DCSS discusses 2020-21 plans

(ALBANY, GA) – As the original end date for the school year is set to come, educators across Georgia are looking ahead to the 2021 school year.

In Dougherty County, one of the most impacted by COVID-19, they’re hoping for a return to the classroom, come august.

Dougherty County School System Director of Community Relations, LaKisha Bryant Bruce tells us, “I think all Dougherty County School System employees are looking forward to the new school year, and hopefully that school year will have teachers and students returning to that school setting.”

Returning to the classroom to start the year in August would allow for consistent feeding through the schools meal programs, guaranteeing help for the food insecure.

As well, it would would cut down on what’s been referred to as the “digital divide” preventing under served students in the community from being able to join classes from a bad internet connection.

“We do understand that there are some challenges in the current model because everyone doesn’t have access to devices, or everyone doesn’t have access to the internet. And we as a school system have tried to make the educational environment as equitable as possible across the board,” says Bruce.

But more than anything, the school system is hoping for a return to normal for the bonds between students and teachers.

Bruce says, “If we can return to that traditional, education environment, it would be a great piece of wellness for everybody. Because relationships between students and their teachers are cultivated and built in that traditional school setting.”

Bruce says that parents should look into the DCSS app for parents to stay up to date.