Newspaper Page Text
Page 2A— Wednesday, July 8, 2020, The True Citizen
Edmund Burke makes
plans for fall reopening
State launches broadband
availability map for rural areas
Edmund Burke Academy
plans to release its COVID-19
fall reopening guidelines in the
coming weeks, but officials say
classes will begin as scheduled
for the 2020-2021 school year.
According to EBA Head
master Adam Brett, the plan
calls for students to return to
campus on Aug. 10 with lim
ited adjustments to the normal
five-day per week schedule.
“Once our Board of Direc
tors and our teachers have a
chance to give input on the
plan, we will be ready to pub
lish it for the public,” Brett
said. The plan is based on
guidelines issued last month by
the governor’s office for Geor
gia’s Path to Recovery for K-12
Schools. In addition, Brett said,
the American Association of
Pediatrics (AAP) put out guid
ance which was used to tailor
a plan to fit the specific needs
of Edmund Burke Academy.
According to last week’s
AAP release, policy consid
erations that have a goal of
students being physically pres
ent in schools are strongly rec
ommended. The AAP states,
“The importance of in-person
learning is well documented,
and there is already evidence
of the negative impacts on
children because of school
closures in the spring of 2020.”
Research shows most students
learn better through in-person
instruction and that certain
social and emotional skills are
best developed in a regular
school setting.
Flexibility and the ability to
adapt will be key to implement
ing any return to school guide
lines, Brett said, and because of
its small size, EBA is uniquely
prepared to meet the challenges
of reopening school.
“COVID has not gone away,
and we will have to adjust to
factors outside of our control
as they hit us,” he continued,
“but I believe in our education
model. We have great teachers
and students who are ready for
the challenge. I believe that the
plan will ultimately be a very
practical, feasible and appro
priate step we can take to come
back to five-day a week school
schedule.”
DAVE WILLIAMS
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Rural Georgians have com
plained for years about the lack
of broadband connectivity in
their communities.
Now, the exact extent of the
problem will be known for
the first time, thanks to a new
broadband availability map
published by the state Depart
ment of Community Affairs.
The General Assembly au
thorized preparation of the map
as part of legislation passed
two years ago aimed at mak
ing reliable high-speed internet
service more widely available
across Georgia.
“This innovative map will
enable the private sector to
better see where Georgians
lack access to high-speed in
ternet, improve open-market
competition and help providers
explore partnerships to address
the connectivity needs of our
state,” Gov. Brian Kemp said
in a prepared statement.
The new map shows clearly
the huge disparity between ac
cess to high speed internet in
metropolitan and rural areas.
Of more than 507,000 home
and businesses lacking access
come, first served basis. They
will be available for pickup at
Burke County Middle School
every Wednesday through the
end of August from noon to
2 p.m. The school is located
at 356 Southside Drive in
Waynesboro.
to reliable broadband service,
nearly 70% are in rural parts
of Georgia.
With the map about to come
online, telecom providers have
stepped up their investments
in broadband deployment in
recent months. Comcast Inc.
announced a $9 million invest
ment just last month to expand
its internet services to nearly
8,000 homes and businesses in
Haralson and Carroll counties
in West Georgia.
“Broadband providers are
not only key to solving the
connectivity issues, but they
have also been great partners
in developing these maps,”
said Calvin Rhodes, executive
director of the Georgia Tech
nology Authority.
The lack of adequate internet
service in rural Georgia has
become particularly glaring
during the coronavirus pan
demic. Students from rural
communities have been forced
to travel to the parking lots of
closed businesses and libraries
during the spring semester to
pick up WiFi signals so they
could download the online
instruction that was replacing
in-person classes.
“At the onset of the corona-
virus pandemic, preliminary
All families are eligible
to receive a box of produce,
regardless of their school
affiliation.
“We are very excited to have
been selected to participate in
such an amazing program,”
said Amy J. Nunnally, Public
mapping data proved extreme
ly useful in supporting [Geor
gia] Department of Education
efforts to ensure student access
to Wi-Fi solutions,” said Deana
Perry, executive director of the
Georgia Broadband program.
“The Georgia Broadband of
fice will continue to work
closely with communities,
providers and state agencies
to support effective public-
private partnerships aimed at
serving those who are cur
rently unserved.”
The map shows Burke
County with a total of
7,019 served broadband
locations. The number
of unserved locations is
5,929. These numbers de
pict access to broadband,
not subscriptions, which
means 46 percent of the
county is without access.
The Burke County Board of
Commissioners is currently
working out a plan to create
countywide access.
View the map at https://
broadband.georgia.gov/
maps.
Continued from front
Information Officer for BCPS.
“This is just another way
that our school system finds
partnerships to help not just our
students and families but all
members of our community.”
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