Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Teases New Possible Classroom Return Date Ahead Of Online Launch
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade's delayed school year is supposed to begin Monday, entirely online. The learning curve is immense for everyone trying to make it work.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said with their new online platform they are confident the new start will be a success.
"Parents, we are ready to teach students online for as long as these health conditions persist in our community," he said.
In a webinar held Tuesday, the school district demonstrated how the new learning tool, My School Online, works.
It's designed to be a one stop shop.
However, as the webinar was ongoing, CBS4 received an image from a parent showing they were unable to access the server.
And many other parents tweeted on the district's page that the webinar had an issue.
Miami-Dade Schools tweeted, "We understand some parents are having difficulty accessing the online stream. This video will be made available in its entirety in three languages in the near future."
But according to CBS4 News partner the Miami Herald, this is not the first time parents express their frustration.
The new online tool has education officials questioning how prepared the district really is.
"So far the training for this has been ineffective and the time allotted to learn has been unacceptable," Karla Hernandez Mats, the president of United Teachers of Dade.
However, with the downward trend of COVID-19 cases in Miami-Dade County, Carvalho did make a new announcement Tuesday.
"First, we thought September 30, if conditions improve. But now we are very confident we can move that deadline to the middle of September on the basis of the projection the trend data we are utilizing," he said.
Carvalho said the percentage should hover around 3% before making the decision to reopen their classrooms.
"We recognize there will be some parents who will continue to opt for an online experience. We are ready to deliver both simultaneously," he said.
The district said they will be opening their doors in Phase 1 to their students with disabilities.
MDCPS has not commented on teachers saying that they are not prepared.
