Banks County students and staff will get a few extra days of Christmas break thanks to the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
“Our school system has begun to experience a higher spread rate, especially among our staff members, making it difficult to provide the personnel support necessary to continue face-to-face instruction,” said Superintendent Ann Hopkins, Ed. D., in a statement Monday.
That means the last day students will attend school will be Tuesday, Dec. 15.
“Our plans are to thoroughly clean, sanitize, and disinfect all buildings and facilities to prepare for students and staff to return in January,” Hopkins said. “Unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control, North Georgia is a developing COVID-19 hotspot. Please be aware that our return to school in the new year is not guaranteed.”
Mobile devices will be sent home with students to ensure they are prepared should the system have to switch to remote learning after the break.
“Please know that we are delighted that we have been able to provide face-to-face instruction for almost all of our first semester,” Hopkins said. “We will work to do so in the second semester as well, but we encourage families to develop a backup plan should we need to transition to remote learning.”
School nutrition services for the remainder of this week will be provided to students, with those details relayed to affected families via the school system website and social media.
Last week, Banks County Government announced limited staff to serve residents at county offices due to COVID-19.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/12/963465/covid-prompting-early-break-for-banks-county-schools