Volusia County working on plan for upcoming school year

The Volusia County School District recently announced students will start on the first day of school this upcoming school year.

A public post read, “This will ensure that all students are afforded the opportunity to participate in 180 days of school, in alignment with Florida Statutes.”

The update didn’t include information about how students would return to the classroom -- face-to-face, virtually, or a combination of both. The district said it’s still trying to figure that out. Volusia Educators United president Elizabeth Albert said the post confused parents. 

“I just thought that the post was a little bit premature,” she said.

Albert said VEU is part of a committee tasked with determining the next step.

“We are actively participating in a committee that the district has put together to try to lay out some different scenarios for reopening schools in the fall,” she explained.

She said many parents do want their kids to physically return to the classroom. The district put out a survey last month to get feedback from parents and staff.

“Overwhelmingly parents, teachers, support professionals all want to reconvene at our school site, but we are still trying to determine what the best way is to safely open up the schools,” she said.

The district added any decisions would be guided by the state.