APS begins school year with masks required, new start times

It’s the first day of school for thousands of Atlanta Public Schools students and Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring says she is looking forward to a productive year.

“You’ve spent the year with your family at home and we are excited to have you back with your APS family,” she said.

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Atlanta Public Schools will start the year with in-person classes and mask-wearing. The school system has a layered safety plan that includes testing for COVID-19.

“We will continue to do surveillance testing; it is available to every child and every employee in Atlanta Public Schools, and we will be doing that weekly,” said Herring. “It is the nasal swab. It is not that invasive, but we get those results same day.”

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To identify any pandemic learning gaps, every child in APS will complete an assessment.

“We’re also doing this for behavioral and mental health services, universally meaning across all grade levels and across the district so that we have a sense of where they’re starting out, and we’ll progress, monitor that and provide interventions,” Herring said.

APS will also be dedicating 30 minutes a day to catching up on reading, math or whatever subject that may require additional time from the student.

The school bell schedule has been changed. Elementary students will attend from 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; middle schools 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.; and high schools from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

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Masks will be required during the school day and indoor after-school activities. Clear masks will be provided and used for serving students in special populations.

For parents who aren’t comfortable with sending children to school, there’s still a virtual option with separate APS teachers.

The district said it will offer on-site COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible middle school and high school students and staff. The partnership with the Fulton County Board of Health begins Monday.

Parents will be notified and provided consent forms.

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APS superintendent says district is excited to welcome students back to the classroom Dr. Lisa Herring said the district will welcome back students who will need to be masked, and they will have a layered safety plan.