Leon County Schools Digital Academies to close at the end of the year

WCTV | by Emma Wheeler | February 24, 2021

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Leon County Schools Digital Academies, school-based online learning options operating this year because of the pandemic, will close at the end of the year.

Superintendent Rocky Hanna says there are about 10,000 students learning from home right now, so this means they’re going to need to decide if they’re prepared to head back to the classroom, or if they want enroll with Leon Virtual Schools.

The district says that’s down from almost 18,000 students learning from home at the beginning of the year.

Hanna says the Digital Academy was a way for kids to stay connected to their school community during the pandemic, but they can’t ask their teachers to do a whole other year.

WCTV spoke with Scott Mazur with the Leon Classroom Teachers Association today about the announcement..

He said this hybrid model has been tough on teachers, but at the end of the day, “we don’t know what’s going to happen next year or next month, so the important thing is to be flexible. “

“I think everybody would like to control-alt-delete and go back to some normalcy, but there’s no telling what normal will look like going forward, and if we ever go back to exactly the way things were, however we have been fighting all along for the safest environment of at-school teaching,” Mazur said.

The digital academies will stay open for the rest of year, an the district does plan on sending out surveys next week as school choice opens up to get a feel for how many families may stay with Leon Virtual Schools.

Enrollment for virtual school went up by about 200 students this year, but the district does expect to see more students enroll next fall.

Photo: Screenshot of WCTV News video.