Taylor County Schools

We will conduct the regularly scheduled meeting of the Taylor County Board of Education Monday, January 11, 2021, at our normal location and virtually by a Zoom meeting. Please note that some board members may choose to access the meeting virtually. You will find a link to the zoom meeting on the agenda at the Simbli Site and below. Join Board Meeting – Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/98074862262?pwd=TmpJdHZERW1Sb0tVaVNDcFRxZGU0QT09

Parents, Students, and Staff, For the health and well-being of our students and staff members, we have made the decision to implement distance learning for in-person students January 11th–January 15th. Your child’s school or teacher will communicate specific information on how instruction will be provided. Odysseyware students should have ongoing instruction through the Odysseyware program, and your child’s school should be providing information about the program and specific guidelines for the second semester. We will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our school system as well as in our community. It is our hope to have in-person students back at school on January 19th. We plan to make an announcement regarding the week of the 19th by the afternoon on January 13th. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. Respectfully, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Feeding Students while School is Closed We will operate the school meal program on Wednesday and Friday of this week. On those days, we will be delivering enough breakfast and lunch for multiple days. The bus delivery of meals will begin at 10:00 a.m. In addition to bus stops, the Upper Elementary School Cafeteria and the High School Cafeteria are open as meal pick-up sites. The hours of the pick-up sites are every Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Return to School for Students We have made the decision to delay the start of the second semester for students. Instead of January 6, 2021, the second semester will begin on January 11, 2021. We will evaluate the spread of COVID-19 in our school system as well as in our community during the next few days. It is our hope to begin the semester with in-person instruction. We plan to make an announcement regarding the week of the 11th by Wednesday afternoon. Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Since my post on December 15, 2020, we have had 1 staff member test positive. I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. The weekly summary is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/o2mc Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Parents, Students, and Staff, It has become increasingly apparent that we are dealing with a large number staff members out of school due to sickness or quarantine. For the health and well-being of our students and staff members, we have made the difficult decision to close our schools on December 17th and December 18th. Please know that we will make efforts to disinfect our school buildings and buses. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. Respectfully, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

12/15/2020 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, Yesterday, we were informed that four staff members and 1 student tested positive for COVID-19. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

The Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Taylor County 3-12 School will also be livestreamed today at 4:00PM. Click the link below to view the stream: https://youtu.be/bzcE45im1kk

Since my post on December 8, 2020, we have had 4 staff member test positive. I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. The weekly summary is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/nu38 Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

We will conduct the regularly scheduled meeting of the Taylor County Board of Education Monday, December 14, 2020, at our normal location and virtually by a Zoom meeting. Please note that some board members may choose to access the meeting virtually. You will find a link to the zoom meeting on the agenda at the Simbli Site and below. Join Board Meeting – Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/94896473321?pwd=a2RYSzMxM2VldUV1bmRqS21DN1Y0dz09

Update on New School The Taylor County School District exchanged the property it acquired on Oak Street and State Route 96 for land directly behind the Upper Elementary School. This will be the site of the new school. We plan to have a groundbreaking ceremony on December 14, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend. For the ceremony, you will access the property by turning on R.L. McDougald Drive that runs beside the Upper Elementary School. Once you pass the school, you will see signs directing you to an area where you will be able to park. You may access a copy of the invitation by clicking on the link below. https://5il.co/nqfh Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

12-8-20 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, We have been informed that one student tested positive for COVID-19. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

12-7-20 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, We have been informed that one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. This staff member was not at school today. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Parents, Students, and Staff, We will welcome our in-person learners back to school on December 7th. We have received updated quarantine guidance from the Georgia Department of Public Health. This guidance provides criteria allowing for a shorter duration of quarantine. I have provided a link to the guidance below. https://5il.co/nl2n I would like to encourage our parents and guardians to continue monitoring your students at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Respectfully, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

We will operate the school meal program on Monday and Thursday of this week. On those days, we will be delivering enough breakfast and lunch for multiple days. The bus delivery of meals will begin at 10:00 a.m. In addition to bus stops, the Upper Elementary School Cafeteria and the High School Cafeteria are open as meal pick-up sites. The hours of the pick-up sites are every Monday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

If you plan to attend the football game Friday night and would like to purchase tickets in advance, please click on the link below. Washington-Wilkes Tigers vs Taylor County Vikings | Football Tickets | GoFan https://gofan.co/app/events/169393?schoolId=GA6094

Since my post on November 16, 2020, we have had 4 students and 1 staff member test positive. I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. The weekly summary is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/n9st Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Parents, Students, and Staff, It has become increasingly apparent that we are dealing with a large number of students and staff members that are out of school due to sickness or quarantine. For the health and well-being of our students and staff members, we have made the difficult decision to close our schools on November 19th and November 20th. We will also implement distance learning for the in-school students November 30th–December 4th. Please know that we will make efforts to disinfect our school buildings and buses. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. I hope everyone will enjoy Thanksgiving break, and we look forward to getting back to school virtually on November 30th and in-person December 7th. Respectfully, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

11/16/2020 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, We have been informed that two students and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. The weekly summary is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/n2iz Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent