Thousands of students across Central Florida not attending distance learning

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Thousands of students across Central Florida haven’t logged into class since the pandemic started and distance learning was underway.

Coronavirus In-Depth: Businesses reopening, students missing from distance learning Our nightly in-depth coverage looks at what to expect with Phase 1 of reopening Florida.

In Orange County Public Schools, teams are working to find more than 4,200 students, or about 2%, who haven’t logged on or submitted assignments.

Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said she worries it’s more than a lack of devices and internet keeping some students from the classroom.

“Quite frankly, we are now looking toward truancy for some of those children,” Jenkins said.

Read: Looking ahead: What Phase 2, 3 could look like when reopening

Some truancy officers may find many reasons for student absence including they’ve moved, their contact information has changed, or parents may not know their children haven’t been attending, or they don’t understand what they’re supposed to be doing.

Or that the families are on the brink of financial disaster.

“They may not be able to invest as much time with (students) on (their) reading program, on my math problems because it simply cannot be a priority in some households where we are struggling economically,” Jenkins said.

Read: Dr. Phillips Center: Which shows are postponed, canceled?

In Marion County, administrators are still trying to make contact with 3% of its students, or about 1,300 kids.

Flagler schools said they’ve made contact with every student, but only 1% haven’t turned in a single assignment.

In Lake County, about 1% of students have never logged on.

Seminole County is in the process of finalizing its data.

© 2020 Cox Media Group