Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas on Wednesday afternoon laid out a districtwide plan to educate the county’s 40,000 students starting April 1.
At a news conference at the district’s Hall Center, Thomas said the plan coincides with Gov. Ron DeSantis’s order that students remain out of school until April 15.
On March 30, district employees, except transportation employees, will return to regular work locations, Thomas said. They will not be allowed to congregate in groups of 10 or more. Teachers will begin training on how to teach their students remotely.
He acknowledged the switch from a traditional classroom to a virtual one will have challenges. There are issues with communicating with some students; others don’t have Internet access while still others have disabilities or special needs. During a recent districtwide phone message, the district was unable to connect with about 3,000 students, nearly 10 percent of the district.
Later in the news conference, Thomas said all state and district testing has been canceled for the remainder of the school year.
“There will be no school grades,” he cautioned. The four, low-performing schools will have their D “frozen” and get a chance to improve next year. All athletic contests, practices and extracurricular activities also are canceled for the remainder of the school year.
Thomas, who is in the final year of his third, four-year term, also delivered some somber news: Commencement exercises for high-school graduates might be postponed or canceled. He said he understand the need to celebrate the milestone. In addition to having a granddaughter scheduled to graduate this year — “I’ve heard from her mother,” he joked — the class of 2020 will be his last as superintendent.
School Board Chairwoman Patty Hightower updated the community on the search for Thomas’ successor. The district is moving from an elected school chief to one appointed by the board. She said the pandemic has not affected the board’s search.
Thomas said his administration will do what it can to continue to educate the county’s children.
“We’re going to get through this. We love our kids.”
