Parents react to two more schools going virtual temporarily in Georgia

By Mary Smith

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    CLAYTON COUNTY, Georgia (WGCL) — Come Monday morning, hundreds of Clayton County students will learn from home as COVID-19 cases continue to spread.

The district announced the call Saturday that Smith Elementary and Rex Middle School, located right next to each other, will be virtual until September 3rd. Several parents we spoke with say they’re concerned over the spread of COVID-19. “I feel scared about it,” said Shalesha Lewin, mother to a Clayton County School District child. “They can do more but there’s protocols people are not really following.” As a precaution, the district says the two schools will go virtual from August 23rd to September 3rd. Students will return on September 7th. The move comes less than a week after the district announced Kendrick Middle School would move to virtual learning for two weeks.

“I was shouting and praising and thanking god because I think that they should shut that school down because there has been too many cases at that school,” said the grandparent and guardian of a Smith Elementary School student. They do not want to be identified. “I don’t think that the schools are ready for the kids to come back. I think it’s just too dangerous, especially the ones in elementary school that are under 12 years old. They cannot get the vaccination.” The district’s latest data, marked for the week of August 13th, shows 83 student cases compared to 115 for the week of August 6th. As for staff, the district is reporting 43 cases for the week of August 6th and 24 for the week of August 13th. The district’s release said in part; “The school district will continue to make decisions based on the best interest of all students and employees.” An official with Clayton County Public Schools tells us the COVID-19 data is updated every Wednesday.

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