Cobb County Schools Will Start The Year With Remote Learning

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb County schools announced Thursday that when school starts Aug. 17, students won’t be in their classrooms. The district has made the decision to go 100 percent remote learning.

It was announced in a virtual board meeting Thursday morning. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said that the school year will start in a virtual environment, but can’t say how long it’ll last.

“This decision has been weighing on me for a while,” Ragsdale said in a statement. “I know we need to get back to face-to-face instruction. That is why we tried to offer parents two options—in-person and remote—to start the school year. Unfortunately, public health guidance does not make that possible.

“Our teachers are awesome, and they will continue to do an awesome job virtually, but nothing takes the place of in-person instruction from our Cobb County teachers. I am not setting a timeline for how long our students will engage in virtual learning. We will continue to monitor the data and work with public health officials so we can open for face-to-face instruction as soon as humanly possible.”

Tablets and laptops will be made available to students who don’t have them at home, the district said.

The school district initially announced that there would be a face-to-face learning option for families who wanted their child back in a classroom.