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FOR THE DEMOCRAT

NATCHEZ — Natchez-Adams School District Superintendent Fred T. Butcher and other central office employees rolled up their sleeves to receive truckloads of laptops that were delivered to the Braden Administration Building recently.

Starting this week, NASD will be distributing new Chrome Books to over 3,000 students.

The computers are a part of the Mississippi Connects program to help students learn virtually during the pandemic. The Mississippi Legislature allocated $200 million for Mississippi Connects through two laws, the Equity in Distance Learning Act (SB 3044) and the Mississippi Pandemic Response Broadband Availability Act (HB 1788).

Funds from Mississippi Connects will cover up to 80% of school districts’ costs to purchase computer devices and other tools to enable students to continue to learn when they are not in a school building.  Districts must pay at least 20% of the costs for the program to qualify for the funding.

“We have been very fortunate in the Natchez-Adams School District as it relates to C0VID-19 cases with our students,” said Fred T. Butcher NASD superintendent. “Our custodial staff and teachers have done an excellent job cleaning and sanitizing classrooms and other common areas. Parents and students are also doing their part in helping us control the spread of COVID in the district the best they can. Our distance-learning situation is not perfect, but we have improved dramatically since the start of school. With the distribution of laptops and hotspots, we will be better positioned to deliver quality instruction to our students through distance learning.”

At this time, some students are at school on a hybrid schedule of two days face-to-face learning and three days virtual. Other students have been entirely virtual for the first nine weeks.

Many NASD parents have chosen to move students from the virtual model to the hybrid model for the second nine weeks. Forty-seven percent of the student population will be on campus, and 53% will be learning at home.

Each school has made a schedule for computer pick-up. The schedules can be found on the Natchez-Adams School District Facebook Page and the district’s webpage and the calendar of events at www.natchezschools.org. Parents must have a photo ID to sign out a device for students.