MACON, Ga. — Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first semester of school presented a number of challenges, but Bibb County Schools Superintendent Curtis Jones says the lessons school leaders learned this semester will allow them to efficiently prepare for next semester.
"I was curious to see how they'd implement safety regulations," Angela Bearchell said.
Bearchell has a first-grader and fourth-grader at Springdale Elementary School..
She felt safe sending her kids back to school in-person.
"It's been excellent. The district keeps us abreast of all changes, they ask for our input on decisions they're making, and they communicate very regularly," Bearchell said.
Bibb County Superintendent Curtis Jones says their response to the pandemic was a strength.
He says they did a great job at providing families with meals, determining how to make the schools safer, and keeping parents in the loop through their "Remind" app.
"I also think we're responding pretty well to students learning. For those who need additional support, the teachers are trying their best to provide it," Jones said.
The challenges came when determining whether students were receiving the instructions from teachers, getting support from parents, and accommodating all students.
"We also learned that some students do better in remote learning settings than others, and we're now trying to figure out how to serve those students who need more face-to-face time," Jones said.
Jones says it's possible all students will come back from winter break virtually because of the rise in COVID-19 numbers, but once students return on campus, he would like to increase classroom sizes.
"What I mean by that is, most of our classes have about 15 students, we're going to increase that number to 20. The intent being, that we identified some students that need to have face-to-face instruction and currently they're in the remote learning mode," Jones said.
Parents will still have the option to decide if their child will attend class virtually or in person for second semester.
Jones asks parents to base their decision upon what the district has so far.
"Once you make a selection this time, it's pretty much going to be for the rest of the school year and this is our time to try and make things the best they can be," Jones said.
Superintendent Curtis Jones says if he could do the semester all over again, he would give the principals more of a say-so in determining whether remote learning was the best option for students based upon past grades and data. He says they've learned from this and will work with the students and parents better next semester.