GEORGIA — The next group of school districts return to class on Wednesday, including Georgia’s largest district.
Welcome back to students and teachers in the following school districts: Bartow County, Buford City, Cartersville City, Clarke County, Douglas County, Gwinnett County, Jasper County, Polk County, Social Circle City and Union County. It is also the first day for Pickens County students who weren’t scheduled in Tuesday’s staggered start.
Count on Channel 2 Action News This Morning starting at 4:30 a.m. for full “Back 2 School” coverage, what families can expect and the impact on traffic for everyone.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Gwinnett County Public Schools is the largest district in the state. GCPS will welcome back over 179,000 students and over 1,000 new teachers. The district says it has hired all but 30 of its 14,000 teaching positions overall.
It’s also the first day for the district’s new superintendent, Dr. Alexandra Estrella. She comes to Georgia after more than 26 years in education, most recently running schools in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Safety will be on the top of mind again this year for Gwinnett County. The district recently wrapped a pilot program testing weapons detection systems at five elementary schools during summer school.
In Bartow County, you’ll notice other changes at the county’s elementary schools and the impact on traffic. The district will switch to a new start time of 7:50 a.m. to improve bus transportation and instructional time for students.
Also new this year: there will be a clear bag policy for all varsity high school football and basketball games. This will also apply to other sporting events held on the same night as the varsity events.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
