Updates On Decatur, DeKalb 2021 School Reopening Plans

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — City Schools of Decatur and DeKalb County Schools have updated their reopening plans for the second semester of the 2020-21 school year. Both plans include staggered in-person schedules and hybrid learning models.

Virtual learning will take place for all grade levels within CSD from Jan. 5 - 15, according to a CSD newsletter. Students in pre-K through fifth grade can return to school in person starting Jan. 19. Parents of students in those grade levels were able to choose between virtual or in-person learning; however, students in sixth through 12th grades will remain in virtual learning until the board decides when those students can return for in-person learning.

Each campus within CSD had the ability to modify specific times for staggered arrivals and dismissals upon returning face-to-face Jan. 19. To view school-specific information about returning in-person, click here. CSD officials also created an overview one-sheet of each school's schedule as of Dec. 17.

CSD students have remained in virtual learning since March, when the coronavirus pandemic caused school districts nationwide to close for the remainder of the spring semester. Theinitial plan was to begin a phased return for in-person instruction by mid-October, but after several protests, teacher resignations and new public health data, district officials reversed their assessment.

DeKalb County Schools will begin its reopening process on a staggered schedule on Jan. 4, 2021, according to a press release from the district Dec. 16. DCSD Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris and her team presented the district's updated reopening plan during a virtual town hall meeting Dec. 14.

Teachers and staff will return to school buildings Jan. 4, and educators will continue to teach virtually until Jan. 19, according to the district's school reopening documents. Students in pre-K through second grade, in addition to sixth and ninth grades, can resume face-to-face learning on Jan. 19 as the district begins phasing in students. The remaining grade levels can return to face-to-face learning on Jan. 25.

DCSD will continue to offer the second semester's instruction in a concurrent learning environment, which is a blended combination of both face-to-face and distance/remote learning. Parents can choose to continue virtual learning or return for in-person instruction; however, this reopening plan is contingent upon coronavirus data and the level of community spread.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that DCSD will allow students, teachers and staff to return to school five days per week if the positivity rate is below 5 percent. If the rate increases, the number of in-person school days for students and staff will decrease.

Positivity rates greater than 10 percent will require online-only learning for all students, the AJC reported. The Georgia Department of Public Health reported on Dec. 16 — the latest available coronavirus data — that DeKalb County has a positivity rate of 10.3 percent in the last two weeks, or 492 cases per 100,000 people during that same time period.

Previously, district officials said they would wait until DeKalb reported 100 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period before reopening schools, but announced the change in this metric during the town hall meeting Monday, according to the AJC.

Neighboring Cobb and Fulton county school districts are resuming remote learning for some schools through the rest of 2020, the districts announced earlier this week. Fulton changed its plan Dec. 16, while Cobb announced the change Dec. 15.

Next assessments of reopening plans, should they change, will be presented at upcoming board meetings for both districts:

• DeKalb County Schools Board of Education
  • Next work session: Jan. 11, 2021 at 2 p.m.
  • Next meeting: 7 p.m.
  • Click here for the virtual meeting link and board agenda
• City Schools of Decatur Board of Education
  • Next meeting: Jan. 12, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.
  • Click here for the virtual meeting link and board agenda