DALTON, Ga. — Whitfield County Schools will wait until late this month to announce how students will return for the 2020-21 academic year that begins Aug. 6, and that decision will be made in concert with the Whitfield County Health Department.

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable making (that call by myself),” said Judy Gilreath, superintendent of Whitfield County Schools. “We’re still working on protocols, (and) a lot of (this) depends on the spread of the” new coronavirus (COVID-19).

A committee has met “with everyone” from maintenance and operations to teaching and learning to “come up with a plan today we hope will work in August,” said Audrey Williams, assistant superintendent for accountability and assessment. “We are praying we can do” traditional, face-to-face teaching for all students next month, she added.

While a traditional start to the year is preferred, the second of three considerations is a hybrid model, where elementary students — who need in-person instruction and support more than older students — have face-to-face learning, but with students in grades four and five moved to middle and high school buildings for enhanced social distancing, Williams said. They’d move with their elementary teachers, and “we have enough room in some of our buildings to spread everyone out,” she said.

In this scenario, students in grades 6-12 would engage in virtual learning, with the exception of self-contained Exceptional Student Services students, she said. Those students would continue to receive face-to-face instruction.

In the third scenario, all students would engage in distance learning, she said. In both that situation and the second scenario, middle school and high school staff members would still report to work at school.

“We want teachers to come to the buildings” for multiple reasons, Gilreath said. For one, they can engage in professional development, mentoring and relationship building, and, for another, they’ll have access to consistent, high-speed internet for instruction with their students.

Whitfield County Schools shifted to distance learning in mid-March and continued that for the final two months of the academic term because of the pandemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics is encouraging schools to prioritize in-person education due to the deleterious impact of school closures on students academically, emotionally and socially. Several states, including Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas, have already announced plans to have students in schools this fall.

In addition, Dalton State College and all University System of Georgia institutions are planning to fully reopen this fall following guidelines of the Governor’s Task Force, the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of Gov. Brian Kemp’s state of emergency order that runs through Aug. 11, the state board of education must provide “rules, regulations and guidance for the operation of public elementary and secondary schools for local boards of education” in line with guidance from the Department of Public Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Calendar adjustments

Under a revised calendar the board of education approved Monday night, the first day for Whitfield County Schools staff members is Aug. 4 instead of Aug. 3, said Karey Williams, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. By starting on that date instead of the first Monday of the month, Whitfield County Schools can save $30,000-$40,000 in insurance costs.

In addition, Nov. 3 is a holiday for students and a professional learning day for staff, she said. Nov. 3 is Election Day.

“On Election Day, several of our buildings are used for voting, and we thought it would be safer for students not to be there,” Williams said.

Finally, April 5, 2021, was scheduled to be set aside as an inclement weather day, but “we’re not doing that this year,” she said. Instead, that day will be a student holiday and a professional learning day for staff.