DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - Students in Broward County are gearing up for the start of the school year thanks to a school supply distribution event in Davie.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie attended the event at Davie Elementary School, located at 7025 SW 39th St., on Monday morning.
The supplies were donated to the event by Office Depot.
“The distribution of 1,000 high-quality backpacks, fully stocked with over 20 different supplies,” said Alex Price with Office Depot.
Students in Broward and Miami-Dade County will start the school year virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn’t take away the great need for supplies.
“School supplies are needed now more than ever for our students, especially since they’ll be at home,” said Runcie. “In the past, you could have gone into a school building; kids were able to get some supplies there as needed.”
Runcie said the teachers and staff are ready for next Wednesday.
“Although our campuses are closed due to the pandemic, learning never closes in Broward County,” he said. “We will start the year off on time, Aug. 19.”
Office Depot also gave teachers some new equipment to help at the start of the school year.
“This school is full of hard-working, motivated, loving teachers, and I am so proud to be part of this school,” said one teacher.
Last week, the school district hosted training webinars for parents. They described what school will look and feel like, including a sample science project.
Local teachers who spoke with 7News said they have been preparing for months.
“We spent a lot of our summer going to trainings, making sure that we’re prepared,” said middle school teacher Sarah Schubert.
“This summer has been nonstop with lots of resources and training,” said middle school teacher Cari Rodriguez.
To help students adjust to this school year’s new challenges, teachers said parents need to push them to learn in a new way.
“Fostering independence with their children, allow them to be responsible so that our teachers can get authentic work from them during this time,” said Schubert.
Monday’s school supply distribution was met with some much-needed excitement as families wait for the circumstances to change.
“Once we are able to do that and get infection rates down to a reasonable level, then we’ll be at a point where we believe it will be safe to open our campuses back up,” said Runcie.
The superintendent said the situation will be reevaluated every two weeks.
For families in households where both parents work, the Broward School District has released a list of places across the county where they can take their children to e-learn safely. For more information, click here.
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