DeKalb County School District (DCSD), in collaboration with other metro area school districts, will close the school district on Monday, March 16, 2020, until further notice. All employees will continue to be paid and will work remotely from home. Student learning will continue through virtual learning assignments in the VERGE platform.
Throughout the process, DeKalb Schools has relied on the guidance from the Georgia Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DeKalb County Board of Health, Georgia Department of Education, and state leaders. During Thursday’s 3 p.m. press conference, Gov. Kemp communicated the following, “Given the rise of the coronavirus, I am going to issue a call to action. If local communities feel it is prudent, you should consider closing day cares and schools as early as tomorrow through the next two weeks.”
73% of our students receive free or reduced lunch and breakfast. DeKalb Schools is exploring options for providing emergency meal service for students. All district and school sponsored events, activities, meetings, and competitions are cancelled until further notice. It also includes athletics, extracurricular, school events and systemwide events.
Prom – Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety and well-being of our students and staff, ALL 2020 Junior-Senior Proms will be postponed until further notice. Principals will be directed to contact their venue to inform them of the necessity to postpone. They will also immediately notify their Senior Class Sponsor(s) and parents of members of both the junior and senior classes. It is the school district’s hope that the contracted venues will work with the schools to reschedule all of the PROMS at a later date.
School Supplies – It is currently undetermined when/if students will be able to access their school for books and other materials they will need for the upcoming virtual learning.
Length of Closure – Governor Kemp recommended closing for 2 weeks. According to the CDC, most people will be able to recover from COVID-19 at home. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. The estimated average incubation period of COVID-19 is 5 days and it is expected that nearly all infected persons who have symptoms will do so within 12 days of infection. The current period of active monitoring recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is 14 days.
More information will be forthcoming. I’ll post information as I get it.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”