School Reopening in Tampa Bay: Resources for Parents

Plans for school reopening in the Tampa Bay area are falling into place. We have some resources to help you get ready for this most unusual school year.

“In these uncertain times…”

Does it seem like every commercial starts with some version of that phrase? While it’s true that uncertainty rules the day, we still need to provide an education for our kids. So how can you make sense of the school reopening craziness? We have some resources to help you plan for the 2020-21 school year.

Whatever that looks like.

School Reopening Dates

One thing we do have a handle on is “when.” Every district in our area pushed back school reopening by a couple of weeks. However, they say the new start dates won’t affect the end of school next year, which for most districts will be at the end of May.

Hillsborough: Monday, August 24
Pinellas: Monday, August 24
Polk: Monday, August 24
Pasco: Monday, August 24
Hernando: Monday, August 31

What’s the Plan?

Over the summer, your school district probably asked you to choose between in-person, e-learning, or full virtual school. Each county in our area based their plan on some mix of those options.

• In-person – Students attend “brick-and-mortar” school, with new safety protocols in place.
• E-learning – Students “attend” online class. They’ll still be attached to their regular school, with teachers from that school conducting lessons.
• Virtual school – Students enroll in the Florida Virtual School program, and will not attend a local school.

Hillsborough County parents, things look a little different for you.

Hillsborough Hedges

While the rest of the districts seem to be sticking with their plans, Hillsborough hedged a bit. After hearing from a panel of medical experts, the board voted to hold off on implementing the choice plan. Initially, the Hillsborough school board planned to delay in-person schooling by four weeks. Now, after meeting with state officials, the superintendent announced that all students in the county will participate in e-learning for one week. So here’s how it stands as of this writing:

• Hillsborough County students start school on August 24.
• The first week of school will be online only.
• Attendance is mandatory for the online week; teachers will take attendance.
• Students who opted for in-person school will report to class on Monday, August 31.

How’s that for uncertainty?

With facts changing almost daily, parents need to keep up with the latest. To that end, I’m sharing the best places to go for info. Below you’ll find links to the website for each school district in our area. In addition, I’m posting a link to each county’s school reopening plan. That’s where you’ll find details like masking and social distancing requirements, cleaning procedures, and other protocols.

Plus, I’m providing social media links for each district so you can keep up with the latest news. If the situation changes, you should find details here.

District Resources

Hillsborough County

School District
https://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/

School Reopening Plan
https://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/doc/2719/school-reopening-plan/about/openingplan/

Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HillsboroughSch
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/HillsboroughSch

Pinellas County

School District
https://www.pcsb.org/

School Reopening Plan
https://www.pcsb.org/reopening

Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/my_pcs
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/mypinellasschools

Polk County

School District
https://polkschoolsfl.com/

School Reopening Plan
https://polkschoolsfl.com/reopening/

Social Media
Twitter:https://twitter.com/PolkSchoolsNews
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/polkcountypublicschools

Pasco County

School District
http://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/

School Reopening Plan
http://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/reopening/your-three-options

Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pascoschools
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pascoschools

Hernando County

School District
https://www.hernandoschools.org/

School Reopening Plan
https://www.hernandoschools.org/our-district/return-to-school-2020/index

Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HernandoSchools
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/HernandoSchoolsFL/

More News Resources

Also, I follow several of our local news outlets to keep up with all of these changes:

WFLA-TV, News Channel 8
Spectrum Bay News 9
Fox 13 Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Times Education Section

For more resources on parenting through COVID, browse through some of our other articles here on The Tampa Bay Moms website.