Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson told a virtual panel Wednesday he was hopeful for the upcoming school year and shared plans for the year.
Johnson told educators participating in the panel that learning loss – or what panel attendees called unfinished learning as a result of the pandemic – might not be as severe as some people might anticipate because of the work done by teachers and staff members locally and statewide to fill in learning gaps.
He joined half a dozen teachers, principals and superintendents for the “Making Schools Work” panel as part of the Southern Regional Education Board’s annual conference. During the session, Johnson and attendees answered questions from the board’s president, Stephen Pruitt, who moderated the session, focusing on districts’ approaches to the pandemic last spring and what has changed since.
When asked to look back on priorities last spring, Johnson said access to technology was one critical aspect the district addressed when the pandemic began in March.
He said the district’s one-to-one device access for grades 6-12 expanded to include grades 3-5, and he talked about HCS EdConnect, the district’s program in partnership with EPB, which provides free high-speed internet access to low-income students and their families in Hamilton County.