It was back to the books for Rockdale County students Monday; and the first day of school is fast approaching for other metro-area students.
Administrators with the 16,000-student district about 20 miles east of Atlanta said there were few hiccups.
"So far, so good as I knock on wood," district spokeswoman Cindy Ball said Monday morning. "We had a very good start this morning. The kids and the teachers are excited to be back in the classroom."
This school year, Georgia will roll out a new set of academic goals called "Common Core," an initiative to set a new set of national standards for what students learn in school.
The state will also begin using its new performance measurement system to give schools and districts a numerical grade. The College and Career Ready Performance Index, will give schools and districts grades based on a variety of factors, including: attendance and graduation rates; closing gaps in achievement between different groups of students; performance on ACT, SAT, end-of-course tests; and success at completing career-readiness programs.
State and local budget cuts forced board members across metro Atlanta to place more furlough days on teachers, cut school days and discontinue several academic programs.
In Rockdale, students and parents shouldn't expect any significant changes this year, Ball said. Despite budget cuts, the district was able to keep all 180 school days.
Decatur City and Cherokee County students return to school Wednesday.
Staff writer Wayne Washington contributed to this report
Back to school dates for metro-area schools:
Friday, Aug. 3 — Buford City Schools
Monday, Aug. 6 — Atlanta City , Gwinnett County
Thursday, Aug. 9 — Forsyth County and Marietta City
Monday Aug. 13 —Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton and Fayette counties
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