The Richmond County School System announced Wednesday that the 2019-2020 school year would end earlier than planned as a result of the ongoing coronavirus protective measures.
The school system, which serves nearly 35,000 students, altered its plan for distance learning after spending nearly a month doing so as a way to lessen the chance of students and faculty spreading COVID-19. The school year will end May 8, and no new educational content will be introduced after Wednesday, according to the school system’s website.
Teachers in grade kindergarten through 12th grade will offer student the opportunity to resubmit or redo assignments in order to improve their grades or enhance their mastery of subjects taught in the current school year.
Any work submitted after March 16, 2020 will only postively affect students’ grades, according to the school district’s statement.
“Thank you for partnering with us to ensure that distance learning has continued successfully during these unprecedented times,” read a statement to students, parents and teachers. “We appreciate your commitment, engagement and support of your students, our teachers and staff throughout the coronavirus related school closures. We are proud of the work that has been accomplished.”
Other guidelines for the remainder of the school year include:
For students in kindergarten – 8th grade: Work completed during distance learning that improves a student's overall grades may be considered. Students will receive a final grade of PASS or FAIL for their courses based on overall content mastery. For students in grades 4-8, the minimum score to receive a passing grade is 70.
For the 2019-2020 school year, the Richmond County School System will waive its promotion and retention policy. Placement committees made of teachers, principals, and parents will have the flexibility to make placement decisions for students who do not meet traditional promotion criteria.
For high school students: Teachers will give students a choice to accept their grades as of March 19th as their final grades for 2019-2020 or to continue to earn grades for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year to improve their grade(s). Teachers will consider work completed during distance learning if the work improves a student's final course average.
- Students will not take final exams for high school courses; therefore, final exams will not be counted in the final course average.
- Graduating seniors must earn the required 23 credits in order to graduate. Students will not be penalized for circumstances beyond their control due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dual enrollment credits are awarded by the University System of Georgia or other participating colleges. Students who complete Dual Enrollment course requirements will receive credit, as determined by their college or university.
- Advanced Placement (AP) students who wish to take the AP exams for college credit will do so virtually following the guidelines from the College Board. AP exams are scored by the College Board and are not calculated into the student's course average.
Richmond County is one of several Georgia school systems, such as DeKalb County, to opt for a shorter school year in light of the scramble to coordinate distance learning and determine best practices in a virtual learning space the last several weeks. The Augusta school system is one of the larger districts so far to announce the shorter school year.
For more information, visit the Richmond County School System's website.
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