Students may begin returning to DeKalb County School District classrooms on March 9 from a pandemic closure in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The DeKalb County School District plans to announce their strategy for reopening schools at a Feb. 23 address it calls the “State of the District,” according to a press release. 

Schools will place students into two cohorts based on last name and instructional program in order to maintain proper social distancing. Those groups will participate in hybrid in-person learning based on their choice to attend school in-person or not. 

Students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and Grades 1, 2, 6 and 9 will begin in-person learning on March 9. Students in all other grades will begin on March 15. 

More information on the reopening plan for schools can be found here. Residents can watch “The State of the District” address here to learn more. 

Sammie Purcell is Associate Editor at Rough Draft Atlanta.