KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Knox County parents are facing a big decision of whether their student should attend the spring semester virtually or in-person.
They have a week and a half to make that decision, starting Monday through November 6. Students will have the option between in-person, on-campus instruction with additional safety measures or they can enroll in the virtual learning program, according to the district.
Officials said that they understood parents may not have been given enough time before the fall semester began to comfortably make decisions about virtual learning.
Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas sat down with WBIR to answer some of the biggest questions from parents.
Would you send your child to school for in-person learning?
"I absolutely would send my child to school. We've put into place all the safety precautions we can possibly take."
Have you seen learning loss in students?
"I feel confident our students are going to make up for the lost learning and we're gonna be okay."
Why are younger students enrolled in QUEST?
"Preferably the younger students would not be in that program, but the situation we were faced with when we started the virtual program was a shortage of teachers."
"We're gonna look at that. I'm not sure what spring is gonna look like but we'll know a whole lot more after November 6."
Will students have the same teacher or courses as fall semester?
"There could be a change in teachers for a student or courses that might not be offered but we're going to do the best we can to try to minimize all those disruptions."
If students aren't doing well in virtual learning, should they consider in-person?
"Just looking at the students at the 4-and-a-half week mark, the number of 'F's for students in the virtual program was about twice what it was for the students in in-person classes. My concern is that the academic disparities for those that are academically challenged, that gap is gonna widen. I hope parents will really consider the in-person learning platform if their student isn't doing well academically."
Thomas stressed that virtual teachers are doing a great job facing many technological challenges in their ways. He said sometimes the platform just might not be right for the student.
Any updates on teacher retention?
"We had about 52-54 teachers that took a leave of absence from this first semester and we’re now gathering info back from them, the ones coming back. We’ve had a few to submit a resignation but I think those have been primarily to provide child care for their children. I don't anticipate losing teachers. I know it’s been an extremely difficult and demanding year for them and I know they’re fatigued."
If you like your current learning model, you don't have to do anything. Families who want to switch can do it with an online form.