More Georgia school districts shutting down early
The public schools in Macon, a quick drive south of Atlanta, will end the year early, making the 22,000 student district the latest in Georgia to shut down services ahead of their regularly scheduled end of school during the coronavirus emergency.
The district announced on its website that graduation ceremonies will be delayed a couple months, to the end of July.
“Right now, it just is not safe to hold large events, so we have made the decision to postpone graduation ceremonies,” Bibb officials announced.
The city a little over an hour south of Atlanta is served by the Bibb County School District, which told the Georgia Department of Education that it will close for summer break May 1, three weeks ahead of schedule, the state agency announced Friday.
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It is among at least 10 school districts and several charter schools that have decided to end early. Also late this week, City Schools of Decatur next door to Atlanta announced it will end May 22 for its nearly 6,000 students; that is a week early, though seniors will end even earlier, on May 15. And Pickens County, a 4,000-student district in North Georgia, which had scheduled a May 22 closure, will end May 8.
These districts are the latest among a string of public school systems that have shuttered early amidst a public health emergency that has upended normal schooling.
The DeKalb County School District announced this week that it will shut down May 15 for all but seniors, who will finish a week earlier. The 99,000-student district had planned on ending for May 21.
DeKalb is the only major metro Atlanta district ending early, though other area districts are changing their calendars.
Fulton County will shut down for seniors May 1. Gwinnett County is sticking to its May 20 end date but is giving students a break from assignments on Fridays. Cobb County is also moving to a four-day digital schedule.
Several other school districts around the state have told state education officials that they will end early, as have several state-chartered schools.
Here are the school districts that are closing early, with their initial end dates and their new end dates, according to the Georgia Department of Education (note this article has been updated to reflect Henry County’s decision to end the school year early, as well):
- Bibb County — initial end date May 22, new end date May 1
- Carroll County — May 29, May 15
- Carrollton City — May 22, May 1
- Chattahoochee County — May 21, May 8
- Decatur City — May 29, May 22
- DeKalb County — May 21, May 15
- Haralson County — May 22, May 15
- Hart County — May 22, May 15
- Henry County — May 22, May 15 (May 8 for seniors)
- Pickens County — May 22, May 8
- Whitfield County — May 22, May 15
Here are the state-chartered schools that are closing early:
- International Academy of Smyrna — May 20, May 15
- Scintilla Charter Academy — May 20, April 30
- Ivy Prep Academy – ending May 15
- Statesboro STEAM Academy –May 22 – May 8
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
