Decatur, GA — Renfroe Middle and Decatur High School students on March 8 returned to class after spending nearly a year in virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All students began learning virtually on March 13, 2020. Elementary school students in City Schools of Decatur returned on Jan. 19, 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not disappeared, but is showing signs of improvement. According to Bloomberg, “With the U.S. vaccination effort picking up speed, new coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose 1.5% in the week ended Sunday, the slowest increase since the pandemic began almost a year ago.”

The current seven-day moving average of deaths in DeKalb County is 4.9 deaths per day. That number peaked at 6.7 deaths per day on Feb. 10, according to the state Department of Public Health. DeKalb County on March 7 reported 211 cases per 100,000 people over the last two weeks. On Feb. 28, the county reported 239 cases per 100,000 people. Cases reported in CSD appear to be dropping.

On March 8, the School District reported that there were no students or staff isolated because they had a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case. On Feb. 5, there were 20 individuals isolated. There are currently no teachers or students quarantined as the result of a COVID-19 exposure.

Graph provided by City Schools of Decatur

To see the school district’s COVID-19 reporting dashboard, click here.

Courtney Burnett, a spokesperson for the school district, said the schools are operating on an A/B schedule so half-of the in-person students attend at any given time.

Here are the numbers of students at Renfroe Middle School and Decatur High who have returned to school and remained in virtual learning:

RMS:

In-person= 830

Virtual= 518

DHS:

In-person= 979

Virtual= 686

Students at DeKalb County Schools will begin returning to the classroom in phases starting March 9.

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