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Examining Novi Community School District's plans to create virtual school for 2021-2022 school year

Posted at 8:03 PM, May 21, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-21 20:03:14-04

(WXYZ) — In tonight's 7 UpFront, we take a look at the Novi Community School District's efforts to navigate the pandemic during this school year as it comes to a close in a few weeks.

Joining us is Dr. Steve Matthews, Novi Community School District superintendent for a discussion on the work-in-progress plans to create a virtual school for the 2021-2022 school year.

You can see the full interview in the video player above.

Novi is one of the first districts in the metropolitan area to make known plans for a virtual school for the next school year, in addition to traditional in-person learning.

"We are planning to have a full-time virtual school available for our students in grades K-12 this fall. This year, since Sept. 8, we've had students both in in-person learning and also virtual learning, and we've learned a lot over the course of this year. What we've found is that some students do very well in a virtual environment. They're less distracted, they can focus more easily. We've also discovered that some parents are still having health concerns. They may be health compromised, their student may be health compromised, so we believe that having this option for our families this fall will provide them with two legitimate learning options for the 21-22 school year. They can either come in person and be in seats in classrooms or they can learn virtually from home."