Bibb Co. students will return to class after a month of online learning. What to know
The Bibb County School District was prepared to welcome students back to the classroom after the holiday break.
But spiking COVID-19 cases led school leaders to temporarily halt in-person classes, moving to virtual instruction across the district until at least Feb. 1.
“We wanted to give ourselves some time to see how things would play out locally,” Keith Simmons, chief of staff for the district, said. “We made the decisions that we did, and it appears that we made a good decision.”
The Bibb County school board will discuss the return date during its Thursday meeting before making a final decision about resuming in-person classes.
A plan to return
Students are participating in virtual classes, and the district is feeding students with weekly meal distributions (usually on Mondays, although this week’s distribution happened on Tuesday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday). Parents still need to log onto the school district’s website (bcsdk12.net) to request meals.
When students do return, the district’s goal is get as many of them as possible inside classrooms. Bibb County schools wrapped up its most recent efforts to get feedback from students and parents on whether they prefer in-person or remote learning.
“We believe that we have the ability to accommodate the preferences of families,” Simmons said. “We’re creating operational plans to do so. Hopefully, by the end of the month, we’ll be able to communicate those plans to families.”
Answering questions from parents, students
Parents with questions about the process can reach out to their respective school’s administrator, Simmons said, stay engaged with the school’s communication efforts or reach out to the central office.
“All facets of our schools are in operation,” Simmons said. “On Feb. 1, we’re expecting students to return to the building. Prior to the final week of January, every family will have heard from their school in regards to the plan that we have for their child.”
Reconnecting with students
School leaders believe students learn best in classrooms; it’s easier to get food to students as well, and parents are free to work their normal schedules. Returning to classrooms also alleviates another issue: students who “disappear,” not checking in for virtual learning.
“We’re leveraging all the outreach resources that we have to connect and engage with those students,” Simmons said. “Social workers, school counselors, our attendance task force; they’re all out trying to find those students and identify any barrier that families might have come across.”
Simmons praised school administrators and staffers for their efforts to get students into class.
“I’m appreciative and proud of our staff; they’ve done a great job of working out, checking in, finding ways to remove any barrier that may lead to a performance issue,” he said. “We’re working hard to make sure all of our students have access to a quality education in the midst of the pandemic.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
