Lauderdale County schools expand distance learning program

Published 3:00 pm Friday, April 17, 2020

With schools closed for the rest of semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Lauderdale County School District is expanding its distance learning program beyond paper worksheets. 

Students in grades 5-12 can check out Chromebooks next week, according to Trent Airhart, the district’s director of technology. 

Airhart announced the changes at a school board meeting Thursday.

He said parents can fill out a form requesting the devices on the district’s website. The form needs to be filled out by Monday, and parents must have internet access to receive the devices. 

The Chromebooks will given out at different schools on Wednesday, with a process similar to the lunch pick-ups, he said.

Superintendent John-Mark Cain he hopes that by offering the Chromebooks, the  district will get a better picture of internet access in the county. 

“We are all aware that connectivity is an issue in rural Mississippi and Lauderdale County is no exception,” he said.

The form is available at https://tinyurl.com/yd8u3efa.

 Grading 

Ken Hardy, director of curriculum, assessment and accountability, said grades won’t be taken for the rest of the school year. 

The only exception is for students who are in half-credit courses that have not started, he said. 

If a student has a passing grade in a class, they will get credit for the class, he said. Students who are below passing a course will be provided the opportunity to improve the grade, he said.  

High school students will move on to the next grade based on the number of credits they have earned, he said. 

Students in grades K-4 who are passing all their classes will be promoted to the next grade, Hardy said. If a student has not met the passing requirement, a team of the parents, teacher, counselor, assistant principal and principal will determine if the student will be retained or promoted for the next school year. 

The team will then make a recommendation to the central office, which will make the final decision.