FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Fulton County elementary school is pausing face-to-face instruction for an entire grade level to temporarily go virtual.
According to a Tweet from the Fulton County School system, the entire third grade at Summit Hill Elementary School in Alpharetta is switching to remote learning starting Tuesday.
The school district says they made the decision based on the high volume of positive cases and direct contacts with COVID.
According to the district, students will stay remote until they're permitted to return to the classroom on Sept. 14. Individuals who will be required to quarantine for longer will be notified directly.
"If circumstances dictate additional steps, we will notify the school community immediately," the district said.
Last month, Georgia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said cases among school-aged kids 5 to 17 years old are up nearly 60% in the last six months. She said mostly all cases in the state are Delta variant.
"We've seen the highest number of weekly outbreaks since the pandemic began... with more than half of these outbreaks in K through 12 schools," Toomey announced during a press conference.
Several school systems in the metro Atlanta area have decided to pause in-person learning for virtual instruction. Last week, the DeKalb County School District announced Oak View Elementary School in south DeKalb would close and reopen on Sept. 13. Four Clarke County high schools also decided to pause in-person learning, and go virtual due to COVID last week as well.
The Fulton County School District has not said whether this impacts other grade levels.