DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will continue to add 20 minutes to its school day through Thursday, Nov. 30, in an effort to recapture much of the instructional time lost due to the storm known as Hurricane Irma.

Other important aspects of this plan include:

• There will be no 20-minute extended day on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
• DCSD schools and offices will also remain open on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7) as the district ensures that students don’t miss out on lessons vital to their academic achievement.
• Schools will also be closed Nov. 20-24 for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
• Winter Break will remain as originally scheduled.

In sum, these moves will allow DCSD to recover three of the four days lost to Irma. The district will waive the fourth day.

“This month, we have diligently surveyed a cross section of parents, teachers, principals, teacher organizations, parent-teacher organizations, parent council groups, and school council members. The result was an arrangement that enables our schools to regain a major portion of the lost time needed for achievement,” said Superintendent/CEO R. Stephen Green. “Extending the school day with this schedule is the least disruptive for all parties.”

DCSD will continue an aggressive communications campaign to keep students, parents and the community informed about how this temporary schedule change will impact student transportation, afterschool programs, and athletics. Those updates will be available via its website at www.dekalbschoolsga.org and through its mobile app and accounts on Facebook and Twitter.