Marietta schools to loosen COVID-19 safety protocols in classrooms
The Marietta City School System will reduce the amount of space between students in the classroom and give teachers the option to remove shields from desks.
Superintendent Grant Rivera recently told parents, teachers and students in an emailed message that the district’s updated policies reflect the latest guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms.
The CDC’s recommendation last month, reduces the physical distance recommendations from six to at least three feet in classrooms and effective April 26, Marietta teachers will follow the new guidance when possible, Rivera said. The three-feet guidance will also be applied to outdoor classroom sessions and recess.
The CDC’s guidance also removes its previous recommendation for physical barriers in the classroom, a guideline Marietta schools followed by installing desk shields.
Starting Monday, teachers will have the option to remove shields on individual desks that are at least three feet apart and facing the same direction. The shields will stay in place on tables and desks that are grouped together, facing each other and are less than three feet apart.
“In closing, I recognize that many of you are wondering about what our classrooms and schools will look like come August 2021,” Rivera said. ”Please know we will continue to take a common-sense approach aligned to both the science and public health recommendations.”
About the Author
Kristal Dixon covers Cobb and DeKalb county schools for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Before joining the AJC, Dixon worked for Patch.com and the Cherokee Tribune in Canton.
