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Fort Mill School District unveils plans for virtual school

FORT MILL, S.C. — Mike Zambrano has two kids in Fort Mill Schools. He doesn’t know what back-to-school will look like yet, but knows what he’d like to see.

"Whether it's alternating days, going three days a week, and then two days in between online. To me that sounds like a perfect idea," he said.

Victoria Udalova has an 8-year-old daughter going into the fourth grade. She's concerned about her health if she goes to school.

“As a parent, I’m thinking that we maybe should stay at home for homeschooling,” she said.

Schools across the Charlotte area are hearing about what parents and students are comfortable with when it comes to returning to class.

Fort Mill, like most districts, did online surveys to get input from parents and students.

This week, the district unveiled the virtual academy. It’s an entirely online program that won’t be anything like what students did last spring, when school was canceled due to COVID-19.

As many as 15% of parents surveyed had an interest in online learning for their children. That’s more than 2,000 potential students.

Joe Burke is with the Fort Mill School District.

"It will be a full day of instruction. Attendance will count. There will be specific times for things. You're going to have live instruction, coupled with video instruction, coupled with group work," Burke said.

In order to do online school, parents must register, and students will need to have the following:

  • Access to a computer and high-speed internet.
  • Completing an online school readiness checklist.
  • Following a daily schedule
  • Elementary/middle school students must remain in the program all year.
  • High school students remain in the program for the semester

The school district said the virtual academy program will not be an extra burden on teachers.

"The teachers that will be teaching in the virtual academy will be assigned to it. This will not be a double load for a teacher who's teaching in person, then to have to turn around and teach the virtual academy class," Burke said.

Some of the specifics will depend on how many sign up. Schools are of course also having to plan for busing, schedule changes, and possible A-B day classes, as well. All that is yet to be determined.

As of Friday, there is no date yet for when registration for online instruction will open.

All the details about the program and the curriculum for each grade level can be found on the Fort Mill School District website.