Henry leaders approve five-day in-person high school classes

High schoolers in Henry County can return to class five-days a week beginning Monday.

The board of education for the south metro Atlanta district decided earlier this week to bring back high school students who want in-person instruction for weekly classes starting Oct. 26. Those who prefer to remote learning can continue to do so.

“Our numbers continue to be well below the threshold that has been set to indicate unfavorable conditions in our county,” Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis said. “We continue to be aware of the health metrics and have gone so far as to make them publicly available to our community members.

"Our purpose with this final phase of returning to our campuses is to allow for that full-week return for high school students choosing to learn on campus.”

Henry has been staggering the return of students to in-person classes since September, including bringing back special education children late that month and Pre-K through eighth grade pupils in early October.

About 15,000 students or 36% of the district’s population have opted to return to brick-and-mortar buildings, school leaders said. The district has an overall student body count of 43,000.