The Bibb County School District was the only major school system in Middle Georgia to postpone in-person classes well into the school year, opting to begin with two months of virtual education.
Part of that decision process involved asking parents and guardians to choose between in-person or online education for their children. Now, a month into virtual school, district leaders are once again asking parents if they prefer online or in-person classes, gauging how perceptions have changed due to experiences and the evolving COVID-19 situation. Parents have until 11 p.m. Monday night to let the district know what teaching method they prefer.
Keith Simmons, the district’s chief of staff, noted school leaders want to give parents flexibility between the two options, noting that some parents wanted their children to learn from home because they were concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, while others believed it was the best way for their children to learn. A month in, the district wants to know if that thinking has changed.
District leaders aren’t promising everyone will necessarily get their way: a significant change in what Macon parents prefer could be difficult to accommodate, considering the school district is well into the planning process for November.
“We are just giving parents an opportunity to inform us if they believe what they’re currently experiencing is what they anticipated,” Simmons said.
Simmons said Bibb County school leaders have paid attention to the safety procedures other districts have put in place, adding the caveat that every community is different. The district will work to limit the amount of time students and employees are in close proximity; students are expected to wear masks “to the maximum extent possible,” and temperature scans, health screenings and isolation rooms will all be part of the district’s attempts to mitigate spread of the coronavirus.
Despite safety precautions, there remains a real chance that students and staff will be exposed to COVID-19. If and when that happens, Simmons said the district will be “transparent” about what’s happening and will continue to follow guidance from the Georgia health department and CDC.
Superintendent Curtis Jones announced Bibb schools would move to virtual-only learning from Sept. 8 through the end of October, the first eight weeks of school. This came after Bibb County schools initially pushed the start of classes to after Labor Day.
Jones published a blog post on Sept 21 to update the community on his decision to continue to offer online classes while other schools in the region went back to classrooms.
Jones wrote that Bibb County had reported more COVID-19 cases and deaths than any of the other 13 counties served by the North Central Health District, which includes Baldwin, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe and Peach counties. The county still leads the region with over 6,000 reported coronavirus cases.
Virtual-only instruction ends after the first grading period, which means students are scheduled to return to classes Nov. 2. Simmons said that’s still the plan, while acknowledging the pandemic’s status in Bibb County continues to change.
Coronavirus numbers are improving in Macon; cases, hospitalizations and deaths are trending lower than their July/August peak, although still higher than early in the pandemic.
“I don’t anticipate any changes relative to returning to face-to-face; I don’t anticipate any large groups returning prior to that,” he said. “We acknowledge the numbers are encouraging, we’re seeing a downward trend. We’ll continue to have careful conversations with staff and the school board, leveraging data from the department of health.”
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Macon Telegraph.
