Welcome Back to School!

August 21, 2020

Message from the Superintendent

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for the smooth start to the school year. We anticipated a few hiccups with logging in and getting into the online classes during the first couple of days, but I trust that you received the help you needed from your school.

We have been so impressed with the support you are providing to your children to ensure they have the supplies they need and are on task during digital learning. I cannot thank you enough for working with us to make our online learning the best possible experience for our students.

We look forward to welcoming our elementary students who selected the Traditional Learning model back to our classrooms beginning September 8. We look forward to seeing our middle school students on September 14 and our high school students on September 21. We are pleased to offer School-Based Digital Learning for our students who wish to continue learning online.

Please see the letter I sent to parents on August 18 for details on the gradual return to our school buildings. Please also see the School Reopening page to stay abreast of any new developments. You may find answers to questions you have in the Frequently Asked Questions section on the page.

Thank you for trusting the Douglas County School System. We are here to provide you a quality learning experience, whether in person or online.

MCMS Student Wins Big in Braille Challenge

A 7th grade student at Mason Creek Middle School is shattering records in a national Braille competition. Twelve-year-old Christopher Morgan recently earned first place in his division in the 2020 National Braille Challenge.

The Braille Challenge is an annual Braille literacy competition designed to motivate blind students to emphasize their study of Braille. It is a prestigious competition that gives students from all over the USA and Canada the opportunity to showcase their skills against their peers in a timed, comprehensive, measurable test. The test assesses their skills in speed and accuracy, spelling, reading and comprehension.

Christopher earned an impressive first place among 5th and 6th grade students from the USA and Canada. Christopher has won first place in his respective category for the last four years. This year, not only did Christopher place first in his 5th and 6th grade category at Regionals, but he also had the highest overall score for the entire Georgia Regional Braille Challenge Competition.

Christopher says his family has provided him an endless supply of encouragement. “I have been blessed with the hereditary trait of never giving up and trying my best in everything I do. In my family, there are no exceptions or excuses made for me.” Christopher says his Douglas County teachers have always encouraged him to forge new paths through Braille Literacy. “My teachers teach me all the facts I use to succeed in everyday life. Ms. Clarke, my teacher for the Visually Impaired, teaches me the skills I use to succeed in braille. She also helps me get all of the resources I need to complete the work my teachers assign.”

As part of his prize package, Christopher will win a cash prize, a braille trophy, and a BrailleNote Touch. The $6,000 BrailleNote Touch is a portable tablet described as the “notetaker of the future.” The device will allow Christopher to easily create documents, take notes, and send emails.

First Day Photos: Digital Learning

Thank you for the "first day" photos and reflections on the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year!

"The Robinson boys had a great first day of virtual learning! Thank you for making this transition as easy as possible. We look forward to a great school year." AHS, FMS, SDES

TMS

CHES

"First day of virtual learning has been a huge success. I created a 'classroom' at home for them." BUES

"First day of learning at SDES was a huge success for Tucker!"

LSES

FMS

TMS

"Third grade was a success!" MLES

"My daughter started kindergarten this year. I was apprehensive because I am still working and she is doing her learning from a daycare setting. Between her sweet teacher, Ms. Buff, the daycare staff and a very optimistic five year old, our first day was a huge SUCCESS! ESES

"Devin's first day of kindergarten with digital learning"

"Tylah is a new student at FSES. She is in Ms. Crawford's 3rd grade class and will need to meet an all new staff and new friends -- VIRTUALLY. It will be a challenge, but I know she can do it! She's pumped and ready to start this new digital journey."

"She had a nice day signing on and meeting her teachers and classmates virtually for her first day back in school!" CHMS

"First day of digital learning was a success for my daughter Chloe (2nd grade) and son Cornelius (kindergarten). The teachers and staff at Bright Star made everything so easy and comfortable for the kids."

Tyson, 7th grade at SMS, and Cason, 5th grade at BSES

"We had our first day of digital learning! It was a rough start but I'm confident that it will get better and we will get into a routine. We had a good first day." FSES

Parents: Help is Here for Online Learning!

The fabulous folks in the student achievement department have developed a website just for our parents! We understand how intimidating it can be to assist your child with the online platform.

You will find a plethora of information and resources at the Parent Support Portal. The information can seem overwhelming, but if you learn just one bit of information each day, you will soon become an expert!

Google Classroom and some forms of digital learning are here to stay, even when students return to in-person learning, so the more you know, the more you can assist your child right up through graduation!

Following are links to a few of the resources and videos in the Parent Support Portal.

Overview of G Suite

Tutorials and Guides

Resources

Features of ClassLink

Parents' Guide to Google Classroom

Thank You for Your Support of ESPLOST!

Thank you to the citizens of Douglas County for your continued support of ESPLOST, the 1% sales tax that benefits students and schools. ESPLOST has been collected since 1997 and must be approved by voters every five years. The ESPLOST vote took place on June 9 and passed with 71.68% of the vote.

Goals of the new ESPLOST VI include eliminating debt, construction of a multi-purpose indoor arena, new construction on existing campuses and instructional technology.

Among the projects funded by past ESPLOST collections are the new classroom additions at Alexander High School and Chapel Hill Middle School, which both opened this summer. ESPLOST funds have also been used for safety enhancements at all schools and the purchase of Chromebooks. Through the One-to-One technology initiative, all students received an electronic learning device for use at home and school for the 2020-2021 school year. The need for technology is especially important during the time of digital learning in response to COVID-19.

The Douglas County School System will continue to strive for excellence in all areas with the help of ESPLOST, a vital funding source for schools across the state and nation.

Delayed but not Denied

Originally scheduled for May 21 and 22, graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020 took place on July 21 and 22.

The 2,141 graduates earned over $40.6 million in scholarships. The Class of 2020 boasted 532 Board Scholars, nine Georgia Scholars, and 868 graduates eligible for the HOPE Scholarship.

We wish the outstanding Class of 2020 much luck as they march into the future!

Reflections from a Teacher

Our teachers spent hours during their "off time" this summer preparing for digital learning. Like our students and parents, they have been required to stretch themselves, learn new skills and remain flexible.

Enjoy these words from Ginny Head, teacher at Winston Elementary School, as she reflected on her feelings a few days prior to the beginning of the school year.

"Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things." -- Henry Ward Beecher

I am going to be a much better teacher by learning how to engage, teach and interact with students through technology. I have learned so many amazing things over the past two years in my instructional technology degree program, and over the past few months through our school system's efforts to train teachers on programs we can use digitally. We will truly be preparing our little ones for a future in a workforce where digital literacy is not an option, but the standard.

When we can teach again face-to-face (and I pray it is sooner than later), that in-person interaction, in conjunction with what we've learned about using technology to teach and learn, will no doubt make us better educators and better students. The biggest lesson, however, is that I will appreciate much more the opportunity to get up every day and go to a classroom with little people who have hopefully learned to be equally appreciative of the opportunity to be there with me.