Savannah-Chatham Co. students head back to school Monday

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Kids in the Savannah-Chatham County School System are heading back to the classroom Monday.

As we kick off a new school year, the district is also rolling out some new changes. One of them affects attendance and new learning options.

This year, the district’s attendance policy has been refined to give families a balance between support and accountability.

New features include a new attendance recovery option. It’s a more refined attendance waiver process for extenuating circumstances. There is also now a no credit designation in school policy for students that are chronically absent. But the district also wants to emphasize how important it is for students to be in school every day.

Chief Academic Officer Derrick Butler, Chief Academic Officer, says, “times where our students and families need to be away, so as part of our attendance revision and refinement, there’s a synchronous remote learning option for students and families up to five days per year, but I want to emphasize how important it is for our students to be in school every single day.“

The school district will be sharing more information throughout the year on what this plan will look like.

School district officials emphasize that being in school everyday is important for success, but when students are engaged, that’s where real success happens.

School Zone Speed Cameras Reactivate

As you see more school busses, be sure to take it slow and keep kids safe on their way to school.

School zone speed cameras will be reactivated in Chatham County for the start of the new school year.

3,000 students walk to school every day in Chatham County, and those students walk near and around roadways.

It’s why police and school officials are asking you to watch your speed in school zones, or receive a violation.

The Chatham County Police Department said school zone cameras captured more than 31,000 speeding violations in the police department’s jurisdiction of unincorporated Chatham County during last school year.

Deputy Chief Rob Rodriguez with the Board of Education Police Department says, “the Speed Zone cameras are a tool that can be used to not only mitigate people that are driving at a high rate of speed, it reinforces the need to be paying attention not only to other drivers and vehicles, but the students and individuals that are walking that way.“

Police say the safety of kids walking and biking to and from school should be every driver’s top priority

These cameras activate 45 minutes before school starts, stay on throughout the school day, and remain active until 30 minutes after school dismisses.

Increased Safety Measures

Savannah-Chatham County school officials say there’s several new ways they’re keeping students safe.

New this year, a Georgia law now requires schools to have panic buttons for employees to contact law enforcement.

This is in the wake of last year’s school shooting at Apalachee High School.

Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools will now be using new technology, falling in line with the state’s requirement to mandate panic buttons for teachers to wear.

Technology is also being used to check for any adults that could be sex offenders.

Terry Enoch, the Chief of Police of the Board of Education Police Department, says, “the new audio enhancement intercom system which has a built-in duress alarm buttons to it where you can communicate directly with the front office. When you come into the office there’s a cross reference which tells us if someone might be a sex offender....into the learning environment.“

The school system says they now have 68 officers working throughout the school year.

Students will notice an increased police presence as they head back to the classroom this year.

SCCPSS wraps up first day of school

The Savannah-Chatham County School District wrapped up its first day of the academic year as elementary schools started to release kids.

WTOC went to an elementary school that had a slightly different first-day experience. 

For many kids, the first day back to school is an exciting yearly event. It’s kind of like that box of chocolates metaphor, you never know what your year will look like until you get into it.

Monday morning the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System said a tree fell on a powerline and caused an outage at May Howard Elementary.

SEE: May Howard Elementary start time delayed due to power outage

WTOC talked with a couple parents and they are nonetheless excited about starting the academic year, which will feature some new changes. 

It seems like the first day was a success for students across the district, even if there was a slight hiccup to start.