Four education options available for Bay District Schools students

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -

Bay District Schools students can get back in the classroom in one of four ways this year.

The first is returning to a brick and mortar campus and learning as normal while following CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing.

“We know that many of our parents are ready to send their kids back to school and are comfortable with that,” said Director of Communications for Bay District Schools Sharon Michalik. “They want their students to receive services that are really only able to be delivered at school.”

The other option is BayLink, which is a hybrid between in-person and online where students will receive live and recorded lessons from their teachers while staying enrolled at their brick and mortar school.

“If they were in my class for example in third grade at Northside Elementary school and they choose BayLink, they’re still in my class in third grade at Northside Elementary School, they’re just learning from home,” said Michalik.

Students can also enroll in Bay Virtual School which has its own teachers, curriculum, and principals. It also comes with an at least semester-long commitment and is not tied to a student’s current brick and mortar school.

“So, if I was a Mosley Dolphin and I want to go to Bay Virtual School, I am not a Mosley Dolphin anymore, I am a Bay Virtual School student,” said Michalik.

There’s also homeschooling where parents play a much heavier role in the day to day lessons.

“The parent is the teacher, the principal, the support employee, the curriculum designator, all of those things,” added Michalik.

District officials are also asking parents to use Parent Portal by Thursday to indicate how their students plan on heading back to school so they can properly staff each option.

“So what we are asking is even if your student is enrolled at a brick and mortar right now, we’re still asking that you go in and make the indication just how you’re planning to attend,” said system consultant for Bay District School Brittney Bailey. “Are you going to be in-person or are you going to be on BayLink?”

Officials say if a student is enrolled in Bay Virtual or homeschooling and they have no plans to change, those parents do not need to make adjustments on Parent Portal.

If you miss the Thursday Parent Portal deadline, officials say to call your child's school.

For a step-by-step video on how to make a selection on Parent Portal, click here.

For more information on returning to brick and mortar schools click here.

For information regarding BayLink for parents click here and for teachers click here.

If you have questions about Bay Virtual School click here and for homeschool click here.

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