Education

The University of South Florida opened Monday for a fall term with COVID-19 at the top of everyone’s mind.

Kids came back to a whole new world when they returned to class in Polk County on Monday. For tens of thousands of students, it was their first day back to school since March, when classes were canceled because of COVID-19. 

Hillsborough County students started off the school year Monday with the beginning of a week of online-only learning.

After being shuttered for more than five months, thousands of students across the Bay Area officially began their first day of school. This includes kids in Pinellas, Polk, Pasco and Hillsborough, though it was not without technical glitches.

It’s been five long months since students in Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk and Pinellas County schools stepped foot in a classroom. However, Monday that will all change as many students are welcomed back to their school for the first time since March. 

Virtual learning for Hillsborough County students begins on Monday, but it’s just for one week.  After that, those who opted for in-person learning will get to head back to the classroom again – including those ready to attend the county’s newest school.

When students and teachers in Polk, Pinellas and Pasco Counties go back to school on Monday, it is will be a very different place than the one they left a few months ago.

With more than 150,000 Florida children already in their desks, the state and teachers unions squared off Friday in a legal battle over Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran’s mandate that local school officials resume in-person instruction this month amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the Bay Area's largest districts are putting the finishing touches on their plans ahead of the new school year -- which, for them, starts Monday.

Testimony wrapped up Thursday in a court case between the largest teacher's union in Florida and state officials over the reopening plan for schools.

Polk County schools are handing out iPads to students who will be e-learning at home because of COVID-19, rather than going to class.

Bell coverings will act as a face mask for instruments and students will wear masks that allow them to play. Classrooms will also be spaced out. But music teachers need additional instruments for students. This year they cannot be shared. 

At the heart of the guidelines is a “coronavirus symptomatic decision tree” that lays out who should be sent home, for how long, and for what symptoms, according to a 12-page report released by the Florida Department of Education on Tuesday.

The School District of Manatee County announced positive COVID-19 test results at two of its campuses, just three days into the school year.

Summer is over for students in Citrus County, and the new school year starts Thursday morning.

The start of the school year has been filled with tough decisions for parents, as well as teachers, leading many to search for new ways to make sure students are still learning.

As thousands of children return to classrooms throughout Florida, local school officials, teachers and doctors spent Wednesday picking apart a state mandate requiring schools to resume in-person instruction this month amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The pod eases parent’s concerns in knowing they have a set routine and gives the kids an environment they know they can control and keep an eye out for COVID-19.