This story has been updated.

DeKalb County, GA — DeKalb County Schools plans to return students to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 10.

But a local advocacy group representing concerned parents and teachers says the district isn’t ready to return to in-person learning.

DeKalb County Schools joined Atlanta Public Schools and other districts in reverting to virtual learning for the first week of the spring semester. The decision was made due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. While many online commenters have encouraged school districts to extend virtual learning, both APS and DeKalb County Schools plan to return to in-person learning on Monday.

Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris published a “welcome back letter” for families on Jan. 7.

“As you prepare for the return to face-to-face instruction on Monday, January 10, I want you to know that we are fully committed to taking the necessary steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the DeKalb County School District,” she wrote. “To ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff, we will continue to consistently clean and sanitize our facilities while strictly adhering to the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By properly wearing masks and following mitigation strategies, our students can receive the instruction they need to learn, thrive, and reach their fullest potential.”

But the Coalition for a Safe DCSD Return says there are still many issues the district needs to work through before returning students to the classroom.

“We are disheartened and concerned to learn that Superintendent Watson-Harris has decided to return students to face-to-face learning next week,” the group said in a statement to Decaturish. “Seven days ago, the district announcement cited ‘rising number of positive cases within DeKalb County and Metro-Atlanta’ as the reason for virtual instruction this week. The number of positive cases continues to rise. Was the decision making faulty last week or this week? In fact, according to the New York Times, the total reported for the past week was the highest of the pandemic and the number of hospitalized young children who’ve tested positive is jumping. Other metro Atlanta districts have increased the amount of mitigation measures they’re taking to protect their communities.”

The Safe Return group noted that APS is conducting twice-weekly surveillance testing, but many district schools haven’t started any surveillance testing.

“Families are concerned that they’re unable to sign up for surveillance testing and know when to expect the surveillance testing to occur,” the statement from the Safe Return group says. “APS will also be implementing ‘test to stay’ which is a mitigation recommended by Dr. Fauci and the CDC. Clayton County is requiring all staff to show a negative COVID test in order to return to school. DCSD did offer testing this past Monday and Tuesday. Our Coalition is hearing from teachers who were the very first to get tested that they have yet to receive their results. Rockdale County will stay virtual next week.”

Masks are also a concern, the group says.

“Many schools across DCSD do not have properly fitting masks to hand out to younger students as the district is only providing adult sized masks. It’s not uncommon for our young scholars to need a new mask during the school day,” the group says. “And a child wearing a face mask made for an adult is pretty much useless. Mrs. Watson-Harris states that they are ‘strictly adhering to the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By properly wearing masks and following mitigation strategies.’ They’re not. Students are walking around in masks that do not protect because they don’t fit properly.”

Many schools also don’t have good ventilation due to non-functioning HVAC units, the group added.

“Schools are asking for hand soap donations from their community because the district isn’t providing enough hand soap for students,” the statement says. “While there are many schools in DCSD that have very active PTA organizations and Foundations to provide necessary PPE and cleaning supplies, the majority of our schools simply do not have that luxury. Since DCSD can’t even keep hand soap in stock at our schools, how are we supposed to trust the statement that Mrs. Watson Harris made about them ‘strictly adhering’ to their mask mandate and other mitigations they claim are in place?”

In her letter, Harris said the district is hosting a monthly testing and vaccination clinic for employees.

“To date, free COVID testing was provided on Monday, Jan. 4, Tuesday, Jan. 5, and will also be provided on January 14, 21, and 28,” Harris said.

Here is Harris’ full letter, followed by the full statement from the Safe Return Coalition:

Greetings DeKalb County School District (DCSD) Family,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends over the Winter Break. I also hope our DeKalb County School District (DCSD) learners had a smooth transition back to remote instruction.

As you prepare for the return to face-to-face instruction on Monday, January 10, I want you to know that we are fully committed to taking the necessary steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the DeKalb County School District. To ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff, we will continue to consistently clean and sanitize our facilities while strictly adhering to the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By properly wearing masks and following mitigation strategies, our students can receive the instruction they need to learn, thrive, and reach their fullest potential.

The District is hosting a monthly COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic for employees, students, and the community. To date, free COVID testing was provided on Monday, Jan. 4, Tuesday, Jan. 5, and will also be provided on January 14, 21, and 28. See here for more information: https://freecovidtesting.us/dekalb/.

​Please continue to visit the COVID Health and safety website for the very latest information about COVID-19 testing and vaccinations that arebeing provided to the DCSD community, as well as stay connected on the District’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also visit the CDC’s website for K-12 quarantine information and K-12 daily life coping.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your resilience, flexibility, and commitment to educational excellence in the DeKalb County School District. Let’s continue to have a great school year!

– Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris

Here is the full statement from the Coalition for a Safe DCSD Return:

We are disheartened and concerned to learn that Superintendent Watson-Harris has decided to return students to face-to-face learning next week. Seven days ago, the district announcement cited “rising number of positive cases within DeKalb County and Metro-Atlanta” as the reason for virtual instruction this week. The number of positive cases continues to rise. Was the decision making faulty last week or this week? In fact, according to the New York Times, the total reported for the past week was the highest of the pandemic and the number of hospitalized young children who’ve tested positive is jumping.

Other metro Atlanta districts have increased the amount of mitigation measure they’re taking to protect their communities. APS will be doing surveillance testing twice weekly, yet many DCSD school haven’t started doing any surveillance testing. Families are concerned that they’re unable to sign up for surveillance testing and know when to expect the surveillance testing to occur. APS will also be implementing “test to stay” which is a mitigation recommended by Dr. Fauci and the CDC. Clayton County is requiring all staff to show a negative covid test in order to return to school. DCSD did offer testing this past Monday and Tuesday. Our Coalition is hearing from teachers who were the very first to get tested that they have yet to receive their results. Rockdale County will stay virtual next week.

Many schools across DCSD do not have properly fitting masks to hand out to younger students as the district is only providing adult sized masks. It’s not uncommon for our young scholars to need a new mask during the school day. And wearing a child wearing a face mask made for an adult is pretty much useless.

Mrs. Watson-Harris states that they are “strictly adhering to the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By properly wearing masks and following mitigation strategies”. They’re not. Students are walking around in masks that do not protect because they don’t fit properly. Many schools are plagued with poor ventilation due to nonfunctioning HVAC units. Schools are asking for hand soap donations from their community because the district isn’t providing enough hand soap for students. While there are many schools in DCSD that have very active PTA organizations and Foundations to provide necessary PPE and cleaning supplies the majority of our schools simply do not have that luxury. Since DCSD can’t even keep hand soap in stock at our schools, how are we supposed to trust the statement that Mrs. Watson Harris made about them “strictly adhering” to their mask mandate and other mitigations they claim are in place?

Where is the clear communications and transparency Cheryl Watson-Harris promised our community? Her statement issued today states they’re ready. Yet many DCSD teachers are reaching out stating that they don’t have working HVAC, air purifiers in their rooms, extra masks, their covid test results from 5 days ago, hand soap, and sanitizing wipes. I can understand the frustration from families that have vaccinated their children and donate to their local school to fill the gap DCSD has left. Many schools lack the resources to fill in the gaps left by DCSD. We’re all frustrated.

Here’s a handful of comments provided to our Coalition from teachers that would like to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from DCSD:

“Anonymous for Dunaire ES.. Mask that are too big for the students. They did pass out wipes today (2 packs) Paper towels for bathrooms, not classrooms. No hand soap provided. No heat.” “Druid Hills High School doesn’t have heat in most of the rooms of the main building and we were out of paper towels/wipes/water bottles since around November” “DHHS We had no air conditioning for the entire summer. They finally are finishing the access way that has been ripped up since August. It’s totally non-ADA compliant. Also, because a student set a fire before break, there are concerns about the sprinkler system and alarms.”

“I’m at McLendon Elementary. We have not received any additional supplies. We seem to have soap, paper towels, wipes, and hand sanitizer……masks have been difficult to get though.”

“Huntley Hills Several rooms with out heat and AC ALWAYS breaking in some rooms in the summer months”

“Flat Shoals not enough soap and hand towels.”

“Good morning! I’m a staff member at Redan elementary. We do not have paper towels, masks for students, hand soap, or partitions for students and teachers. Thank you. I would like to be anonymous.”

DCSD needs to provide testing and vaccination sites at various locations across our district. Instead they’re providing testing at their central office during school hours. How teachers and students suppose to access this while they’re expected to be in school?

All expectations point to the increase in cases continuing just a little longer followed by a steep drop in about a month. Why would we take such a drastic risk when a reprieve is just around the corner?

Amber Schmidtke, PhD is an expert in public health. She has been closely monitoring and providing an analysis of the covid data her in Georgia. Recently she tweeted the following in response to the outcries proclaiming that all schools are safe:

We can do school safely but not when only 33% of K-12 aged kids are fully vaccinated, without ventilation, masks, etc.

It’s one thing to say we have the tools to do this safely, but we aren’t using those tools yet.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. Why add to the burden?

— Amber Schmidtke, PhD (@AmberSchmidtke) January 5, 2022

“We can do schools safely but not when only 33% of K-12 aged kids are fully vaccinated, without ventilation, masks, etc. It’s one thing to say we have the tools to do this safely, but we aren’t using those tools yet. Hostels are overwhelmed. Why add to the burden?”

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