With confirmed COVID-19 cases back on the rise around the country, school districts continue to explore methods and best practices to safely educate students.
Gilmer County Schools superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley has been closely monitoring the situation and discussed the system’s current and future plans.
“We’re keeping a very close eye on our community trends. We have some surrounding counties that have seen a lot of growth in their positivity rates, and it’s caused us a great deal of concern,” Ridley said.
Over the previous two weeks, Gilmer has experienced fewer positive cases than its neighbors of similar populations, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Gilmer’s positive cases over that span sits at 61 as of Tuesday afternoon’s press deadline.
Comparatively, Union County (78 confirmed cases), Pickens (84), Dawson (90), Fannin (90), Lumpkin (140) and Murray (222) have all seen a greater increase over the past two weeks.
“Right now in Gilmer, we’re seeing an uptick, but it’s not in the 5-17-year-old range,” Ridley said. “As a county, our 14-day case count in the 5-17-year-old range is only three cases. Three is three too many, but it’s better than some of the other age groups. The 23 and up age range has 17 new cases, and that’s a pretty scary number because it can only grow exponentially.”
Cleanliness and social distancing have been an early focus as students return to classrooms for in-person instruction.
“We had hoped to go back to pretty much normal operations, but what we’re doing now is we sent out a letter giving an opening school update that outlines our current protocols,” Ridley said.
“Aside from the fact that we’re continuing to have increased cleaning and sanitizing, we are doing some rotations of classes that are eating in the cafeterias and spreading them out so there is a little more social distancing. We’re following the DPH’s guidelines for students and staff who test positive or are exposed. We’re reporting positive cases to the DPH.”
Outside of extracurricular activities, the district is trying to curtail large gatherings that could lead to more positive cases.
“We don’t have visitors, and we’re limiting assemblies and field trips,” Ridley said. “We’re trying to make some decisions about field trips we have to plan for a good bit in the future. We’re taking our cues from the numbers.”
Ridley does not plan to require vaccinations for students and staff. Masks are not a requirement in schools or on buses though they are strongly recommended.
“As a county, we’re probably not where we want to be as far as vaccinations go, and at least 39 percent have at least one dose and 36 percent are fully vaccinated,” Ridley said. “Thank goodness that our 65 and up populations seems to have been very good about getting the vaccine. It drops off significantly in the 55 and below category, and that’s where we’re seeing the growth.
“I’m hoping that once the FDA completes their evaluation of the approval process of the vaccination, that some more people will be more comfortable with it. I think it can only help.”
If positive cases continue to rise, Ridley said the district is prepared to go back to the more stringent plan and protocols that were in place last school year.
“Some of our neighbors are seeing exponential growth,” Ridley said. “But right now (Monday) as we’re speaking, and by the time this goes to print it might not be the case, but right now we’re not seeing that kind of growth just yet.
“I hope people will be responsible and think about the effects their actions can have on their families and other people and make choices that are best for everybody.”