In the effort to balance health, jobs and quality education, the nation’s biggest school districts are divided on how to teach students this semester.
Of the 20 largest school districts:
– 9 are teaching entirely online.
– 8 offer fully in-person learning and a choice of fully online learning. (Several of these districts are in Florida, where the governor ordered schools to offer classroom learning.)
– 2 have a hybrid plan, with some virtual and some classroom instruction.
– 1 has a combination of plans, depending on the infection rates.
Here’s how each of those school districts are teaching, ranked by size:
New York City Public Schools
– Elementary schools have a hybrid plan.
– Middle schools and high schools are all online.
Los Angeles Unified School District
– All instruction is online only.
– The superintendent said he wants all teachers to get vaccinated.
Chicago Public Schools
– All classes are currently online.
– Elementary school students are scheduled to return February 1, but the teachers’ union is pushing back.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
– Families choose which type of learning they prefer, fully online or fully in-person.
Clark County School District in Nevada
– The fifth-largest district is expediting its plan to bring students back for in-person learning after a rise in student suicides.
Broward County Public Schools in Florida
– Families have a choice between fully online or fully in-person learning.
Houston Independent School District
– Instruction can be fully in-person or fully online.
Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida
– Families choose between fully online or fully in-person learning.
Orange County Public Schools in Florida
– Families have a choice between fully online or fully in-person learning.
The School District of Palm Beach County in Florida
Parents have the choice of enrolling their children in the following:
– Brick and mortar: Students attend in-person classes five days a week on campus
– Distance learning: Students learn remotely from teachers
– Palm Beach virtual school: Students participate in a self-paced learning guided by virtual teachers
Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia
– All instruction is online due to coronavirus infection rates in the area.
Hawaii State Department of Education (Hawaii public schools)
– Instruction plans are based on each island’s infection rates.
– As of this month, various islands had in-person learning, at-home learning or a combination.
Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia
– Families choose between fully online or fully in-person learning.
Wake County Public School System in North Carolina
– Instruction will be entirely online through mid-February.
Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland
– Teaching will be online only until small groups of students return for in-person instruction on March 15.
Dallas Independent School District
– Middle school and high school students have a hybrid plan.
– Fully in-person learning is available for elementary school students.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina
– All instruction is online.
– Kindergarten through eighth grades are scheduled to start classroom learning February 15.
– High school students are due to return to classrooms February 22.
The School District of Philadelphia
– All instruction is online.
– The superintendent has said he hopes to bring students from kindergarten through second grade back to classrooms in February.
Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland
– All instruction is online.
– Employees are tentatively scheduled to start getting vaccinated February 1.
– “We will reassess our reopening plans in mid-February,” school district CEO Monica Goldson said.
Duval County Public Schools in Florida
– Families have a choice between fully in-person or fully online learning.