Local public schools part of national COVID-19 study

Students wear their masks as they get off their buses at West Port High School in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

The national COVID-19 Education Deep Dive Longitudinal Study will collect baseline data from districts across the country, including up to 10 in Florida. The study will focus on districts serving Black, Latino and low-income student populations.

The distance-learning study considers students and how they learn in person, online or in a hybrid environment. The goal of the study is to understand the impacts and challenges students face in the world of distant learning.

Both the University of Florida and Marion County Public Schools will share data this spring and continue until the end of the school year through surveys, interviews, progress monitoring and other methods. Parents, students, educators and administrators will also be considered in the study.