School will be different for everyone in the Chattanooga region this year. Some schools are starting completely online, others are attending school five days a week in a traditional setting and others will fall somewhere in the middle.
Students at Rossville Middle School noticed a specific difference on the first day of school Thursday. Last year's teacher of the year, Hailey Reynolds, was not there.
Reynolds resigned days before the school year started because she didn't feel like the district's reopening plan did enough to protect its students and staff.
District-wide, 17 people have resigned from Walker County (Georgia) Schools since July 16. The 17 left for a variety of reasons: One took a job in the private sector, four others took jobs in a neighboring school system, two moved away from the area, four are staying home with their children and one resigned for personal reasons.
One of the teachers that left for another district was Ashlee Hubbard-Heitz, last year's teacher of the year at Ridgeland High School.
The story of Walker County Schools is a familiar one across the country. Many teachers who are being asked to return to school are worried about their safety, especially in areas where the coronavirus continues to spread.
In Hamilton County, 308 people decided to either resign or retire between the end of the school year in the spring and Aug. 14.
Tim Hensley, spokesperson for Hamilton County Schools, said there's no way of knowing specifically why some did not return. The number who decided not to return isn't unusual, with 341 doing the same in 2019.
Hamilton County Schools has 3,638 certified employees in the district. Of those, 150 have opted to teach at home in the district's virtual program.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County braces for impact of schools reopening amid coronavirus pandemic)
In Northwest Georgia, COVID-19 is more clearly the reason for certain departures.
In Dade County, one teacher and one bus driver resigned due to concerns over COVID-19. Two teachers in Chattooga County have resigned due to COVID-19 and dozens of parents have pulled their kids out of school because of the handful of students who have tested positive in the district.
As of Aug. 3, 36 certified position staff members in Catoosa County have requested medical accommodations due to COVID-19, and three people have resigned or retired due to concerns about the virus. One paraprofessional has also resigned due to the coronavirus.
Catoosa County Schools is going with a hybrid approach to reopening. Elementary school students will attend school five days a week but pre-K students, middle and high schoolers will start on a hybrid schedule and will attend school Mondays and Tuesdays or Thursdays and Fridays.
In Whitfield County, schools start on Aug. 31. That date was pushed back a few weeks due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the community. Whitfield County Schools and Dalton Public Schools have two of the most conservative reopening plans in the region.
Nearly 30% of the district's 5,000 students have enrolled in the virtual program. Half of the new teachers hired this summer were fresh out of college.
Reynolds, the Rossville Middle School teacher, was one four teachers who spoke out against Walker County Schools' plan for reopening. She told the school board that if keeping students, family, staff and community members safe is the goal, the district's plan - as it was written - "is unacceptable."
Superintendent Damon Raines said this week the district has tweaked the plan and will issue regular temperature checks but said a mask mandate - something Reynolds and other teachers pleaded for - would be hard to enforce.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.