Students in the Hall County School District will continue learning from home through Jan. 15 due to increased COVID-19 absences in Hall County team members.
The school district originally announced that the shift to learning from home would impact the first week of class following winter break, but this plan was extended by a week Thursday afternoon, according to a press release from the district.
The release states there were 170 COVID-19 related absences among Hall County team members as of Wednesday. The district also reports 170 to 190 adult absences per day that are non-COVID-19 related, according to the release.
“As a result, the district does not have the capacity to safely and effectively support the number of students currently enrolled for in-person instruction,” the release reads.
Another elementary school in Hall County will transition to blended learning for the final day of school before the holiday break.
The change for Sardis Elementary School comes amid rising COVID-19 absences, especially among staff. District officials made the decision earlier in the week to transition all middle and high schools - as well as Riverbend Elementary School - to blended learning in light of the spreading virus.
The Sardis campus will undergo a deep cleaning tonight, according to a statement released by the district earlier today.
The final day of school for Hall County for the semester is Friday, Dec. 18.
Sardis cancels in-person classes due to COVID-19 absences Sardis Enrichment School - photo by Shannon Casas
Sardis Enrichment School will move its students to online learning for the final day of the semester, after an increase in absences due to COVID-19, the Hall County School District announced Thursday.
“In the past 36 hours, Sardis Elementary School has experienced a significant increase in teacher and staff absences due to quarantine numbers and positive cases of COVID-19,” the district’s news release said. “We are finding it a challenge to adequately staff the building and deliver instruction.”
The building will get a deep cleaning Thursday evening, and teachers and staff not under quarantine will return to the building Friday for blended learning, the release said.According to data from the school district, Sardis had 11 student and staff absences on Dec. 17 due to positive COVID-19 tests, up f
Out of an abundance of caution, the 2020 Lanierland Tournament will be held with no spectators, according to a release from the tournament committee on Tuesday.
Originally, the committee had decided to play the tournament at the higher-seed team s location until the finals with limited attendance, which were scheduled to be played at Gainesville.
But on Monday, leadership from the three school systems involved, Gainesville, Hall County and Lakeview Academy, made the decision to play all rounds of the tournament at Gainesville High School without fans.
Leadership from all three systems met this morning to discuss hosting the Lanierland Basketball Tournament under the challenging circumstances created by COVID-19, the statement said. With the number of positive cases in the community on the rise, and with so many schools facing the challenge of maintaining in-person instruction, the agreement was reached that the tournament should proceed but with no spectators in attendance.
Riverbend Elementary will move to remote instruction after increase in staff absences Riverbend Elementary - photo by Scott Rogers
Beginning Wednesday, December 16, Riverbend Elementary School will move all in-person students to remote instruction for the final days of the semester, the Hall County School District announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The school district made the announcement a day after district officials said all in-person students at Hall County middle and high schools would switch to at-home learning from Wednesday, Dec. 16, through Friday, Dec. 18, which is the last day before the winter break. Prior to that announcement, the system had canceled in-person instruction for five schools: Cherokee Bluff High, Cherokee Bluff Middle, Chestatee High, C.W. Davis Middle and East Hall High.