Barrow School System closed starting on Monday, March 16th returning to school on Monday, March 30th

Dear Barrow County Parents and Community,

The Barrow County School System will be closed starting on Monday, March 16th with plans to return to school on Monday, March 30th. We appreciate the support of our community as we’ve taken these steps to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. We want to share some key updates as we transition from learning at school to learning from home for the next two weeks. 

If you need to pick up your child’s medication so you have it at home the next two weeks, you may come to your school on Monday or Tuesday between 8am and 3pm. Personnel will be available to check that back out to a parent or guardian.

Learning from Home

We are moving to a Learning from Home model during our school closure. It will start on Monday, March 16th. We have compiled learning activities, and teachers are creating online opportunities across grade levels. We hope you spend the next two weeks utilizing these learning activities and use it as an opportunity to connect with your child. 

There are separate activities by grade level. Please visit the Learning from Home website page for complete details and links. If your family does not have internet access, please call your school on Monday or Tuesday to talk to your principal about alternate plans. 

Update Center

We are utilizing our website as the central location for all information pertaining to this school closure. We encourage you to review this information frequently for updates. We will always post the latest communication sent home in case you missed it. 

• The frequently asked questions (FAQs) are being updating regularly as decisions are made and new questions come in. Please review those before submitting additional questions online. 
• Learning from Home is where you can find information and links about your child’s learning activities for the next two weeks. If you have any issues, first email your child’s teacher. If you still need help, please contact your principal. 
• How to talk to kids about COVID-19 for parents and guardians.

Key Decisions

Our district leadership is working hard to make important decisions that impact our families and staff. We will continue to diligently implement our pandemic plan throughout next week. We are evaluating our testing schedules, the school calendar, and other important items related to instruction and operations. 

For example, Spring break is scheduled for April 6th through April 10th. We understand that families have made plans in advance. At this time, spring break will NOT be cancelled or rescheduled.

We appreciate your patience as we work through these fluid and complicated matters. We will provide updates on all items as soon as possible on our website. 

Support

During this school closure, we are doing our best to continue to offer the highest level of support to our students and families as possible. 

• All Teachers are working from home and will be available from 9am until 2pm weekdays to respond to parent and student emails. Middle and high school teachers will be contacting their students about their online learning activities.  
• School Counselors will be available for students during this time. Families may email counselors with questions or issues. 
• Our Special Education teachers and support staff are developing a plan to continue offering services to our students. More details will be provided on an individual basis for those students. 
• Our Nutrition department will be providing meals at Apalachee and Winder-Barrow High Schools with a “drive thru” set-up at each school. Any person under the age of 18 may come weekdays between 9am and 2pm for a bagged meal, which will include a hot breakfast and deli type lunch. See menus here. 

Cleaning

While we are closed, our schools are going to be receiving a deep cleaning over the next two weeks. In addition to that, we are asking that no other staff be in the buildings to maintain those disinfected areas. Buses will also receive a deep cleaning during the closure.

Moving Forward

We continue to monitor the evolving spread of COVID-19 in our community. The public health department will alert us immediately if any presumptive or confirmed cases of COVID-19 happen in the county or with any staff/students. We encourage you to practice social distancing and avoid being in public places and large groups when possible. 

As part of the effort to monitor public health, if you or your child has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, we are asking you to let us know. Please call us at 678-425-2827 or email virus@barrow.k12.ga.us. 

Thank you for your support through these uncharted times. We are Barrow Blessed to be part of this community. 

Sincerely, 
Chris McMichael
Superintendent
Barrow County School System

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