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Only several days after announcing this week’s school closings, Hall County and Gainesville school systems are having to move quickly again.
With a new order in place from Gov. Brian Kemp to close all state public primary, secondary and post-secondary schools from March 18 to March 31, Hall and Gainesville faculty and staff are having to extend online learning and student meal deliveries for another week-and-a-half.
"This measure is critical to reducing local transmission in communities across our state, and I ask Georgians to continue to follow best practices — washing their hands regularly, isolating the elderly and chronically ill, and avoiding large events if possible — in the days and weeks ahead," Kemp said in an email release on March 16.
Gainesville Superintendent Jeremy Williams said Gainesville City School System was able to take advantage of the district-wide planning day Monday, March 16, to finish long-term online learning procedures.
More than a week ago he said teachers were asked to plan for four weeks of instruction.
“Our staff collaborated to create materials for our students, and they will continue to collaborate as teams to provide various supports for all of our students,” Williams said. “We have a community focused on helping one another, and we will adapt as needed.”
Around noon on Tuesday, March 17, Stan Lewis, Hall’s director of community relations, announced the district’s plans for the upcoming weeks.
In the email release, he said Gov. Kemp’s decision will not affect Hall’s plan to conduct school from home.
“We will continue to serve our students and provide quality instruction through our online learning management system and other digital learning opportunities,” Lewis said in the release. “Years of planning, trial and error testing, inclement weather days and ‘high school from home days,’ have prepared us well for a situation of this proportion.”
Hall students who experience difficulties with their district-owned devices can now receive technical support in Spanish and English. Parents and students can call 770-534-6313 or visit hallco.org/web/dld for assistance.
Parents and guardians are still encouraged to remind Gainesville and Hall students that school is in session, despite the change in location.
Lewis and Williams said both districts plan to continue delivering meals to students while they’re in classes at home.