Remote learning is still a very common method of educating children, more than 9 months into the pandemic. | Canva
Remote learning is still a very common method of educating children, more than 9 months into the pandemic. | Canva
COVID-19 has changed the way children get an education in Michigan, as new data from the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) shows.
As of early December, 55% of students enrolled in public school districts have access only to remote learning, and less than 43% are enrolled in districts that are giving parents the option to physically send their kids to school.
Students at ten of the largest public school districts in Michigan only have the option to learn from home, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.
These ten districts account for more than 204,000 students that only have access to remote learning due to the pandemic: Detroit Public Schools Community District, Utica Community Schools, Dearborn City School District, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, Chippewa Valley Schools, Rochester Community School District, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Livonia Public Schools School District, Warren Consolidated Schools and Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District offered face-to-face learning from Sept. 8 through Nov. 16. But when they began to see a rise in coronavirus cases, that led to the suspension of in-person instruction for the safety of students and faculty.
In December, 398 Michigan public school districts, which account for 48% of all districts in the state, were offering remote learning only, and 11 districts, which account for 1% of all districts, allowed only in-person learning, according to the EPIC report.
School districts have been advised to turn in their Extended COVID-19 Learning plans every month to help track how instruction will be delivered to students, so the data provided by the EPIC report can be expected to change monthly.
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