THOMASVILLE — Thomas County School System teachers are prepared to meet students’ needs in the unusual circumstances presented by the presence of COVID-19, said Erin Rehberg, digital learning coordinator.

“The remote-learning teachers have been working together as a team to develop the routines, procedures, policies and protocols for their remote-learning classrooms,” Rehberg said. “Not only have they been developing their remote learning classroom lessons, they have also been defining what elements, such as relationships, communication, direct instruction, feedback and assessment, look like in a virtual environment.” 

Rehberg said the teachers are “excited, energized, qualified and full of ideas” of how to best meet students’ needs.

Instructional options include:

• A traditional option program that will be very similar to the way county schools have functioned in the past with a few adjustments intended to protect the health and safety of students and staff until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. The guidelines will be enhanced or relaxed, based upon the spread rate of the virus within the area and as dictated by health professionals and/or state officials.

• A remote classroom option will provide a Thomas County teacher or a group of teachers for each student. Teachers will teach from a classroom at the grade-level appropriate school and will originate daily live interactive lessons online. Students will follow the school system calendar and schedule. Students choosing the remote classroom option will have Thomas County teachers who teach daily at their assigned school. They will be available for in-person or online meetings with students and parents and will provide other academic support as needed. Students and parents will have access to and support from school counselors and administrators to help solve problems that arise just as they would if they were taking classes in the school building. Students taking remote classes may participate in extracurricular activities sponsored by the school system. School meals will be provided for students enrolled in the remote classroom option.

The remote classroom option for Pre-K and kindergarten students will feature shortened days with online reading and math lessons designed to teach pre-kindergarten skills and prepare students for the next grade.

In grades PK-4, one or more teachers will be assigned to teach the remote academic and exploratory classes. Each student will be assigned to a specific teacher.

In grades PK-2, students will have the same teacher for all academic classes.

In grades 3 and 4, students will have two teachers for academic subjects just as they would with the traditional classroom option.

In grades 5-8, students will have a different teacher for each academic subject. Remote learning students will have exploratory options, including Spanish, computer applications, health and physical education.

In grades 9-12, students will have a normal high school schedule with a separate teacher for each subject. Selected teachers at Thomas County Central High School will have one or more sections of their schedules assigned to teach students remotely. Courses from each academic area and most elective areas will be offered, but the selections will be limited.

• The virtual school option provides an opportunity for students to take classes through an external provider that partners with Thomas County Schools. K-12 and Georgia Virtual School are Thomas County’s current virtual school partners. Students who participate in a virtual school option through Thomas County Schools will remain enrolled in the school system and will be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities sponsored by the school system. Virtual school classes are taught by teachers who are not Thomas County employees. School meals will be provided for students enrolled in the virtual school option.