Effingham Co. students return to class
EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Once again, a new group of students will be starting off the new school year this time in Effingham County on Thursday.
They are ready but also always staying on their toes as the first day is always a little hectic.
Especially as the enrollment continues to grow in the district. Last year they started with an additional 600 students and starting off today, they have about another 600 students from last year and are rapidly growing.
With all of the extra students, Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford says be patient on this first day with traffic and drop off on the first day with the nearly 14,000 students in the district arriving at school.
“We are excited about the growth, public education is so important to our community, it is an opportunity for us to have such a positive impact on students from all walks of life and we don’t take that initiative lightly,” Dr. Ford said.
They are focused on keeping students and staff safe and secure in the classroom this year. Even with a third year of COVID, there are no major changes.
Effingham County Schools will start off today with the same regulations for COVID that they ended the year last year.
Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford says they will be offering a new emergency response system that will be up and running this fall.
They also have installed new lock systems to doors in classrooms and other key areas of the schools to make sure students and staff are secured in the event of a lockdown.
Also, Dr. Ford adds that they encourage all students, staff and parents to report anything concerning to the district or law enforcement.
“To make sure we continue to plan and partner without local law enforcement agencies to make sure that we don’t leave any stone unturned so that we can protect our staff, students and families that come in our buildings.”
The district is partnering with Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and the other city agencies to provide school resource officers in all of the elementary schools for the first time this year. They will also continue to have an SRO in all middle and high school buildings.
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