The statewide shelter-in-place order issued by Governor Tate Reeves will take effect Friday at 5 p.m. and last until April 20th, which is supposed to be the first day back at school for Mississippi students.
Schools across the state have been closed since mid-march, and an executive order signed by Governor Reeves extended the closure through Friday, April 17th. During yesterday’s announcement of the shelter-in-place order, the Governor was asked if he was ready to make a call on the remainder of the school year.
“I am not ready to make a call at this point,” Governor Reeves said. “My anticipation is, that as we get a week or two out and see what the curve does in Mississippi and where we find ourselves, we’ll make those decisions in the coming days.”
He went on to praise Mississippi’s students and teachers that have embraced distance learning practices and said that this outbreak has an opportunity to be a learning opportunity for the state’s education system.
“We’re learning a lot of new ways to be innovative,” Governor Reeves said.
The Mississippi Department of Education recently announced a set of learning-at-home resources designed for students in each grade to keep them engaged during the extended closure.
Also, information on schools working to provide meals to students can be found at www.mdek12.org/OCN.
