Reopening Plan

All GAC buildings have been deep cleaned and will continue to be thoroughly cleaned daily. There will be an increased presence of custodial services during the school day to help with additional cleaning of high-touch surfaces and restrooms.

We are using professional-grade electrostatic sprayers that allow for increased disinfecting throughout our buildings. Bioesque is the primary disinfecting solution that is used by our Campus Services and our custodial teams. We added Nanoseptic self-cleaning surfaces to all high traffic touch points in classrooms, offices, restrooms, and elevators. 

Our ventilation systems have been serviced to make sure they are performing at optimal efficiency and effectiveness. We have increased our HVAC staff to allow for continued maintenance and servicing of all units throughout the year.

Our plan is to have an online screening platform for parents to screen their children at the start of each school day. More details will be shared before the start of school. Parents are asked to keep ill students home and to notify their school level nurse of Covid-19 related illness. Faculty and staff will also be asked to stay home when they are ill.

Individuals who are noticeably ill or become ill during the school day will be isolated and sent home without delay. We are creating a new MS/HS Health Center as well as adding an additional room in the Combee Elementary to isolate sick students, faculty and/or staff members. This will allow for separation from the general student body.

Our health team, which includes administrators, school nurses and our athletic trainer will work directly with the local health department on cases of Covid-19 and the related exposure including contact tracing assistance and notification. We have created a flowchart showing the current guidelines for returning to school after exposure to Covid-19. This flowchart outlines the current recommendations by the CDC and is subject to change. 

Physical/social distancing is a proven factor in reducing the spread of illness. GAC has always maintained smaller class sizes than many other schools. However, we have adjusted class sizes, and ordered additional classroom furnishings including 400 new desks to provide appropriate spacing between students. For students in 6-12th grade our 8-period schedule reduces the number of students in each class. The rotating block schedule also decreases the number of class transitions per day. We will also limit the number of individuals in indoor common areas and alter traffic patterns in hallways. 

We are blessed to have many wonderful outdoor spaces on the GAC campus that will provide opportunity to spread out during the day. The 90+ acre walkable campus features outdoor spaces including Strickland Plaza, the Gilbreath Pavilion, and the new GAC Park in the center of campus connecting Hollis Smith Plaza, Combee Elementary Complex and the Village. Students also experience the outdoors through our Nasmyth Environmental Center and the Adventurescape.

Teaching, modeling, and reinforcing healthy hygiene habits will remain a priority at all levels. Proper hand washing methods, covering of coughs, and using hand sanitizer will be encouraged at all school levels.

We have also added touchless hand sanitizer stations at entrances/exits to all buildings and additional signage in each building to remind students, faculty and staff of the importance of social distancing and washing your hands. Each classroom is equipped with disinfectant, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and tissues. Following the DPH and CDC guidelines we have disconnected all communal drinking fountains and have installed at least one bottle filler fountain in each of our buildings. We have also installed sneeze guards for all administrative desks, the Technology Help Desk, both Media Center check out desks and the Spartan Store.

We are following the changing guidelines recommended by the CDC and DPH. We will be requiring face coverings for all students (K4-12), faculty, staff, and visitors when inside our buildings or when you are unable to social distance outside.

Approved face coverings include two-layer cloth masks, disposable masks, or neck gaiters. All face coverings are to be solid in color and without valves, messaging, branding, or designs (with the exception of GAC branding). We will purposely provide face-covering breaks throughout the school day.

Chapels and other assemblies are an important part of the GAC experience, and we commit to re-imagining these important segments of student life. This may include utilizing our new technology to provide streaming into each classroom or creating curriculum that involves small group gatherings in classrooms.

At this time, activities are set to continue with health and safety as a priority. Our GAC athletic staff follows the guidance from the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), the CDC, and the DPH who will govern our steps forward.

Currently the GHSA has allowed athletic teams to practice during the summer with strict guidelines. However, they have not yet made a decision regarding fall sporting events. More information will be communicated by individual team coaches and the Athletics Office regarding our athletic teams, Tennis Academy, and Aquatics Club.

Performing Arts activities will be scheduled when and where health and safety standards can be met on campus. Special accommodations and certain restrictions will be in place for these classes/groups, including the School of Ballet and the School of Music and will be communicated by the Fine Arts Office and individual teachers or leaders.

Our plan is to continue with all before and after school programs for students K3-5th grade (Encore Kids) and 6th-12th (The Club) and our Discovery Activities for our Lower School students. While following all CDC and DPH protocols, these programs provide a safe and supervised option for your student.

While it has always been important to GAC to not have unsupervised children before or after school, the current health and safety conditions prohibit unsupervised students on campus at any time. If you need your child to be at GAC outside of the normal school hours, please enroll them in one of our programs.

We have adjusted schedules and traffic flows to/from lunch for both dining halls to allow for social distancing. The GAC campus is blessed with wonderful facilities with a great amount of space which have allowed us to expand seating areas for students, faculty and staff. The MS/HS Dining Hall will extend further into the Bricked Gallery and the upper level of Long Forum with added tables to allow for appropriate spacing. Our Elementary and Village students will be utilizing the Combee Cafeteria as well as additional spaces in their buildings. Young Learners will remain in their classrooms for lunch.

Eating outside or in classrooms may be part of the lunch routine from time to time. Additional cleaning and sanitizing will be conducted between lunch periods. Sage Dining Services will be altering their processes and procedures including food being served by Sage employees reducing self-serve stations.

