Fulton County Schools Continues Remote Learning Through Next Week

FULTON COUNTY, GA — Fulton County Schools will continue in an all-remote learning environment for both students and teachers through Jan. 15 due to the spike in coronavirus cases, district officials announced Friday.

The district's intent is to resume face-to-face instruction on Tuesday, Jan. 19, following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

"Fulton County Schools remains committed to offering face-to-face instruction for families who have selected this option. However, due to recent developments, the district will continue in its current remote learning state through the end of next week, Jan. 11-15," FCS officials said in a statement.

During the district's winter break, district leadership monitored coronavirus developments and consulted with public health officials, according to the statement. But because of the surge in cases — with Georgia breaking its single-day case count on Friday at 10,393 new cases — and hospitals across the state coming close to capacity, the district elected to institute its universal remote learning plan next week.

"We are now facing a post-holiday surge of positive cases impacting our ability to sufficiently operate schools; local hospitals report they are near or at capacity; and new information has been shared about vaccination availability to school personnel," the statement read. "These developments have all been part of the decision-making process leading to this delay."

FCS employees eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine will have the opportunity to receive it voluntarily during this time, according to the statement. This includes all FCS health care workers, school police officers and employees over the age of 65.

"We recognize that our families have experienced significant changes during this pandemic and are ready for a return to normalcy," district officials said in the statement. "Fulton County Schools shares this desire and remains committed to providing a safe environment for our students to learn and our teachers and staff to work."