Hillsborough Responds
eLearning overview for parents during the school closure
A MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT ADDISON DAVIS
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Tomorrow begins a new chapter in Hillsborough County Public Schools, as more than 220,000 students will begin the process of eLearning.
For many, this is a new journey and while there will be bumps in the road, our teachers and staff stand prepared to offer every learner a robust educational experience.
I have been so impressed by the way our teachers are stretching their creative minds to develop assignments that will challenge our students and push their cognitive demands.
Beyond eLearning, I know this is a stressful and uncertain time for many of our families. To assist with this process, Hillsborough County Public Schools will be providing many resources to help students, parents, and caregivers adapt to this new way of learning. As a reminder, we will open hotlines for eLearning, Mental Health, Technology Assistance, and General Questions to address any concerns that may arise. You can find the numbers here.
I would like for each of you to know, that our teachers are excited to ignite the learning process on Monday morning. As a partner, we are asking that every parent sit down with their child daily to discuss assignments, teacher interaction, and identify areas of support. Additionally, understand that this eLearning process is flexibility as it relates to time on task. While we recommend that every learner develops a structured schedule to complete assignments, we do not expect our students to be sitting in front of a computer for more than 20 minutes at a time. There is a need to take breaks so our students remain sharp and focused at the task at hand.
Families, we are all in this together… And together we WILL come through this successfully and stronger as a school district. I look forward to meeting each of you within our community.
Respectfully,
Addison Davis
Superintendent of Schools, Hillsborough County Public Schools
For ongoing school closure updates: HillsboroughSchools.org/coronavirus
Our district's eLearning Contingency Plan: HillsboroughSchools.org/eLearning
OUR GRAB-AND-GO FOOD DISTRIBUTION SITES ARE EXPANDING TO 147 LOCATIONS BEGINNING MONDAY, MARCH 30
Grab-and-Go Frequently Asked Questions:
A) Your student can pick up food from any of the 147 sites regardless of where they're enrolled.
Q) Does my child have to be on free or reduced lunch in order to take advantage of the Grab-and-Go sites?
A) Any child age 18 or younger can take advantage of the free meals at our 147 Grab-and-Go sites. We are also accommodating students with special needs under the age of 21.
HART will offer free rides to students with a school ID or HART Youth ID on regular routes that service Hillsborough County Public Schools. Find out more at goHART.org
DEVICE DISTRIBUTION: MAKING SURE ALL OUR STUDENTS HAVE eLEARNING ACCESS
Our schools used surveys and phone calls to determine which students need access to a device for eLearning.
Schools created a rotating schedule for device checkout between Wednesday and Friday of last week.
Right now, families with multiple children will be provided one device so we can ensure that at least every household that needs a device can check one out.
If you need a device, and you haven’t heard from your school, give the front office a call. Some of our schools ran short of devices and our district is working to redistribute devices to schools that need them.
For more information, check out our website at HillsboroughSchools.org/devicedistribution
Hillsborough County Public Schools Hotlines
Technology Hotline: (813) 272-4786
Mental Health Support Hotline: (813) 272-4787
General Questions Hotline: (813) 272-4788
Hotlines are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
OVERWHELMED BY "THE GOOD STUFF"
In this time of uncertainty, it's overwhelming to see our families, schools and community come together...
In neighborhoods across Hillsborough County, teachers and staff decorated their cars and drove through neighborhoods to wave hello to their students.
A teacher at Mabry Elementary made a special effort to drive past a young student's home and surprise her for her 6th birthday.
The students at Anderson Elementary in Tampa were challenged by their art teacher to make a color wheel from ordinary objects from home! The results are amazing!
Superintendent Davis presents the first diploma of 2020 to Lennard High Senior Richard Canales. Richard passed away two days later.
Despite all the commotion going on right now, Superintendent Addison Davis, School Board Chair Melissa Snively, Lennard HS Principal Denise Savino and WWE Superstar Titus O'Neil took time to present Richard Canales with his high school diploma. Richard was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2018 and his dream was always to be the first in his family to graduate high school. This week, he achieved his dream. Richard passed away two days later.
FUN IDEAS FROM OUR COMMUNITY!
Tail Mail at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. To promote education, the mermaids are answering letters from children under 17. This will encourage literacy and is a great way to work on writing. The child can pick a specific mermaid and will received an autographed picture and a video response in return.
Glazer Children's Museum is offering cool crafts and amazing at-home experiments in an online fashion. Find out how to create at DIY volcano eruption!
ZooTampa at Lowry Park is providing free online family fun with ZooTampa's Kid's Room featuring interactive games, puzzles, storytime and more.
REMEMBER, WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER. TOGETHER, WE WILL SUCCEED.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Email: Newsletter@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Website: HillsboroughSchools.org
Location: 901 East Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-272-4000
Facebook: facebook.com/HillsboroughSch
Twitter: @HillsboroughSch