Back to school: Dougherty School System starts classes on Monday

ALBANY — Monday is the big day for kids in Dougherty County, with 13,000 students and 3,200 staff returning for the opening of school as the Dougherty County School System returns, as nearly as possible, to the new “normal” in education.

“We’re looking forward to a great year, and I look forward to our students marching toward success,” Schools Superintendent Kenneth Dyer said.

All students will return to the cafeterias, with schools opening as mask-optional and following new U.S. Centers for Disease and Control guidelines released earlier this week.

“We’re going to adapt our protocols to be consistent with the CDC guidelines that are more relaxed,“ Dyer said. “That’s what I looked at here. We feel more comfortable (with the) testing of our kids not being as stringent as they have been.”

The school system will continue a thorough cleaning regimen and use air filtering devices in the heating and cooling systems.

The CDC’s new guidelines do not recommend coronavirus screening tests for non-symptomatic students and staff, but does indicate schools can refer individuals who have symptoms or who have been exposed to someone infected to a testing site.

Students and staff who have symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections are advised to stay home, and those at high risk for severe illness from COVID should seek testing at the onset of symptoms and seek treatment if infected.

When students arrive, those in grades pre-kindergarten through eight will receive a ninth-generation iPad, and high school students will get MacBook Air laptops, part of an initiative with Apple.

“As part of our deal with Apple, we’re going to have an Apple specialist who will work with our instructional staff on how to get the most benefit from these devices,” Dyer said. “The learning specialist is well-versed in using these Apple products in the classroom (and) training.”

The system also will launch a computer coding program with coding clubs at schools. Another addition this year is the arrival of Esports at the high school level.

“We’re going to try to get the people who don’t normally compete in sports to get more involved in things that are fun and engaging,” Dyer said.

With the Uvalde shooting fresh on people’s minds, the school system also will emphasize safety, including alert badges that let school staff members notify police of an emergency. The badges will pinpoint the location where the alert is given.

“We also have other safety measures I’m not at liberty to talk about,” Dyer said.

The national teacher shortage also has impacted Dougherty schools, but the system is actually a little better than where it was at this time last year. Special education, where there are eight vacancies, science and math are the areas where the shortage is most acute.

Some math classes will continue to be taught virtually by teachers in other locations through the live-stream initiative, Dyer said.

Another national trend that also is impacting the school system is an increase in absences since the pandemic struck, a trend that continued into the previous school year.

“Some students started working during the pandemic to help out their families, and they’re still doing it,” Dyer said. “Some students have other reasons.”

The school system is working on strategies to reverse the trend.

“We’re going to implement them this year to impact (these students) in a positive way,” the superintendent said.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
File Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]