As schools around the state release their plans for the fall, the Habersham County School System is still developing theirs. On June 1, the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) released new guidelines for reopening public schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Habersham County school officials are leaning heavily on those guidelines to formulate a plan.
Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper says, “We are considering what is practical, acceptable, feasible, and tailored to the specific needs of our community.”
Community spread
Those needs will be more evident in mid-July when Georgia’s public health state of emergency is set to expire. If Gov. Brian Kemp extends the emergency, it could impact any plan that’s developed.
Currently, Habersham County has the second-highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Northeast Georgia and the twenty-first highest in the state. The Georgia Department of Public Health has established three designations for school districts based on their levels of community spread.
A county that is considered “substantial spread” will have to start the school year online. A county under the “minimal/moderate” category will have the option of either traditional or online instruction. A county in the “low/no spread” will return to traditional instruction.
“We expect Habersham County to receive a designation later this summer,” Cooper says. Once it issues those designations, the Georgia Department of Public Health will update them weekly.
READ Georgia’s Path to Recovery for K-12 Schools plan
Where and when
Some school systems in the state plan to offer ‘hybrid’ instruction – a mix of in-school and at-home classes. School officials in Habersham currently are not considering that option.
“The only reasonable options for Habersham County are to return to real classrooms with certain guidelines in place or to start the school year with a ‘learning from home’ plan,” Cooper says.
If in-person learning resumes, the school system is considering virtual options for students with serious health issues.
Once administrators determine where students will learn, they must then choose a start date.
Before Habersham students can return to campus, the school system will need to train teachers, bus drivers, nutrition workers, custodians, and other staff on the new COVID-19 guidelines.
“There is a tremendous amount of work to be done here,” says Cooper.
Classes are scheduled to start in Habersham County on Tuesday, August 4. Currently, there are only four pre-planning and training days on the calendar. The extensive public health guidelines issued by GDOE will require additional training time and that would push back Habersham’s start date later into August.
The White County School System announced this week it will resume in-school instruction on August 7 along with a virtual school option. The Habersham County School System is expected to reveal its reopening plan during the next board of education work session on July 16.
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White County Schools scheduled to resume in-school instruction August 7
This article has been updated
