JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Education is going to look very different across the country this school year as districts plan to reopen in various ways. Students have two options at Jessamine County Schools: in-person learning and a new Virtual Learning Academy, or VLA.
August 26th is the date the district will start seeing teachers and students roam the halls again. However, not every student enrolled will be inside the classroom.
"Right now, it's looking like about 25 percent of our families are in favor of the virtual return," said Superintendent Matt Moore.
While the VLA is online, Moore says it is not the same as Non-Traditional Instruction or NTI, which the district has done for years. NTI is typically is an extension of what students already learned in the classroom, and the VLA will line up with traditional instruction.
"Students will have schedules where they will be regularly meeting with teachers virtually and covering the same content for the traditional classrooms," said Moore.
Moore says this reduces the chance of learning gaps and makes for an easier return to traditional in-person learning, which he hopes to see for all students.
"We did ask them to commit to the first grading period, which is approximately nine weeks," said Moore. "We are hopeful at that point that we'll see a lot of those students transitioning back to the classroom."
As for in-person learning, Moore says they'll have social distancing and other health and safety guidelines in place.
