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Three large school districts return to class today - each with different strategies

Cobb, DeKalb, and Fulton counties are all tackling digital learning in different ways.

ATLANTA — More than 300,000 students are enrolled in the Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton county school districts.

And all three will start the school year with digital learning only. So, that means some major changes to the usual first day when classes begin on Monday.

When it comes to teachers’ and parents’ feelings, it's a mixed bag of emotions. In Fulton County, students will learn from home while educators will teach from their classrooms. Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney said the district is being very precautious.

"The good news is the data is looking promising in Fulton County as it relates to the rate of spread in each of our municipalities and also the positivity ratio,” he said. “While we're not where we want to be yet, that is a positive indication."

Students in Fulton County could gradually resume in-person learning after Labor Day, but that all depends on the data.

DeKalb County is also starting all virtual. Educators in that school district are bracing for a new norm.

"Now, everybody's creating Bitmoji classrooms or changing their content from the traditional methods," DeKalb teacher Justin Johnson said.

But when it comes to making sure all students have access to laptops, there is some concern.

The district says it “began distributing devices to families” on Aug. 12 and that “students in grades 3-12 without a device are being prioritized."

More devices have been ordered and are expected to arrive in the second week of September.

In Marietta, about 50 people - including parents, held a rally ahead of the first day of school to ask Cobb District leaders to reinstate face-to-face learning.

"It has not been discussed with us, it was just, ‘Oh, it's for the safety of the kids’,” mother, Amy Henry, said. “I'm a parent, I know what's best for my kids. The benefit of having them in school far outweighs any risk of the virus."

One Cobb County teacher said she feels digital learning will be a success this time around.

"We're not doing anything like what we did in the spring,” Chantae Pittman said. “Trust me, that was not real digital learning; that was triage teaching, that was teaching in crisis."

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