Half of the schools operated by the Pentagon for children of military members will open with entirely remotely as a way to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Department of Defense announced Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The vast majority of these American schools are based in southern states where the coronavirus is seeing an outbreak such as Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Puerto Rico.
In addition, about half of the schools in the Pacific Rim will go to remote or virtual learning.
As of Wednesday, 36,000 students will be attending the Pentagon’s brick-and-mortar schools, while 15,500 will go to remote learning and another 10,000 opting for virtual learning.
In the Pentagon’s European bases, only two of 68 schools will open remotely, reflecting a the continent’s better trend for coronavirus spread.
The Pentagon defines “remote learning” as a live class, held online with a teacher instructing students, whereas “virtual learning” is a student utilizing pre-produced lessons with an educator or tutor available for individual instruction.
The Pentagon’s offering of remote and virtual learning flies in the face of President Trump’s insistence that all schools open for in-classroom teaching.