The day after emphasizing that it is not going to full-time remote learning, the Cobb County School District on Wednesday updated its data to show an increase in the numbers of students choosing face-to-face instruction for the spring semester.
In early December, the initial sign-ups for face-to-face for the spring were around 52 percent of all district students.
With the spring semester having started last week, the number of students choosing face-to-face is at now 65.9 percent.
The district issued this release that includes a spreadsheet for each individual school, as well as all three grade levels.
As was the case in the fall, the percentage of elementary students whose parents chose face-to-face was the highest, at 72.4 percent. More than 66 percent of middle school students are back in classrooms, and for high schools that figure is at 57.2 percent.
That reflects a student enrollment of 106,978, which is down from 107,379 in October.
When Cobb schools were closed to in-person classes due to COVID-19 in March, the district’s enrollment was 111,707.
Those figures come from the Georgia Department of Education.
The district’s release Wednesday included comments from parents who “once again expressed appreciation for the choice model.”
On Tuesday, the district said five schools were going remote for the rest of this week for reasons that were not specified.
That came after social media postings and other media reports quoted teachers and staff expressing concerns about safety measures, low staffing and community spread of COVID-19, which continues to surpass record levels.
A Cobb schools spokeswoman told East Cobb News Tuesday the district has not been recommended to go all-virtual. However, Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, on Tuesday encouraged parents to go virtual if possible.
The district has not explained why some schools are going all-remote, nor did it provide information on 21 active COVID-19 cases at McCleskey Middle School in Northeast Cobb.
That’s the highest number of active cases at any of the district’s 113 schools.
The percentage of East Cobb schools with students choosing face-to-face for the spring semester ranges from 85.3 percent at Keheley Elementary School to 46 percent at Wheeler High School.
Only one of the district’s 17 high schools—Harrison, in West Cobb—has more than 70 percent of students on campus. Pope has 69.9 percent and Lassiter 68 percent.
The district said there will be another choice window in mid-semester, but hasn’t announced any dates.
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