The Dougherty County Board of Education approved Superintendent Kenneth Dyer’s recommendation Monday to launch a phased return to in-person instruction starting Sept. 28. 

The plan, which was presented Monday night, calls for PreK-2nd grade students to return on Sept. 28, with 3rd through 5th graders returning October 5th.  Specific return dates for middle and high school students will be announced in the coming days. 

The district has been conducting virtual-only instruction since classes started due to an unacceptably high number of COVID-19 cases in the county. District officials continuously monitor COVID-19 data for Dougherty County.  According to Superintendent Dyer, pertinent data show key metrics used to determine a return to in-person learning trending in a favorable direction.  “With the current low rate of community spread coupled with a positivity rate below six percent, our COVID-19 numbers have improved enough to warrant a return to in-person instruction,” Dyer said.

Due to reduced class-sizes in an effort to provide for adequate social distancing, students of parents who chose the in-person option on a survey the district conducted this summer, along with students who have certain special needs, will have first priority when transitioning back to the classroom. Parents who opted for their children to participate in virtual instruction on that survey can opt for in-person instruction but those assignments will be made if space is available. Parents who wish to keep their students in virtual instruction can continue to do so.

Parents and students should expect school operations to look much different than they looked when they departed last spring.  Social distancing, mask wearing, temperature checks, frequent cleaning and other safeguards will be in place.  You can read the district’s full plan at www.docoschools.org/reopen