Just as people were protesting mask mandates outside, the Fulton County School Board on Aug. 12 heard new options for remote learning and a mask-optional school.
Chief Academic Officer Cliff Jones told the board both a K-2 Remote Learning option and a K-8 Learning Hub (with masks optional) will be offered starting Sept. 7.
During the monthly work session, which was held at the North Learning Center in Sandy Springs, about 40 to 50 people were outside protesting the school district’s mask requirement, Fulton County Schools spokesperson Brian Noyes confirmed.
The new learning options will be contingent upon enough students being signed up to participate and teachers to operate them. So far, both are offered first semester. The school district is asking parents to commit to the full semester.
The remote learning option was designated for up to 300 students.
“We acknowledge that there’s a myriad of concerns that parents are navigating, which necessitate a remote option for our young ones,” Jones said.
The K-8 Learning Hub is being set up for 500 students. The learning hub will be in the former Crabapple Middle School, which was available because a new school opened this year. School district staff is working to clean and prepare the building for classes, he said.
Masks will be optional at the K-8 Learning Hub for staff and students with parental agreement, unless a higher government authority mandates them.
Masks also will not be required during recess or during any outside activities, including athletic practices and competitions, Looney said.
All students enrolled in elementary or middle school in the district are eligible to attend the K-8 Learning Hub. No transportation will be provided to the school at 10700 Crabapple Road in Roswell, though Superintendent Mike Looney said they are seeking partners to assist particularly with students in south Fulton.
“We had every intention going into this fall to make masks optional, because we truly believed that we had successfully managed the peak of the COVID curve,” Looney said.
Over the last several weeks, evidence suggests the school district must deal with another peak with the Delta variant that is much more contagious, he said.
After three days of classroom instruction, the school district had 172 students who tested positive and 26 employees – 14 of whom were fully vaccinated – who also tested positive for COVID-19, Looney said.
“If we don’t maintain control of that spread, then we’re going to have to pivot back to remote learning at all schools over a period of time. That is not consistent with our priority of maintaining a safe, uninterrupted, face-to-face learning environment for students,” he said. “Quite frankly, it’s not in the best interest of students or employees or this community or the economy. Because the schools are closed for virtual learning, moms and dads have to stay home.”
Students attending the K-8 Learning Hub would get in-person instruction for core classes. Connection classes – health, physical education or world languages – would be augmented through the district’s virtual program.
The K-2 Remote Learning option will require parents to be directly involved with their child’s learning. Jones said families who select this option will be issued an FCS device and a hotspot if necessary, and they must commit to a full semester of attendance.
“They need to provide adult supervision for their children during these instructional hours,” Jones said.
More information and intent forms will be posted on the school district’s website beginning Aug. 13 and ending Aug. 20.
“I would like to just state that I really appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking, and I haven’t seen anything like this in any other district. And I think that we truly are trying to provide choice, which is something that we’ve always supported in our district,” Gail Dean, District 3 board member, said.