Students at Sardis Elementary School in Hall County will spend their last day of school before Christmas break online. The school system announced today it is switching Sardis to blended learning.
“In the past 36 hours, Sardis Elementary School has experienced a significant increase in teacher and staff absences due to quarantine numbers and positive cases of COVID-19. We are finding it a challenge to adequately staff the building and deliver instruction,” a statement from the school system reads.
Sardis Elementary School will move all in-person students online for Friday, December 18. The building will undergo a deep cleaning Thursday evening and teachers and staff not under quarantine will report to the building on Friday to ensure effective delivery of blended instruction.
Hall County Schools will notify parents over the holiday as to when students will return to in-person learning. School officials encourage students and staff to observe mitigation practices “during this critical time.” Administrators stress “all of us must do our part to socially distance, wear masks, and take other precautions” to ensure a safe and timely return to in-person instruction.
Habersham hits COVID high
Sardis is the 22nd Hall County school to switch its students online because of the virus in the past two weeks. Rabun County also moved its entire student body online for the remainder of this week following what officials call an “unprecedented increase” in COVID cases.
Although they’ve closed and delayed schools this week due to the weather, school administrators in Habersham have no plans to close due to COVID.
On December 17, the Habersham County School System reported its highest number of positive COVID cases to date. Currently, there are 48 cases among students and staff. The previous record was 46.
All but two of Habersham County’s fourteen schools now have at least one active case of the virus. Hazel Grove Elementary School and the Success Academy are the only schools currently without any active COVID cases.
