Volusia County

Volusia County students falling behind in online classes asked to return to classroom

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Monday marked the first day back in the classroom since late March for some students in Volusia County.

The district is asking students who had a D or F grade in its hybrid learning program, known as Volusia Live, and were not showing progress to head back to the classroom for the second quarter.

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Records show that at some schools, including Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, about 2/3 of students in Volusia Live were struggling.

The start of a new quarter in Volusia County means some of the 16,000 students enrolled in the hybrid learning program will return to in-person instruction.

Data shows 67% of students at the middle school level and 65% at the high school level fell into that threshold. But students in the classroom did not perform that much better.

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Records show about 62% of middle schoolers and 65% of high schools doing face-to-face learning also had a D or F grade.

The teachers' union believes this is because some teachers are having to teach both students in the classroom and online at the same time.

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“When you have two competing interests, you cannot give 100% of your attention to either group; what we are seeing is that there are some discrepancies,” said Elizabeth Albert, with Volusia United Educators.

Teachers and students now must figure out how to work through those discrepancies.

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