DeKalb Co. Schools extending school days to make up for Hurricane Irma

Students in DeKalb County Schools will have longer days in class to recapture the time loss due to Hurricane Irma.

The DeKalb County School District announced Friday that school days will be extended 20 minutes Monday through Friday, starting on October 2 until December 20.

This will allow schools to make up for the four days lost to power outages and damage in the are from Hurricane Irma.

DCSD schools and offices will also remain open on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7.

“We did not want to simply recoup lost moments. Our most precious commodity is instructional time, and we want to make this an effective learning opportunity,” said Superintendent/CEO R. Stephen Green. “We lost four days and we’re trying to be as creative and productive as we can about recapturing that time. Extending the school day with this schedule is the least disruptive for all parties.”

Parents will receive a notification from their campus regarding the dismissal time.

County officials say a primary goal was not to impact Fall Break or Winter Break for both families and employees who may have commitments based on the approved school year calendar.

Also, with the unpredictability of North Georgia weather in the winter, the district did not want to use all its inclement weather days before the onset of that season.