planning a new program, HSEngaged, patterned after the Fishers City Citizens Academy and the Hamilton County Leadership Academy. The program will take applicants beginning in June and will only accept 20 participants in the first year. Click here for more information.
- The Snapshot of Success featured Katie Barnett, a student at Fishers High School who competed in the Start Up Business Plan competition and was named State Champion in the event at DECA SCDC (State Career Development Conference). Click here to watch a video.