Students in Manchester, New Hampshire, will be remotely learning longer than others across the Granite State this school year.
School districts announced weeks ago they would be ending the 2019-2020 academic year earlier due to the stress of online learning, brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Union Leader. Some districts are ending their year on May 15.
Because New Hampshire requires 990 hours of instructional time a year, Manchester Superintendant of Schools John Goldhardt said his district needs to follow that plan and therefore, their last day will be June 15.
"We know that as a result of the pandemic, many students' academic progress may be negatively affected by remote learning, so why do we want to provide less school time when we already know we have this challenge," Goldhardt said in a partial statement.
The superintendent said while it may be a challenge for students, teachers and parents, it's something that needs to be done.
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"Doing what's right isn't always easy," Goldhardt said. "Keeping school in session is doing what's right."
Parent Tallie Service said she has been home with her three kids for weeks as they learn remotely. Her son Jack is starting high school next academic year.
"If things continue to mend, if he's in a regular classroom in high school, he's going to be building upon what an 8th grader would have gotten," Service said. "But he's learning better than nothing."
Service understands the stress parents are dealing with — both those who want to see the school year end early and those who want to see their children thrive academically.
"It's pretty split. I don't minimize the difficulty in educating your kids while trying to keep your home up," she said. "Right now, this is uncharted territory. This is the only structure the kids have."
