On the first day of class in Clayton County, assistant superintendent Keith Colbert usually visits schools.
This, of course, is no normal school year.
Yellow buses won’t roll through Clayton neighborhoods to pick up children. Students will learn from living rooms and bedrooms, not classrooms.
Colbert, a former principal who has worked in education for 24 years, is swapping his typical first-day routine with a virtual one. He’s still planning to get up early and move around, but he’ll be doing it online — just like Clayton’s roughly 54,000 students who start school Monday.
“I am going to try to start it as close to similar as we have in the past,” he said. “I will be signing into different schools. I’ll be popping into classrooms and listening to principals’ welcome addresses.”
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Clayton is among a handful of metro Atlanta districts that will return to school this week amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gwinnett County Public Schools, the state’s largest school system, will begin classes virtually on Wednesday. The district plans to gradually move to in-person instruction “shortly after the school year starts” for parents who choose that option and as public health conditions allow, according to the district.
Buford City Schools starts Wednesday with students choosing in-person or digital learning.
On Thursday, Coweta County School System begins with virtual instruction and Forsyth County Schools will welcome students back to their choice of in-person or online learning.
Other big metro Atlanta districts such as Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb school systems start Aug. 17. Atlanta Public Schools doesn’t begin until Aug. 24.
Schools in Cherokee and Paulding counties opened last week with online and in-person classes. They drew national attention after photos appeared online showing large groups of students, many without masks. A second-grade classroom in a Cherokee school was shut down after a student tested positive for COVID-19.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office reported Friday that the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency is stocking schools with protective equipment as they reopen. The list so far includes 2 million cloth masks for adults and 1.25 million cloth masks for children; 3,000 thermometers; 50,000 full-face shields and 243,753 gallons of sanitizing gel.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Concerns about exposure to the virus have prompted protests from Gwinnett teachers, who are required to go into school buildings to teach virtual lessons. Employees in several districts, including Gwinnett, have tested positive for the virus as they prepare for the new year.
In Clayton, teachers are allowed to lead online classes from their homes. The district has been training teachers for virtual instruction. Their focus on the first day will be on building relationships with students. Colbert wants the launch to be a rewarding experience, even though it looks drastically different.
Flexibility will be the word of the day.
“This is a new time for all of us. We have to go through this with an open mind,” he said.
