State Superintendent visits Tift County High School

TIFTON, Ga. – The state school superintendent is touring Southwest Georgia schools.

One of Super. Richard Wood’s first stops was Tift County High School.

Richard Woods

“Student safety comes first. And that’s where we respect our parents they are making the decision these are their children. Our goal is to say that if you made that choice how can we support learning,” says Woods.

Woods is a part of Governor Kemp’s COVID-19 task force and works closely with the Georgia Department of Public Health to build COVID-19 recommendations for schools. And as a part of his tour, he’s popping in on classes here at Tift County High School.

“Just really trying to look across the state and see how we are handling COVID-19. It looks a little bit different as we go from one school district that has 100 kids in the entire school district to here at Tift county where you have thousands of students. So it’s a challenge where ever you’re at.”

 Woods and the Georgia Department of Education keep the most up-to-date guidance for schools however, locally, school districts decide which regulations to adopt.

Adam Hathaway

“Being able to come in and see what local education agencies are doing and the decisions that they’re making around providing a safe environment for students is an important thing,” says Tift County Superintendent Adam Hathaway.

Tift County High School is doing things like social distancing, encouraging masks and hand sanitizer is readily available. Hathaway says having Woods visit the school was a big deal for the district.

“Having him here on campus and showing that he is concerned about making sure that we get the resources we need is a big thing for us,” says Hathaway.

A link to the Georgia Department of Education COVID-19 resources is here.