The challenges of online learning due to stress and students’ lack of access to technology, is driving a growing number of school districts to the end the 2019-2020 school year early.
The Bibb County School District in Georgia, for example, has moved up its last day from May 22 to May 1. In a message to the district, Superintendent Curtis Jones congratulated students who improved their semester grades since the coronavirus outbreak shut down schools. The district will use the remaining weeks that schools would have been open to conduct professional development and collect the computers and other devices that have been distributed to students.
In Nebraska, many districts have all shortened their school year by at least a week, stating that dismissing students early gives teachers time to reassess online learning and begin planning for next year. In New Hampshire, the stress families and educators have experienced during the shift to remote learning led to one school district, Monadnock School District, to the end the year two weeks early. Also in New Hampshire, Dover Public Schools moved its last day up to June 5, from June 22.
