Photo obtained via the DeKalb County Schools Facebook page

Tropical Storm Irma shut down DeKalb County Schools for four straight days last week, and the school district has announced a plan to make up for lost time in the classroom.

“In order to recapture precious instructional time lost due to Hurricane Irma, the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will extend its school day by 20 minutes, Monday through Friday, beginning Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, through the end of the first semester on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017,” DeKalb county Schools said. “DCSD schools and offices will also remain open on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7) as the district ensures that students don’t miss out on lessons vital to their academic achievement.”

Here is the full announcement from DeKalb County Schools:

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DeKalb County School District to recapture missed instructional time with extended-day class schedule

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA. – In order to recapture precious instructional time lost due to Hurricane Irma, the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will extend its school day by 20 minutes, Monday through Friday, beginning Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, through the end of the first semester on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.

DCSD schools and offices will also remain open on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7) as the district ensures that students don’t miss out on lessons vital to their academic achievement.

Superintendent/CEO R. Stephen Green and his leadership team emphasized the need to regain opportunities for students to make progress, rather than use the four inclement weather days built into the district’s calendar.

“We did not want to simply recoup lost moments. Our most precious commodity is instructional time, and we want to make this an effective learning opportunity,” said Green. “We lost four days and we’re trying to be as creative and productive as we can about recapturing that time. Extending the school day with this schedule is the least disruptive for all parties.”

RECAP: Extended school day schedule from Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, throughWednesday, Dec. 20, 2017:
•    Dismissal will occur 20 minutes later than normal, Monday-Friday, each week.
•     Parents will receive a notification from their campus regarding the dismissal time.

The decision to extend the school day was a collaborative effort across all DCSD divisions. In addition, Dr. Green is empowered by DCSD Board of Education Policy to make “scheduling changes to the school day because of inclement weather or other emergency conditions.”

A primary goal was not to impact Fall Break or Winter Break for both families and employees who may have commitments based on the approved school year calendar. Also, with the unpredictability of North Georgia weather in the winter, the district does not want to use all its inclement weather days before the onset of that season.

DCSD will embark on an aggressive communications campaign to keep students, parents and the community informed about how this temporary schedule change will impact student transportation, afterschool programs, and athletics. Those updates will be available via its website at www.dekalbschoolsga.org and through its mobile app and accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

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