PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - Students across South Florida will be out of school for the next few weeks, and districts are turning to remote learning to prevent them from falling behind.
On Friday morning, Broward County Public Schools began distributing devices to students who need them. Given that they are in uncharted territory, the district said they are keeping social distancing in mind.
“It was actually very organized,” said parent Alexandra Vargas. “I mean, it’s time consuming, but they’re trying.”
https://twitter.com/RobertwRuncie/status/1240051359522656257?s=20
Close to 100,000 laptops were made available for pickup at each school.
“I am actually appreciative, because we need them,” said Vargas. “I’m working from home, so the computer at home — I’m using.”
Some schools drew long lines and led to people standing closer to each other than encouraged.
“Just know that, your safety is key for the district,” said Broward County Public Schools Board Chair Donna Korn.
The district said they took these factors into consideration when planning logistics for device pickup but because every school is different, the process on each campus varied.
“In some cases, you may be asked to stay in your car and given a number,” said Korn. “On other campuses, you may have the ability to enter the campus and have social distancing on campus.”
Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie was present at Walter C. Young Middle School to assist in the distribution of the laptops.
As of now, schools are scheduled to reopen on April 15. The district, however, said the are putting plans in place should the date be pushed further.
“Even if we are able to open our campuses then start a next school year, the way we start school given how we have to recover from what has occurred this year, is going to make the next school year substantially different than it otherwise would be,” said Runcie.
In addition to the devices, any student needing access to internet can apply for it from Comcast.
The company has expanded their internet essentials program, which offers free internet services for eligible families for 60 days.
To pick up a device, a parent or guardian needs to provide the student’s username and password and complete a property pass.
Devices will be available for pickup until 2 p.m., and parents can pick them up from their child’s school campus.
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