The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
High school classes back to full time
Return to in- person learning replaces ‘ hybrid’model.
Three Cherokee County high schoolswhere students had been attending in- person part- time since Sept. 3 returned to full- time Tuesday.
Creekview, Etowah and Woodstock high schools closed soon after they opened in August for the fall semester when their COVID- 19 cases surged.
Etowah and Woodstock closed first, followed by Creekview in mid- August after more than a quarter of the students there had to quarantine.
Cherokeewas among the first school districts in the country to open.
The district north of Atlanta captured national attention when a photo on social media showed scores of unmasked students outside Etowah High standing shoulder to shoulder for a group photo.
The school closed aweek later.
All students there and at the other two high schools shifted online, but by Sept. 3 thosewho requested itwere able to return, if only parttime. The schools would operateona“hybrid” model, with students taking turns attending in- person and online to reduce crowding and enhance physical distancing.
Some parents have rallied in support of opening schools in the districtwhere about a quarter of students chose to attend online.
Cherokee County School District Superintendent Brian Hightower described the challenge posed by the coronavirus at the high schools.
“Right now we’ve got a few high schools where it’s so hot or there’s such a cluster that seems to be following one school thatwe’re not surewhenwe can get them open,” he said at the Aug. 20 school board meeting.
He explained that he had chosen the part- time model because “two days is better than no days.”
Heworried about another surge, and then having to close schools again.
Hightower referred to the hybrid schedules as “three great lab situations” to look at an alternative attendance model during the pandemic.