Henry County Schools is offering the option of in-person learning for its students -- assuming the number of coronavirus cases do not dramatically increase.
Beginning Sept. 28, students whose last names begin with the letters A through M can go to school in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, while those whose last names begin with the letters N through Z can go on Thursdays and Fridays.
Parents have to make a decision about whether to allow their children to return to brick-and-mortar classrooms by Sept. 14.
The Sept. 28 return is part of a four-phase plan Henry County Schools is devising as coronavirus infection numbers begin to stabilize in the south metro Atlanta community, allowing the district to inch toward a more traditional school day.
“We planned for two different scenarios from the start,” Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis said in a press release. “Our scenario one did include the hybrid model of allowing families to choose either on-campus or remote learning for their child, but scenario two was a full remote start for all students based on the instance of unfavorable health metrics or government orders.
“The health metrics dictated that move back in July, but improving health metrics are allowing us to responsibly consider going back to the hybrid model,” she said.
The phased plan includes:
Phase 1: students and their families decide by Sept. 14 preference for hybrid model of partial in-person classes or remaining all virtual.
Phase 2: In-person hybrid model begins Sept. 28.
Phase 3: Elementary and middle schoolers who want in-person instruction five days a week may do so beginning Oct. 5 while high schoolers remain on hybrid schedule.
The fourth phases would allow all students who want in-person classes to return to brick-and-mortar buildings five days a week. The district said the date for such a move has not yet been determined.
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