While not all students have embraced virtual learning, there are others who have done very well with online instruction, and that's why the Hall County School District has decided to open a new program of choice for the upcoming school year.
On Monday night, school board members approved the Virtual Program of Choice for a limited number of students in grades 3 through 12.
Kevin Bales, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, said it's true that most students in the district are at their best in a face-to-face environment, but others have done very well as they've learned from home during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"We really want those students who have struggled in virtual [learning] to come back to in-person," Bales said. "But, this particular program of choice will be an option for those families...that have had success in the current virtual instruction, so we're excited about the potential."
Bales told school board members there are a "substantial number" of students making As and Bs in the virtual format, and those are the students who will be best suited for the district's newest program of choice.
"There's a substantial number of the [school] population out there that have been involved in virtual school and they're actually thriving in it," Bales said. "We want to give those families an opportunity to say 'hey, we would like to pursue this moving forward' and we believe this program of choice does just that."
In fact, the new program will be limited to 700 students and those who are interested will need to apply for admission. Bales said applications will be available prior to spring break. Parents will have a couple of weeks to return the applications.
The bulk of the students in the program will come from the middle and high school levels, and Bales said those students will be aligned with the school in their zones, so they can participate in sports and other extracurricular activities if they choose to do so.
"All after-school extracurricular activities will still be available to them," Bales said.
The next step is the hiring of an administrator to oversee the Virtual Program of Choice. That should happen by the middle of March, according to Bales. The program will have its own teachers, although Bales said he does not anticipate a large number of additional hires.
The Virtual Program of Choice will be the 36th program of choice launched by the Hall County School District
