An announcement through the Dade County School Systems’ text system on Tuesday afternoon from Dade County Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris gave Dade County students and parents a new start date of August 13th. The text notification said the decision was made after much deliberation and that there were multiple reasons for the delay.
Harris later issued a press release explaining the delay.
“The Dade County Team is united in its desire to have schools remain open once students return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, administrators and teachers agreed that additional days were needed for preparation and training. A new Virtual School is in place for Dade County students and educators are receiving training in the new APEX and Schools PLP learning platforms. Approximately 16% of students opted for the first-ever Virtual School while the remainder of students plan to attend Traditional School five days a week.
DES Principal Tracy Blevins stated, “Faculty and Staff members are appreciative of the extra days to prepare for our students’ return. Parents have told us they understand the tremendous stress educators are facing in this challenging time, and they appreciate the efforts on their behalf.”
Teachers and staff members are establishing new protocols while incorporating the recommendations from the CDC, GaDOE and DPH, and they are receiving safety training. Classrooms and learning spaces are being reconfigured to meet the needs of this new environment.
Dr. Harris said, “On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to thank our stakeholders for their support during this unprecedented time. We are doing the very best we can for our boys and girls to ensure that their needs are met through partnerships with local, state and federal agencies. We believe, like the Georgia School Boards Association, that the best control is local control. Therefore, we will continue to work with our families, and together, we will do what is best for Dade County.”
All other calendar dates on the approved Dade County Schools calendar will remain the same. Open House will proceed as scheduled on August 5th and August 6th.
Additional information about the Reopening Plans for Dade County can be found on the website at www.dadecs.org.
