As Hillsborough county public schools gradually pushed back the return date for students from spring break due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed that all K-12 schools would be going virtual for the remainder of the year. 

Hillsborough County Public Schools soon followed up with a post via Twitter regarding the subject, spreading the news to families connected on social media. 

“@GovRonDeSantis has just directed all FL schools remain closed through the end of the school year due to COVID-19,” the tweet said.  “For your health & safety, our district will follow this directive and continue with our eLearning Plan.” 

 Hillsborough County implemented a system for families to check out a device for all students to take part in E-Learning. Schools developed a rotating schedule for checkout.  

“Right now, families with multiple children will be provided one device so we can ensure that at least every household that needs a device can check one out,” a tweet from the same account said. “Your school will reach out to you to schedule a time to pick up a computer. A guardian must be present to pick up a device.” 

 Additionally, Hillsborough County Technology Training announced on @HCPSTechTrain that they were conducting virtual Edsby training for educators through Zoom sessions.  

“We’re working diligently to add more @Edsby sessions in PDS,” one tweet posted. “If sessions are full, continue to check PDS as additional offerings are added.” 

Hillsborough City Council of PTA shared a Twitter link to the county website with an explanation on how to install Microsoft Office ProPlus for free. This software could be installed on up to 5 devices, including iPads, Macs and PCs. 

“Eligible students are able to download Microsoft Office ProPlus applications on up to 5 PC’s or Macs, and up to 5 tablets including iPads). These applications include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Skype for Business, OneNote, Access and Publisher,” the site wrote. “Publisher and Access available on PC’s only, OneNote is available for download for other platforms.”