INDIANAPOLIS (WANE) — Indiana schools will go remote for the remainder of the school year, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten.
Indiana Superintendent of Public Education Dr. Jennifer McCormick announced Thursday that all K-12 schools will have no in-person instruction for the rest of the school year, and buildings will remain closed.
Schools will be required to meet 160 days of instruction, with the 20-day waiver offered by the state last month. Schools can meet the requirement through eLearning or other methods.
Schools must submit a continuous learning plan to the state by April 17, that includes guidelines for students and families.
“The goal is to ensure students have some type of continuous learning,” McCormick said.
As for high school seniors, McCormick said the goal is to “get you across that stage.”
Seniors will be required to earn their necessary credits, and seniors currently enrolled in required courses will receive credit for those, she said. Graduation require exams will not be required.
McCormick said local school districts will community their specific plans to students and families.
Some local school districts have eLearning, while others – namely Fort Wayne Community Schools – does not. Many students do not have home internet access, making the platform unrealistic for the district.
District spokeswoman Krista Stockman told WANE 15 school officials aren’t quite sure what the rest of the school year will look like.
“FWCS needs to get more guidance from the state on exactly what will count as an instructional ‘day,'” said Stockman. “Starting Monday, we already planned for teachers to begin posting assignments online and holding daily office hours. We will continue with that plan and make adjustments as needed. We know many students do not have the needed technology to participate in online programs, so we also need to get guidance from the state on those expectations.”
East Allen County Schools will be using a mix of eLearning and waiver days to meet the requirement. A letter with a calendar of what days will be eLearning has been sent out to parents. Weekly assignments will be due each Monday by 4:00 p.m. with the exception of the last week when all assignments will
be due by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 22.
Northwest Allen County Schools will be using remote learning to get to their 160 days. The district said in a letter to parents: “NACS needs time to process our options at this point, therefore, we will provide an update next week about how we will comply with the orders.”