We will continue to offer all GAC bus transportation routes including our late routes. Bus drivers and riders will be wearing face coverings, and social distancing will be standard practice on all buses.

Global travel, mission trips, school trips and spiritual retreats are key experiences for our students. We plan to continue to evaluate when we may resume travel for our students, and are hopeful that will be spring semester. For now all class trips, mission trips, and learning excursions are postponed. However, we will continue to look for ways to offer local options with similar impact for our students.

In order to minimize risk and exposure for our students, this year we will greatly reduce the number of campus visitors. This is contrary to our desire to always welcome family members at lunch and throughout the school day.

For the time being, we are asking that only essential volunteers or parents with an appointment come inside a building. Face coverings and health screenings will be required for all visitors prior to entering any building. Parents are encouraged to call school level offices for needs throughout the day rather than coming into the buildings. When a parent needs to be on campus, for instance when checking in or out a student, they will be asked to stay in the lobby/common area of school level buildings.

The Spartan Store will remain open but like other retail stores we will limit the number of customers in the store at a single time. Appointments are highly recommended when shopping for uniforms. Unless you are visiting the Spartan Store, the Grandparent Commons of Fincher Student-Family Center will be closed.

Our annual Spartan2gether will be altered this year to provide for smaller groups on campus at a single time and will be called Spartan Preview. It will still be held on Thursday, August 6. Each family will be assigned a time slot based on the first letter of their last name. Watch for further details.

To allow time for students to adjust to new procedures and processes on campus in smaller groups we have adopted a phased, progressive and rotating start to the school year.

Students in K3 and younger will not be participating in GAC Sync and therefore will start the first day of school using their normal schedule.

Students in K4-12 th grade will be split into three groups for the first two weeks of school.

• Group A: Students with a last name starting A-K who choose in-person at GAC.
• Group B: Students with a last name starting L-Z who choose in-person at GAC.
• Group C: Students who choose GAC Sync from home.
• Please complete this GAC Choice form to let us know you are choosing the GAC Sync from home option.

If you do not complete the form, we assume your child will be on campus as we start the school year.

• All students in middle school and high school will follow a new 8 period schedule.

GAC Synchronous Learning (GAC Sync): GAC has been investing in Ethos, our online learning platform, for several years and introduced a hybrid model last year as we worked to provide more choice for families. This spring accelerated our research and development for the best in online learning tools. This summer GAC has installed AI technology in every classroom, with smart cameras, directional microphones, and interactive white boards, to enable students who choose at-home learning to be more fully integrated into their real-time classroom, and with their teacher and classmates. The real-time teaching and collaboration are automatically recorded for later reference by the student.

This cutting-edge technology offers families on-going flexibility while not compromising on a robust education, complete with class collaboration and content sharing. With this model a family may also choose to attend school in person a few days a week, and then utilize the synchronous option to learn at home the remaining days. If a family needs to travel, they can make that choice and not have to “pull the kids out of school”. Their students’ learning continues seamlessly while traveling. If your student has symptoms of an illness but still feels well enough to attend class, they can stay at home and do just that.

GAC Online Learning: Used during the spring shelter-in-place mandate, this model was effective for learning when everyone was remote due to the campus being closed. All teachers and students were physically at home. GAC Online Learning utilizes Zoom or other virtual meeting type software where teachers and students can conduct class virtually. This model may be used again if the campus must close due to Covid-19, inclement weather, or other emergency situations.

Cyber School: The “cyber school” model used in the past during inclement weather days was focused around the completion of assignments with minimal interaction between students and teachers. This model will no longer be utilized at GAC.

Ethos: GAC offers online courses through its Ethos School. Ethos currently offers 69 Middle and High School courses in all subjects ranging from AP to college prep. The educational model utilizes both an asynchronous and synchronous learning environment. A student in an Ethos course has greater flexibility around when they want to complete their assignments as they watch instructional content from a highly interactive video platform that provides built in assessments with immediate feedback. The videos have been created by GAC teachers and are viewed asynchronously. Ethos courses are highly engaging as the student will also have required times that they will attend class synchronously online with their teacher and student peers. They also will have access to help sessions with their teacher.

GAC Hybrid Model: This model provides a student with the option of being on campus for part of a day, and taking the remainder of their courses through Ethos. This is perfect for a student who wants to focus on an extracurricular activity that requires a large amount of time that would occur during the normal school day. For instance, a hybrid student might attend school at GAC for the morning hours and leave by lunch every day. Their remaining coursework would be completed asynchronously via Ethos in the evening.

The new GAC Sync provides options for families who do not feel comfortable sending their students to school. Students may remain at home and participate fully in their same class, with the same teacher and classmates. (View 90-second video for a demonstration.)

This new option is available to all GAC students for any given day or any period of time. Details of how to notify the school will be provided later.

If you do not complete the GAC Choice form we will assume your children will be on campus for in-person learning as we begin the school year.

The new GAC Sync option is designed to give families the ability to choose on any given day to not be on campus for class. However, as we start this school year, we are asking families to let us know whether they plan to use the GAC Sync from home by completing GAC Choice form so that we can appropriately plan for the transition back to school in smaller and managed groups. We ask that you remain using this option for the first three weeks. This does not mean families are “locked in” to that choice beyond those initial three weeks. Families are able to make a daily decision for each student, depending on comfort level and family circumstances.