Online only students near 500 for Poplar Bluff R-I

Enrollment for the new Poplar Bluff R-I virtual curriculum is on pace with what administration expected.

Official enrollment for the program closed Friday, although Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent, said he expects the numbers to change some before classes start.

“I also anticipate some folks will not have made that decision quite yet,” he said. “We need to figure it out as soon as possible because we need to work out staffing.”

As of Friday morning, almost 500 students enrolled in the program.

Dill said he expected between 10-15% of the normal in-person enrollment to register for fully online courses. The district had 4,947 students in the 2018-19 school year.

With staffing, Dill said the effort is going well. Some teachers will work at the school, but teach only online students, he said.

Others will teach online in addition to their in-person classes for a stipend on top of their teacher contract.

They will base the number of teachers needed on how many students enroll.

Dill said he’s been visiting the schools as teachers returned Friday to see and talk with them about the upcoming year.

“Overwhelmingly, I think the teachers are glad to be back in the classroom. There is trepidation everywhere, but that is to be expected,” he said. “I think everyone is cautiously optimistic.

“We’re going to be very intentional about safety, cleanliness, and overall wellbeing. This event has changed all of us. And I see that change reflected very starkly in the conversations that I’m having with my teachers, and none of us are unchanged.”

The district purchased the remote curriculum from Accelerate Education for $600,000 in July. It aligns with Missouri standards and teachers can customize it to better reflect what in-person students are being taught.

Dill said administration interviewed interested families to “ensure they understand exactly what they’re getting into.

“The families have overwhelmingly been very appreciative of the choices that the school district has offered for the educational benefit of their children.”

Both virtual and in-person classes start Monday, Aug. 24.