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Lawrence Township schools will not start on time

Ten day delay approved by school board
Posted at 7:41 PM, Jul 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-20 19:44:32-04

INDIANAPOLIS — Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Marion County's large township school systems is delaying the start of classes.

The decision was made Monday night by the Lawrence Township School Board. The vote was unanimous. Classes will begin August 13, rather than August 3.

The school system released this statement:

The additional time will be used to assure staff comfort with classroom configurations, to allow staff additional time for walkthroughs and development of routines for classrooms and labs, time to test broadband load for virtual teams, and additional time for dissemination and review of the current plan as well as contingency plans.

More information on the Lawrence Township plan can be found here.
https://www.ltschools.org/re-entry

Students currently have the option of returning to school for on-site instruction or enrolling in virtual programming. According to superintendent, Dr. Shawn A. Smith, “We believe this delay provides the needed additional time to ensure staff comfort with the re-entry plan.” He adds, “Keeping in mind the fluidity of the situation and potential for future changes, I believe the MSD of Lawrence Township will be ready to welcome students to the 2020-2021 school year on August 13.”

MSD Lawrence Township has more than 16,000 students, including 11 elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.