Summer break will arrive a week sooner in the Omaha Public School District. The OPS board voted Monday night to shorten the school year by one week.
The last day of school for Omaha students will now be May 15th. Omaha Public School Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Logan says this will give teachers extra time to focus on best practices for potentially teaching virtually next year.
“As we prepare our teachers for the fall we intend to provide them with professional development support that will focus on best practices for delivering virtual and blended learning as well as ways to best support our students,” Dr. Logan told 6 News.
OPS says they have a group of teachers working on strategies for next fall in case students aren’t back to learning in schools.
“Our staff, family, and community have many questions about what the start of the school year this fall could look like with conditions changing daily. It is too soon for any of us to know or share specifics however we are planning for various possible scenarios,” Dr. Logan says.
During Monday’s meeting, the school board outlined a plan to purchase 2,000 iPads with internet capabilities for kids taking classes from home this summer. They will start looking for a company to provide the devices with the internet.
Omaha students have been remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.