Attendance Taken Throughout Day. Cameras To Remain “On” While Students Work At Home.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — Today is the first day of school in Palm Beach County, as a year expected to be unlike any other gets underway.
The Palm Beach County School District has been busy reminding parents over the past several days that “Distance Learning 2.0” will be nothing like the distance learning many experienced in the spring. Teachers are teaching live all day. Even “work time” will be monitored by teachers who are telling students that they must keep their cameras on, Just like in a traditional class — there’s teaching time and work time, but this time teachers will be watching the entire time.
Parents are also being told that attendance will be taken throughout the day — starting online and then turning off the camera is not an option.
Teachers themselves will be monitored by district personnel who will ensure that they truly are teaching. While most worked valiantly in the spring, some teachers were accused of not teaching “live” or being accessible to their students at all. Part of the “new” rules include mandatory office time where students may video conference privately with their teachers.
Distance Learning is expected to continue for quite some time. While the Palm Beach County School Board says it will move to “in person” learning when Palm Beach County moves to “phase 2,” there are strong suggestions that Palm Beach County will only move to a modified “phase 2” over the next few weeks — putting pressure on the Palm Beach County School Board to make its own decision about reopening.
The Palm Beach County Commission — which is a separate governing body — has stated repeatedly that opening schools for in-person learning at the same time that Palm Beach County businesses are permitted to increase hours and capacity could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
