TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Leon County parents hoping to switch their children to in-person classes from digital learning can begin enrollment Tuesday.
While it may be a great choice for some, others still don't think it's a wise idea.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna says after seeing four weeks of their hard work to keep COVID-19 numbers low across the district things are looking good.
"The sky didn't fall," said Hanna. "We didn't we didn't implode. Everything's going as planned."
He says towards the start of the summer, about 70 percent of parents preferred to send their children to school in person. But as anxiety from the pandemic grew, that number dropped to about 50 percent.
The parents who changed their minds then may now change them back.
"We think those numbers are going to shift because families are going to feel a lot more comfortable now because we haven't seen this massive community spread," Hanna said.
But parents like Anthony Demarco are concerned about what the potential increase would mean for the number of students in a classroom at any given time.
"There is the highest density school will be at Chiles and they also have the highest reported COVID cases and I think if we increase density in our schools and will see the same thing across the county," said Demarco.
He also points out how adding more students in the classrooms could lead to another exodus of teachers, many of whom are already overwhelmed.
Hanna maintains that the district's careful planning and safety practices will pay off.
"We built this platform specifically for these reasons," Hanna said. "It was a lot of hard work on the front end but we're now reaping the benefits of that hard work on the back end."
Parents who would like to make the switch have until October 9.
