On Tuesday, April 14, Governor Tate Reeves officially announced that the remainder of this school year on campus has been cancelled, however, that does not mean that education has stopped.
Reeves added that he would ask educators to submit distance learning plans and share best practices with others, while acknowledging that all students are not in the same situation, as some do not have access to high-speed internet or parents who can act as educators.
In addition, Reeves did hold open the possibility of summer classes and an early start to the next school year.
Choctaw School Superintendent Glen Beard stated that distance learning is not always an option due to the lack of internet access among students and teachers.
Beard added that he met with the administrative team on Monday evening, April 13, via phone conference to discuss the next steps forward, with a goal of preparing for the upcoming school year while continuing to post online learning options on the district’s website and Facebook page.
Beard said that students were missing the last nine-weeks of the year, and instruction of material had been completed within the first three nine-week periods, with the last nineweeks devoted to review and preparation for testing. Also, criteria has been put in place to determine how students will be promoted from one grade to the next.
One of the major milestones in a student’s life is high school graduation; however, a normal commencement service seems out of reach at this point. But Beard assured that the Choctaw County High School seniors will have a graduation; plans are in the works, but have not been finalized.
The situation at French Camp Academy is somewhat different as they have students from the local community, as well as resident students. FCA President Stewart Edwards stated that they do plan to have a graduation ceremony for their seniors, but it may be postponed and plans are still underway.
Edwards added that FCA teachers have done a good job of transitioning to online instruction and classes have continued. A number of seniors were participating in dualenrollment classes and those have not been interrupted.
