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Lowndes County schools have decided to extend remote learning until March 1.

According to Superintendent Jason Burrows, the decision to approve an extension came after discussions with parents and examining current COVID-19 data for the county indicated that was the best decision to make.

“One of the first things we did was look at the trending COVID-19 data for the county,” said Burrows. “Since December, we have had six reports of COVID-19, and five of those were high-risk reports. After looking at that data, we surveyed parents and found that seventy percent of parents in the county were in favor for remote learning to continue.”

Although no official decision has been made to extend virtual learning even further, Superintendent Burrows says that discussions regarding that decision have already started. “Discussions have started with personal from the district if we should extend virtual learning,” he said. “We found that almost 64 percent of parents are in favor of having virtual learning through the end of the year.

Despite students learning from home, Burrows says that there are still opportunities for students to get additional help in their classes in person. “I choose to; parents can bring their children to schools in small groups to get additional help,” he said. “We also understand that not all homes have internet. We can’t penalize students because they cannot log in and do their work on certain days.

That is why students have multiple attempts to do their work. They can also receive paper packets if needed.

Burrows says communication with parents to find the best solutions is crucial. “This is all about communication,” he said. “If we don’t know what is going on, we can’t offer any support.”