JEROME, Idaho — For the first time ever, the Jerome School District will provide fully online options for grades K-12 this fall.
Except for a few courses through the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, the district hasn't offered online options in the past, but say the coronavirus pandemic has changed that.
"We're trying to get numbers so we know how many people are interested. There's a registration available online right now," said Dale Layne, Superintendent of the district.
The district plans to dedicate a team of teachers to the online courses.
"It would be multiple teachers because of the content, and we are also looking at using IDLA mostly for electives probably," Layne explained.
Remote learning students utilizing the program will still be considered Jerome School District students, and the standards and curriculum will be almost identical to their "in-person" counterparts.
Choosing the online option requires commitment.
"We've asked parents if they do that if they could stay with it for a semester, again because we are dedicating staff for tha," Layne said.
In order to make sure everyone has the option to do remote learning, the district is working to provide materials for those who need them.
"We have Chromebooks if they need those," Layne said. "We're working on possibly being able to get hotspots or internet access if they don't have internet."
The deadline to register for the remote learning option is August 7.
