Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, schools in Mississippi will remain closed for the remainder of the semester.
After initially closing schools through April 17th, Governor Tate Reeves announced his decision to extend the closure during today’s press briefing. He went on to say that while schools may be closed, learning will not stop as distance learning efforts will continue through the end of the school year.
“School buildings will remain closed for the rest of the semester. That does not mean that school is canceled,” he said. “Distance learning will continue, and I will be asking every school to submit plans to show that they are doing just that.”
He went to say that he will ask schools to share the distance learning practices that they have found to be the most successful.
The Governor expressed concern for students who may not have immediate access to internet, webcams or other technology that is vital to distance learning.
“There are many who are surging ahead during this time; getting hours of instruction every day. There are others in circumstances that make that much harder. Not everyone has fancy webcams and fast internet. Not everyone has parents who can become full-time teachers. Those are blessings, but we cannot expect that every household will be equipped to handle this the same. We are trying to reach everybody, but we have more work to do.”
During his remarks, he expressed hope that the option of in-person ‘summer or early-fall’ instruction will be available to help students who have fallen behind.
In addition to the suspension of several other key policies, the State Board of Education recently announced that students will not take end-of-year exams this year.
