Taylor County Middle School

The USDA has issued nationwide waivers which will allow any child age 18 and under to receive free meals from schools and community sites operating under the SFSP and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO). The waivers will run through the end of 2020, or until available funding runs out. The Taylor County School District will begin feeding all children 18 and under on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. We will be supplying 5 days of meals (breakfast and lunch only) at each cafeteria, but they must be picked up by a parent, guardian or child. Please call one of the school cafeterias if you are picking up your free meals. Taylor County High School Cafeteria 862-3314 Taylor County Upper Elementary Cafeteria 862-5690 Taylor County Primary School Cafeteria 862-4855

9-9-20 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, Today, we were informed that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing, but we have not identified any close contacts at school. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. We had no positive cases in our schools this week. The weekly summary is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/knxp Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

An Expression of Sympathy to the Family of Mr. Wayne Smith On behalf of the Taylor County Board of Education and the faculty and staff of the Taylor County School System, we offer our condolences to the family of Mr. Wayne Smith. Our hearts are saddened by the news of his passing. He served the community for over thirty years through his work in the school system as a teacher, Curriculum Director, and Superintendent. He served with a positive and caring spirit. In his memory, we will be placing a wreath on the door of the central office, as well as on each school sign. He will be greatly missed. With our deepest sympathy, Jennifer Albritton Taylor County School Superintendent

I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. We had one staff member to test positive this week. This staff member was reported in last week’s quarantine list, and this did not result in any exposure at school. The weekly summary is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/kdaz Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

8-27-20 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, Today, we were informed that a High School student tested positive for COVID-19. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

I would like to thank our students, parents, and guardians for your support and patience as we have made it through our first week of school. In spite of very difficult circumstances, the staff of the Taylor County School District has done a wonderful job. I am grateful for their efforts, and I have witnessed many of them going above and beyond to take care of our distance learners, in-person learners, and each other. I have provided the summary in the link below to help capture what has happened in terms of COVID-19 in our District. This information is based on people who were present in our school buildings beginning August 17, 2020. There were ongoing cases that occurred prior to opening schools. Of course, this is based on the information that I have at this time. https://5il.co/k1ae Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor your children at home. Staff members should also be monitoring themselves as well. We have the following documents to help with your decision making: https://5il.co/j52d https://5il.co/jmuf Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

8-20-20 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, Today, we were informed that two Primary School students tested positive for COVID-19. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

8-19-20 We were informed late this afternoon that we have a positive case of COVID-19 at the Primary School. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We have disinfected the building. Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

Please be advised that all students attending school virtually are eligible to receive a free breakfast and a free lunch Monday through Friday. However, the meals must be picked up at the school cafeteria in which your child would normally be attending.

Change to Parent Pick-up Middle School and High School In an effort to relieve some of the congestion in our parent pick-up area for the middle and high school students, we are making changes starting today, August 18th. The existing parent pick-up area will be for sixth grade and seventh grade students. Eighth grade – twelfth grade students may be picked up at the Auditorium parking area (front and side). If extra space is needed, you may park in area in front of the old maintenance barn. We ask that you access the area by driving North on Oak Street because the buses will be coming from East Main Street and will likely block the intersection of East Main Street and Oak Street. If you are picking up students from multiple grade levels at the middle/high school campus, please park in the area of the student in the lowest grade level. You will pick up all of your students in that one area. We will communicate this to the students today in our announcements. Extra staff members will be present to help parents adjust to the change. We appreciate your patience with us as we modify our procedures and processes in this current environment. Please know we are going to be monitoring our plans, and we will make adjustments as needed.

The reopening guidelines have been updated to include the following change regarding face masks/coverings. The high school and middle school students and staff will be required to wear face masks/coverings during classroom transitions.

August 10, 2020 Dear Parents, and Guardians, As we try to keep separation between students waiting for their parents to pick them up, we will be making a change to the pick-up lines at the Primary School and Upper Elementary School. Both schools will allow cars to line up in two lanes up to a certain marked point. These two lanes will become a single lane as stops are made to pick up students. In transitioning to a single lane, the cars in the two lanes will alternate turns. In other words, the second car to arrive will be lined up evenly with the first car forming two lanes. When other cars arrive, they will line up behind the two front cars. As we release the cars to the single lane, the car from lane 1 will pull down. Then, a car from lane 2 will go behind that car. Taking turns in this fashion will continue as students are picked up. Extra staff members will be present during the first few days to help parents adjust to the change. The driveway at the Primary School is wide enough to accommodate the two lanes. At the Upper Elementary School, it will be necessary for one lane of cars to ride on the grass for some distance. We appreciate your patience with us as we modify our procedures and processes in this current environment. Please know we are going to be monitoring our plans, and we will make adjustments as needed. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

7-31-20 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, We were informed today that we have two positive cases of COVID-19 in the School District. We have been in communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health. They are taking the appropriate steps in regards to contact tracing. We are making efforts to disinfect school buildings. Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to delay the start date for students to Monday, August 17, 2020. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

July 24, 2020 Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, To eliminate any possible confusion brought about by speculation or rumors, I want to once again address our plans for reopening. At this time, the Taylor County School District still intends to move forward with the plans we communicated on July 14, 2020 with one exception. In order to allow more time for our faculty and staff to be better prepared to welcome our students, the start date for students has been changed to Thursday, August 6, 2020. I have updated the reopening guidelines for the date change and will post them to our social media sites. I would remind you that information is continually evolving regarding the reopening of school. We will communicate any changes to you as soon as possible. Sincerely, Jennifer Albritton Superintendent

We will conduct the regularly scheduled meeting of the Taylor County Board of Education Monday, June 8, 2020, at our normal location and virtually by a Zoom meeting. Please note that some board members may choose to access the meeting virtually. You will find a link to the zoom meeting on the agenda at the Simbli Site and below. Join Board Meeting – Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/91824968436?pwd=KzRWcERuSTdLZ1JaUXUrWkxsVitYUT09

The Taylor County High School Graduation Commencement Ceremony will be live streamed at 9:00AM on May 23. The link to view the ceremony is: https://bit.ly/3gaXOlA

5-13-20 Baccalaureate We are canceling the Baccalaureate Service due to safety concerns. The scheduled speaker of that event has graciously agreed to record a message for the students, and it will be made available. Jennifer Albritton Superintendent