BRYAN, Texas — UPDATE:
Due to the continued spread of COVID-19 and recent updates in TEA guidelines for school re-openings, Harmony Science Academy is tweaking a few things on their original re-opening plan for the 2020-2021 school year.
Classes will start Monday August 17 only in an online format until at least Tuesday September 8. During these three weeks, parents will get a survey where they will get the option for their child to continue online learning or go back to school for in-person learning if local circumstances allow. If parents decide their student will continue learning remotely, they will be on this plan for the rest of the school year unless they notify their campus of a change request.
For more information regarding school re-openings and COVID-19 health protocols and procedures, visit their website here.
ORIGINAL STORY:
As students and families start getting closer to the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, schools and districts are deciding how it will go forward with the return of their students. Harmony Science Academy in Bryan announced it will allow each family to choose to return to school or continue at-home learning.
"We realized that each family is in such a unique situation that our best option was to provide a flexible learning plan for them," said April Crow, the student recruitment coordinator.
Students will have the choice of whether or not they will learn in-person or do so at home. The public charter school is also providing the option for students to be able to switch between the two if a situation were to change.
“With our learning plan each of our families can choose based on their situation, their mindset and what they feel comfortable with," Crow said.
The 2019-2020 school year ended with students learning online using Google classroom. For the next year, students will use the learning management system Schoology, regardless if they are using at home learning or in-person.
“We wanted something to be simple enough that our parents can utilize it, as well as our teachers," said Jill Herrera, the director of academics for Harmony Houston North. "It was very user friendly."
Harmony Science Academy hopes that implementing the platform into both options will help make the transition between in-person and at-home learning easier, should a student need to.
Harmony Science Academy prides itself on being a STEM-oriented school. The charter school is looking at ways to bring hands-on learning to students while at-home.
“I want to convey to parents that we really are going to be adjusting as necessary in the moment," Herrera said.