How students should resume learning when the 2020-2021 school year began was the elephant in the room for school systems across the country in August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some systems began online only, while others, like the Athens City Schools, allowed parents to decide whether their students would be in an online or traditional setting when the school year began.

Interim Superintendent Beth Patton said during a speech in October that 81% of students in the system were in a traditional classroom setting, and Patton reiterated during Thursday’s school board meeting that ACS is still following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Alabama Department of Public Health when it comes to wearing facial coverings, social distancing and sanitizing commonly touched surfaces.

Patton said that while numbers of people who have tested positive for coronavirus may have spread in the community, that has not meant an increase in cases among students and faculty.

“I checked numbers for us (Wednesday), and we had five positive students throughout the district, so it’s not spreading through our schools,” she said. “We also had five positive staff cases throughout the system. We still have very low (positive) numbers, but quite a few in quarantine. I think we’re doing really great.”

According to the superintendent’s report, which was distributed during the meeting, ACS currently has 4,545 enrollees, meaning five positive cases represents just 0.11% of the student population.

As of Thursday, there have been 3,641 confirmed cases in Limestone County, with 43 related deaths locally since the pandemic struck the United States, according to ADPH. There have been 189,461 confirmed cases and 3,123 related deaths statewide.

“It is day-to-day. Right now, it is not spreading through the schools, and we are so thankful for that,” Patton said, knocking on a nearby wooden structure. “The students are social distancing as much as possible. We are cleaning regularly, probably even more than is recommended. We are asking families to work with us and, if they have been exposed, to keep kids home.”

Patton said tablets that were previously on back order have now come in and been delivered to ACS students, so “everybody has what they need to work from home.”

“We feel really good about the steps we are taking, and what we’ve seen is parents are trying hard to not send kids to school if they have been around someone who has tested positive or shown symptoms,” she said. “I think we still have a lot to learn about this virus, but it has really been comforting to see it is not spreading through our schools. I think it’s really amazing.”