Back to School: A county-by-county breakdown on school reopening plans

Jacksonville-area school districts are working to provide parents and students with a reopening plan for the upcoming school year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Action News Jax has created a county-by-county list below of the current back to school plans for northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.

We will continue to update this article with the latest information once it becomes available.

Northeast Florida counties:

BAKER

The Baker County School District plans to reopen schools on Aug.10. “After much prayer, consideration, and consultation with stakeholders across the State of Florida, we have made some decisions regarding the reopening of schools in the fall. I believe that face to face instruction with our quality teachers and staff is the best education that we can provide for our precious children” said Superintendent Sherrie Raulerson. Click here to view the reopening plan.

BRADFORD

After releasing its proposed options for reopening, the Bradford County School District made revisions to the plan following a board workshop. A second draft plan has been released and will be submitted for board approval on July 27.

See the plan below or click here.

The first day of school is Aug. 10 for Bradford County students, according to 2020-2021 calendar.

CLAY

The first day of school is Aug. 25.

The Clay County School District released its reopening plans for schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan gives parents four learning options for the 2020-2021 school year:

• Zoned brick and mortal schools (All grades)
• Clay Virtual Academy (Grades K-12)
• OneClay Online (Grades K-6)
• Blended Learning (Grades 7-12)

Action News Jax explains the proposed plans here.

Smart Restart, is a website the district will use to provide updates for parents and students regarding its reopening plans. The district has also provided a Frequently Asked Questions page.

Clay County schools releases draft reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic Clay County schools releases draft reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic

COLUMBIA

Columbia County school district is also offering learning options for parents to choose for their students. The first day of school is Aug. 24. Read more here.

DUVAL

AThe Duval County school board approved moving the first day of school to Aug. 20 to provide the district with more time “to prepare buildings and classrooms to mitigate against spread of COVID-19 and for teachers to prepare for the learning options available to students.”

Under the new reopening plan, students at all grade levels are provided with options of returning to the school building or learning from their home through online instruction.

Action News Jax provided the district’s detailed explanation of the options below:

“At-School and Hybrid Bridge Option: The at-school options are different depending on grade level.

Elementary school students will have the option of returning to the school building five days a week beginning Aug. 20, the new first day of school.

Middle school and high school students will begin on a hybrid “bridge” schedule, meaning they will attend school part of the week and learn from home on the other days. This hybrid model would be in place until Sept. 14 when all secondary students are expected to return to a five day a week schedule.

“The hybrid bridge schedule reduces the number of people in the building and improves the capability for social distancing,” said Dr. Greene. “The target date to return to five days at school, Sept. 14, enables us to evaluate how pandemic conditions change with the reopening of school and the upcoming political convention.”

Under the hybrid bridge model, sixth grade students will be in the school four days a week. Seventh and eighth grade students will be in the school three days a week, and high school students will be in their schools two days each week when the school year begins.

Online Options: In addition to the at-school learning options, all kindergarten through grade 12 students have the option for full-time distance learning through Duval HomeRoom. The deadline for registration into this option is has been extended to July 31. Families can also choose full virtual education through Duval Virtual Instruction Academy. There are also in-school and at-home learning options for students with exceptionalities. The details of all options are available on the district’s back-to-school website.”

NASSAU

The Nassau County School District’s reopening plan was approved July 23 at a school board meeting.

The plan breaks down the learning options for students, how the district will keep students safe if they return to school grounds amid the coronavirus pandemic and the protocol if a student or staff member test positive for COVID-19.

Click here to view the plan.

PUTNAM

The Putnam County School District has created two reopening guides: one for parents and students and another for school employees.

The district also provided the parent-and-student reopening guide in Spanish. Click here to view.

The first day for students has been changed from Aug. 10 to Aug. 24. For more information, visit: https://www.putnamschools.org/page/reopening

ST. JOHNS

The St. Johns County School Board unanimously voted to move the starting date of school from Aug. 10 to Aug. 31. This pushes the school year three weeks back, meaning the last day of school will be on June 15 for students and June 16 for teachers. Click here for details.

View the district’s revised reopening plan here: https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/reopening-plan/

UNION

Union County School District released its reopening plans. It breaks down how the district will keep students safe amid the coronavirus pandemic and the protocol if a student or staff member test positive for COVID-19.

Read the district’s reopening plans here. The first day of school is Aug. 12 for Union County students.

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Southeast Georgia counties:

BRANTLEY

Brantley County Schools have released its reopening plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Students can choose to learn the traditional way by returning to school campus or virtually. View the plans by clicking here.

The district also provided a frequently asked questions page regarding virtual learning here: https://www.brantley.k12.ga.us/reopening-virtual

The first day of school is Aug. 6.

CAMDEN

Camden County Schools are providing options for how students will learn for the 2020-2021 school year.

Students were supposed to return for in-person learning on Aug. 4, but, because of Topic or choose online instruction if they do not feel comfortable returning to school campus amid the coronavirus pandemic.

View the full reopening plan clicking here.

CHARLTON

The Charlton County School System in Georgia has released its 2020/2021 school year plan. The district plans on opening schools and bringing students back into the classrooms. The start of the school year for all students will be delayed until Monday, Aug. 10. Read more here.

GLYNN

The Glynn County school board voted unanimously to push back the school start date to Aug. 20 in a recent meeting “to give our students, staff and families time to prepare for the upcoming year.” Click here to read the reopening plan on the district’s website.

PIERCE

The Pierce County School System plans to open school on Aug. 10. Students will return to school and receive instruction the traditional way. There is also a virtual learning option available for students to take classes online while remaining enrolled in the district’s school system.

To fill out an application for virtual learning, click here. The deadline is July 27.

WARE

Ware County Schools will reopen to students on Aug. 17. Students can return to school the traditional way for face-to-face instruction or follow a digital learning instructional model where students will be taught online by a Ware County Schools certified teacher. The full reopening plan is available below:

MORE: Georgia’s path to recovery for K-12 Schools

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