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Thanks to our community, students, and staff, the Barrow County School System can now say we have “Saved Our School Year.” Heroic efforts of our school leaders and staff made it possible to provide families with the option to learn digitally or in person. Our schools created learning environments and processes that were as safe as possible following our district’s mitigation practices. Contact tracing efforts helped to limit viral spread. It was a hard year for everyone. Your flexibility, sacrifices, and trust enabled us to reopen our schools for students in September and finish this school year with our schools open and learning happening. Thank you.
We are excited to celebrate the Class of 2021 graduates this week. With the current community spread levels and daily case rates, we are very happy to be able to make masks optional for our graduates at the ceremonies. Our graduations will be held outside, and graduates' seats will be spaced out on the fields. We encourage families and visitors to follow CDC guidelines by wearing masks as appropriate and maintaining physical distancing in the stands.
As we look ahead to August 2021, we are optimistic that masks will be optional for students and staff when school resumes. We will continue to monitor our community’s spread levels and other data throughout the summer. If we see a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and CDC and/or Department of Health indicate a need, we may need to reconsider the mask requirement and school operating procedures. We encourage our community to get vaccinated and continue to follow CDC guidelines when it comes to mitigation practices such as wearing a mask and physical distancing. If we all work together, hopefully, next school year can open as close to “normal” as possible.
Thank you.
Dr. Chris McMichael
Superintendent