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DeKalb County School District to resume in-person learning in March

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Updated  February 24, 2021 10:17pm EST
DeKalb County School District
FOX 5 Atlanta

DeKalb County students to return to in-person classes

Beginning next month, in-person instruction at DeKalb County schools will begin on a voluntary basis.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga - The DeKalb County School District is resuming in-person instruction on a voluntary basis, nearly a year to the day the pandemic forced the district to move to virtual learning.

"We closed March 13, and we are slated for March 15, to welcome back all of the students in the grade levels who want a face-to-face option," said Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris.

Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, sixth grade, and ninth-grade students will resume in-person learning on Tuesday, March 9.

Then on Monday, March 15, grade levels third, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth will return to campus.

"We are really excited as a community that we've reached this point," said Watson-Harris.

Watson-Harris said about 40 percent of parents initially polled, indicated they wanted the option to resume in-person instruction.

DeKalb County Schools returns to classrooms

Students in DeKalb County will soon have the options to go back to the classrooms.

Some schools are anticipating around 25 percent of their students to return, while others have as many as 78 percent of students returning to campus. While there is a master plan in place, Watson-Harris stressed it will be tailored to fit the needs of each individual school.

While some students engaged in virtual learning are thriving, others are struggling academically and emotionally. Watson-Harris said a return to in-person learning offers students hope for some return to normalcy.

"Students who have expressed struggles, keeping up with their AP assignments or some of our differently-abled students, that just the quality of their services has not been the same in a remote space, so we are ready and there is no sense in us just holding them back we want to provide the option. But I think that's the keyword there, everyone will have that option and parents will be able to make the option that is best for their children and their family."

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