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Survey finds just 1 in 4 Ohio students is attending virtual classes

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Posted at 4:56 PM, Apr 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-17 21:03:14-04

CLEVELAND — Friday marked one month since Ohio Governor Mike DeWine shut down schools across the state because of the coronavirus.

But, for many students, teacher and parents, moving learning from the classroom to the family room has been challenging.

“We’re taking it day by day, lesson by lesson, trying to keep up with all the changes,” said Erin Turner, mom of three.

But, learning in a virtual world is becoming more challenging for some students with each passing da,y according to a new survey.

Fishbowl, one of the largest online digital communities, recently asked nearly 6,000 teachers: “How many of your students are attending your remote classes?”

The response: a failing grade.

In Ohio, the survey said just one out of four students or less attended remote classes.

The reason, according to Fishbowl CEO Matt Sunbulli, was first lack of technology, but it has now shifted to parents.

“They’re not logging on unless they have strong supervision,” Sunbulli explained. “Student schedules and parental supervision specifically is what we heard a lot."

There are 21,000 Akron Public School students; several thousand students were outfitted with technology needed for online learning last month. But, like many districts, they still have students not participating in virtual learning.

“Regular school is really challenging to get families to participate — this is a whole other model,” said Mark Williamson with Akron Public Schools.