Volusia County students falling behind in online classes asked to return to classroom

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Monday marked the first day back in the classroom since late March for some students in Volusia County.

The district is asking students who had a D or F grade in its hybrid learning program, known as Volusia Live, and were not showing progress to head back to the classroom for the second quarter.

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Records show that at some schools, including Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, about 2/3 of students in Volusia Live were struggling.

The start of a new quarter in Volusia County means some of the 16,000 students enrolled in the hybrid learning program will return to in-person instruction.

Data shows 67% of students at the middle school level and 65% at the high school level fell into that threshold. But students in the classroom did not perform that much better.

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Records show about 62% of middle schoolers and 65% of high schools doing face-to-face learning also had a D or F grade.

The teachers' union believes this is because some teachers are having to teach both students in the classroom and online at the same time.

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“When you have two competing interests, you cannot give 100% of your attention to either group; what we are seeing is that there are some discrepancies,” said Elizabeth Albert, with Volusia United Educators.

Teachers and students now must figure out how to work through those discrepancies.

Cox Media Group