Thousands of Henry County public school students will be returning to campus next week following the conclusion of fall break.
A district-wide survey was conducted after the Henry County Board of Education voted August 31 to phase in on-campus learning for those who wish to participate. According to officials, about 64 percent of families chose to continue with remote learning, while 34 percent will make their way back to campuses starting the week of September 28.
As a part of the plan, Phase 2 will welcome back students in all grades for a two-day return and orientation period, based on a student’s last name. The other three days of that week, students will continue with their remote learning.
The week of October 5 will see students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade return to campus five days a week, while grades 9-12 will remain on a split schedule, all as a part of Phase 3. The final phase start date has yet to be determined but will include high school students returning to campus five days a week.
Students serving in self-contained programs through the district’s Exceptional Student Education program will return to in-person classes five days a week starting September 28. if they opted in on the survey.
For families choosing to continue their learning remotely, district officials have reported a number of adjustments since the start of the school year to make that experience better.
Meanwhile, students have continued receiving meals from the district’s Nutrition Department for a nominal charge since the first week of school, but now that service will be available at no charge thanks to waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for districts that participated in summer food services in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown. The free meals will be available for all students regardless of if they are on campus or remaining as remote learners.
Starting September 30, remote learning students will be able to pick up their meals directly from their regular school as opposed to having to go to one of the ten distribution sites from where families were previously being served. Students returning to campus and choosing the school lunch and breakfast choices will receive those daily from the cafeteria.” All remote learners will still need to log on to MySchoolBucks.com to pre-order their meal plans each week between Thursday and Monday.
District leaders encourage those families believing they qualify for free or reduced-price meals to complete the online application by September 30. This support for families will be needed for when the temporary federal assistance ends at the end of the year. The free and reduced lunch application can be completed using the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
