Given the emergency orders in place by the State of Georgia, your governance teams may meet by teleconference (Zoom, etc.) under the Open Meetings Act. You still have to give notice and allow access to public. Open Meetings Act Document
During the COVID-19 Crisis all flexibility questions from our Charter System Districts should be directed to: Tiffany Taylor, Deputy Superintendent, Policy & External Affairs, GA Department of Education: titaylor@doe.k12.ga.us
Georgia Reps. Work for Increased Rural Broadband During COVID Outbreak: Several members of the Georgia delegation are teaming up in a bi-partisan effort to increase broadband access to residents in rural parts of the state. Reps. Doug Collins (R-GA-09), Austin Scott (R-GA-08), and Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02) sent a letter to officials at Windstream late last week stressing the importance of increased broadband access during this unprecedented time in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.
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The Marietta City School System is taking a unique step to make sure students learning from home during the pandemic have access to a quality internet connection. Click Here For the Story
Floyd Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson handwriting a note to each of the 630 graduating seniors about the lost semester and to say, ‘I believe in you.’
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CALHOUN CITY SETS PROM AND GRADUATION DATES: Calhoun High School has announced it will hold graduation at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1, as long as conditions allow. Senior prom has also been rescheduled for Friday, July 31.The rescheduled events come after weeks of uncertainty due to school closures caused by the local coronavirus outbreak. Calhoun City Schools Superintendent Michele Taylor said while this school year has been “anything but traditional,” she and the Board of Education are committed to celebrating the many accomplishments of the Class of 2020.
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BARROW COUNTY: Barrow County teachers are going above and beyond to help local healthcare workers and first responders by providing them with masks.
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COFFEE COUNTY: School nutrition programs are champions when it comes to flexibility. When Georgia implemented the COVID-19 Shelter in Place Order, the Coffee County School Nutrition Program had to take its adjustment skills to a new level. What started out as a mission to maintain breakfast and lunch service for their average 4,700 customers per day, has evolved into service for almost 11,000 children per day, throughout the county.
Every school nutrition program has to regularly adjust to changes in federal and state guidelines, product shortages and substitutions, staffing challenges, etcetera. The current pandemic has brought in a multitude of additional and unforeseen challenges. Systems are purchasing many of the same products, often causing delays or substitutions, which affects the menus or the packaging of meals. The USDA guidelines are still in place, but waivers are available for systems to apply for, which helps ease the burden of providing meal components that are sometimes impossible to access. Employees are now conscious of following social distance guidelines, wearing masks, and having daily temperature checks. Through all of this, however, the mission never changes…children need meals.
Modeling their Seamless Summer Option, or summer feeding program, meals are available for children 18 and younger. The school transportation department has become a critical part of the emergency feeding plan. With the help of the transportation and maintenance departments, everything is packed onto buses and transported by routes. Bus monitors and volunteers throughout the community deliver meals to waiting children who are greeted with the familiar face of their bus driver, and often, one of their teachers. This program has nourished the children it serves and has kept a visible and somewhat tangible connection to their school. In addition to delivering meals, teacher volunteers are on each bus and at each school on designated days to deliver learning packets to parents who request them. Employees from all departments have come together to make this happen. Contact: Sue Farmer (912) 389-6517
LUMPKIN COUNTY: When Northeast Georgia Health System reached out asking if we had any goggles we could donate to them, Lumpkin County School teachers didn’t hesitate to take action. As a collective effort from all five schools, we donated 475 goggles to NGHS! #TR1BE
GORDON COUNTY: Sonoraville High School Early Childhood Education (ECE) teacher Lori Key challenged students in her classes to create fun, educational games for preschoolers and elementary-aged children to play at home as part of their distance learning curriculum. The catch? The games had to be made from materials students would already have in their homes.
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Being at home for Spring Break does not have to be boring! At gcbe.org/staycations you will find some fun ideas for enjoying Spring Break right where you are. Just click the links on the left of the page to learn more about each staycation idea. Make sure to tag us in your pictures of your staycations with #GCStaycation!
Gordon County Schools delivered 2500 bags of food to families to use over spring break. This is in addition to the 40,000+ meals that had already been served to families since schools closed in mid-March.
FANNIN COUNTY: Fannin County Schools has many local new stories related to how they are managing the COVID 19 school closings and continuing to support each other during these unprecedented times.
Click to Read & See Pictures: Caring for the Community through Education
| BARROW COUNTY: Teachers, in Barrow County, are 3D printing PPE for front-line workers and connecting it to student learning. Click Here to learn more… |
Fulton County Schools: As Fulton County Schools plans under the leadership of superintendent Dr. Mike Looney, there has been a strong focus on supporting our Charter System Schools through frequent communication. The district continues to adjust plans based on new updates from the state and an ever-changing landscape of questions and concerns from stakeholders. Our approach has been varied and has included a mix of online and written communications from all levels of the organization. [AJC Article: “Fulton school board talks in-person classes next year, budget effects”] The Governance and Flexibility team at Fulton County Schools has followed the lead of Dr. Looney and has created a tiered communication strategy to keep School Governance Councils at each school informed and prepared during this shutdown. A few of the aspects of our tiered strategy are listed below:
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