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Fannin County School System Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that all K-12 schools will be closed for the rest of the school year due to COVID-19 Wednesday, April 1.
Friday, April 3, Fannin County School System Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney said individual schools will communicate specific information regarding how traditional events will be affected as soon as possible.
He said teachers will continue to teach and communicate with their students each day and explained that no student’s grade will be adversely affected beyond the grade they had earned on March 13. However, all work completed since March 13 will be applied to raise a child’s grade “as much as possible.”
“Our goal, of course, remains to provide learning opportunities for students, and nobody is suggesting that any standards be lowered,” he said. “The grace that is being extended throughout our system is less about today, though; instead, it is intended to prepare for what may happen in Fannin County very soon.
“The immediate seriousness of this situation cannot be underestimated. Depending on the course of this virus, it is not unreasonable to expect that Georgia will look like Italy or New York City within a couple of weeks. If this should occur, the grace that is being afforded today will allow the focus of our teachers to shift away from being a provider of instruction to more of a deliverer of love and hope. No matter what may happen in our community, the faculty and staff will remain a source of support for your child(ren).”
The school system will continue to “work hard and to meet the needs of our students.” All of the services that are currently being provided including academic, support, meals and more, will continue forward at this time.
“However, please understand that if our resources diminish, our capacity will be lowered,” he said. “This could force us to reduce some services, but each of us who are able will remain committed to supporting the children of Fannin County to the greatest extent humanly possible.”
Gwatney urges the community to protect their health, both physically and mentally, and asks that the community’s thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this change.
“As you may know, I am close to the Class of 2020,” he said. “I am a biological father to one of them, but I feel like a parent to them all. I watched the Class of 2020 come in to this world on the heels of 9/11. I was with them (as their Director of Technology) on the first day school in 2007, and I am now watching them become our newest graduates while locked down in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. I have seen tears and listened to words spoken from saddened hearts of the students and their parents. There is much disappointment over things beyond anyone’s control. Once again, I urge you to keep the Class of 2020, as well as their families, in your thoughts and prayers.”