The Polk School District is set to return to regular in-person learning for students of all grade levels, with no option available for distance learning for the 2021-22 school year.

Students will be returning to classrooms starting on Tuesday, August 3 for a modified calendar continuing the four-day week through the school year in a plan announced earlier in the year for the upcoming 2021-22 academic calendar year.

Click here to see the calendar approved by the Board of Education earlier in the year.

Superintendent Katie Thomas said additional details about the coming school year will be announced later this coming week. She did confirm that no distance learning option will be available for students at all grade levels this year.

For parents still concerned about letting their children return to classrooms, Thomas said the option still exists to enroll students in a homeschooling option at their own cost. Additional details for parents to home school will be available this coming week as well (not from the Polk School District, of note.)

The shift back to full-on regular classroom instruction comes in the aftermath of great change within the Polk School District over the past year. In March 2020, the district was forced to shut down by order of Governor Brian Kemp during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing out the school year with all students required to take part in distance learning.

Options were given to parents to continue distance learning online for the 2020-21 school year, with most parents opting to send students back with some COVID-19 restrictions in place, like separating classrooms out for lunch and made the wearing of masks optional for students, among other efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Supply lists for students in elementary and middle school classes are available below:

Check back for additional updates about Back to School 2021 coming up later this week.