Clayton County Schools implement COVID-19 safety measures as students return to the classroom

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - About 95 percent of Clayton County school students will return to campus for in-person instruction when school starts on Monday.

Clayton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Morcease Beasley said students and staff are excited to return to the classroom this fall.

"We are excited that on August 2, our students will be returning to our classrooms, face-to-face," Dr. Beasley said.

MORE: Mask policies for each school district in metro Atlanta

With the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, Dr. Beasley said masks will be mandatory for students and employees at all district schools and on buses. The district has implemented other precautionary measures.

"We'll have desk shields that students will have on their desks," said Beasley. "Teachers will have desk shields. We will continue to try to social distance where it is possible and feasible to do so."

District officials are urging parents, students and staff to get vaccinated.

"Really just encouraging everyone to be responsible," said Beasley. "Let's do our part. We will of course have limited visitation and for everyone visiting our campuses we will require masks, temperature scans."

SEE ALSO: 'Georgia will not lock down or impose statewide mask mandates,' Gov. Kemp says

Dr. Beasely assures the public they are doing everything they can to provide a safe learning environment while ensuring students are on track academically, after a challenging 18 months.

"We've looked at our curriculum very strategically, identified, what content, standards skills we really need to teach and we are going to leverage the opportunities we do have as we increase those opportunities to help kids get back on track and exceed their current grade-level expectations."

On Saturday, the school district will host back-to-school events at Mundy's Mill High School, Forest Park High School, and North Clayton starting at 10 a.m.

WATCH: FOX 5 Atlanta live news coverage

_____

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.