HOLLAND, Mich. — It may seem like the school year just kicked off, but Holland Public Schools is already looking towards their winter semester. The school is asking parents and students to decide between virtual or in-person learning by November 1.
"The logistics that go into building a schedule for a student is not just that student. We need to know how many students that are going to be in each classroom. We need to know how many teachers we are going to need," Jason Craner, Director of Communications and Marketing at HPS, said.
Parents will all get a letter upon parent-teacher conferences that are taking place this week and next explaining the options. Craner said the school system wants to keep it easy on parents, only asking those who are looking to change their current learning format to contact them.
HPS said it had about 20% of students opt into virtual learning at the beginning of the school year, but now they anticipate a larger move towards in-person education.
"They're seeing that our Return to Learn plan is working well...People are really seeing and understanding that face-to-face learning is the best environment for most students," Craner said, explaining that it takes a lot of discipline from students and parents to school online.
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Craner added that the school's Return to Learn plan has helped keep the Coronavirus at bay, stating that while three students have tested positive this school year, no case was contracted from a classroom.
Parents will have until November 1 to make their decision. It is requested that students abide by their decision for the entire semester, once selected.
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