Bibb County Schools begins two weeks of virtual learning as area COVID cases rise

The Bibb County School District starts two weeks of remote learning today, a measure prompted by the spread COVID-19 cases in the community and the Labor Day holiday, school officials said.

The district plans to return to in-person classes Sept. 20.

The pandemic continues to worsen in Middle Georgia because of the highly contagious delta variant and vaccination rates that continue to hover below 50%. The state health department most recently reported more than 9,000 new cases, and Georgia has more people hospitalized for COVID-19 than ever before.

Last week, 301 Bibb County students, teachers and staff tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Friday evening report from the district.

“We’re in this together, and our schools are a reflection of our community,” Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones said last week. “We need to recognize school for students in person is the best place to be, and I’m hopeful that this short recess is something that will let us get back to school so we don’t have to continue this again.”

All students will move to asynchronous learning, which means classes won’t be taught live. Rather, teachers will upload lessons ahead of time for students to complete. Students will log into Canvas via ClassLink each day to complete assignments and check in.

“This is going to be a short period of time for us to be virtual; we’re looking at two weeks,” Jones said. “I believe that if we can go asynchronous for that period of time, we will be able to keep students learning and keep our students and staff members safe.”

Jones added the district is doing everything it can to be a valuable part of the community by helping reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“We have to make some sacrifices,” Jones said. “Some of those sacrifices are wearing a mask, getting a vaccine and making sure students are socially distancing when they are in school and out of school.”

Another reason for moving virtual temporarily is because coronavirus cases tend to spike during holiday weekends.

“This was a hard decision to make, so what the community can do to make sure this is only a two-week period is keep wearing a mask, be careful over Labor Day weekend, if you can, go out and get your child and yourself vaccinated,” Jones said.

This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 9:52 AM.