Manatee County schools to end online learning program in August, district says

More than 2,000 virtual students are planning their return to Manatee County classrooms in the upcoming 2021-22 school year, when the district retires its online learning program.

With a majority of students already back in school and many of the online students returning, the district expects about 49,100 students to be on campus in the new year, which begins in August, district spokesman Mike Barber confirmed on Thursday.

That estimate includes traditional campuses and charter schools, which were both shuttered at this time last year.

Shortly after students left for spring break in March 2020, as the pandemic was emerging, schools throughout Florida made an abrupt switch to online classes. The School District of Manatee County launched its own virtual program using Schoology, a system that many students continued to use after schools reopened for voluntary in-person classes.

Schoology connects Manatee County students with teachers in their local public schools through live and prerecorded videos. They receive the same lessons, assignments and communications as their in-person classmates.

The use of Schoology to host daily online classes — a program the district calls “eLearning Manatee” — will cease in the upcoming school year, according to a series of letters that local schools sent to families last month.

“Next school year, we will not be offering eLearning Manatee,” the letters state. “However, if you are not interested in having your child return to face-to-face instruction at a school site, we can offer a different online platform, Manatee Virtual.”

Students who enroll in Manatee Virtual will receive an online education from the teachers and coursework offered by Florida Virtual School (FLVS), said Don Sauer, the director of student demographics and assignment for Manatee County schools.

The benefit, he said, is that Manatee Virtual students receive a degree from their local school district after graduation.

Local K-12 schools sent the letters to 3,919 students who were still enrolled in eLearning Manatee and using the Schoology system as of last month. The letters surveyed families on their preferred option for the new school year: in-person classes or Manatee Virtual.

According to numbers provided by the district spokesman, most families planned to have their children in a classroom this August.

• Elementary Schools: Of the 1,176 elementary students who were still online, 787 planned to be in school, 117 planned to enroll in Manatee Virtual and 297 never responded.

• Secondary schools: Of the 2,743 secondary students who were still online, 1,399 planned to be in school, 273 planned to enroll in Manatee Virtual and 996 never responded.

The vast majority of students were already back in school, making it hard to split teachers between the many in-person students and the relatively few online learners, Barber said, explaining the choice to end eLearning Manatee.

Continuing to the program could also pose a funding issue in the new school year, according to a series of emergency orders issued during the pandemic.

The state’s education commissioner, Richard Corcroran, issued 2020-EO-06 in July 2020, allowing schools to receive full credit for both in-person and online students. About five months later, Corcoran issued another order and extended the flexible funding through summer 2021.

There was no indication that districts would receive the same funding for eLearning students in the upcoming school year. However, the district would receive a percentage of the state funding for Manatee Virtual students, Barber confirmed.

As for Schoology, the system itself has existed in Manatee County for years, allowing teachers to track lessons, student progress and other “learning management” features. The system will remain but the use of Schoology for daily classes was expected to end.

“Although your family remains a part of our school community, we hope to see your child back at a brick-and-mortar school site in August for the next school year,” schools said in their letter to parents last month. “By then, the COVID-19 pandemic will have diminished/lessened/decreased and we can hopefully get back to a level of normalcy we haven’t seen since 2019.”

When asked for comment on the letter, school board member Scott Hopes — who is also an epidemiologist — said that normalcy was still in the distance.

While an in-person education was important and schools were safer than the surrounding community, he said, it was important to remain vigilant. New strains of coronavirus were circulating, less than 50% of Manatee County was vaccinated and the local positivity rate was hovering at concerning levels.

“I mean, sure, I’m hopeful,” he said on Thursday. “But it doesn’t look that great right now.”

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.