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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

Chilton County Schools has announced the start date for the 2020-2021 school year.

“Chilton County Schools will begin for students on Aug. 6 and employees on Aug. 3,” CCS Superintendent Jason Griffin said in a press release.

(These are the same dates that had been initially approved with the 2020-2021 school year calendar.)

The announcement by Chilton County Schools followed a press conference by Alabama Department of Education Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey in which he unveiled his “Road map to Reopening Schools” for opening schools in the fall. The road map was a compilation of input from experts, researchers, educators and community members across the state.

“With the release of the Alabama State Department of Education and Alabama Department of Public Health, ‘Roadmap to Reopening Schools,’ our school system and school leaders will be developing processes and procedures to return to school in the safest way possible for students and employees,” Griffin said. “The school system and individual schools will be working on plans to return and will have those completed as soon as possible. All students will be given the option of returning to the school buildings or being taught online to not have to return to the schools if you have safety concerns. Thank you for your patience and be aware that plans and school start dates are subject to change based on the continuing public health crisis.”

The recommendations from the state allowed school systems to have in-person instruction, digital at-home learning or a combination. To support school systems in providing online learning, the state has invested in a digital curriculum that will be available for students in preschool through 12th grade. Mackey said the state has been offering online learning to high school students for years, and the new program being offered would build on this success.

“We have polled across the state and about 15% of parents are not comfortable sending their children back to school,” Mackey said.

He said this number fluctuates throughout the state, so options have been created for school systems to use.

Mackey said the goal is for all school campuses to reopen for in-person instruction following recommendations and requirements outlined in the road map.

A parent guide to road map as well as the original 50 pages of guidelines to school systems will be available on the Alabama Department of Education website at alsde.edu.

The full press conference with Mackey can be viewed here:

https://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/2020/06/26/watch-state-superintendent-dr-eric-mackey-holds-a-press-conference-about-the-upcoming-school-year/