Quick Links
Districts,
schools, organizations and providers: Use the hashtag #KeepGAFed to post about your work to provide
student meals and #KeepGALearning to post about your efforts to provide
learning opportunities for students. We’ll use these hashtags to help you
spread the word to students, parents, and families.
March 19,
2020 – As the COVID-19
outbreak continues and all Georgia public school facilities are closed, many
resources are available to students, parents and families to ensure children
have access to food and learning opportunities.
The Georgia
Department of Education is working with state and local partners to provide
school meals for students, donate digital devices to students in need, and
provide support for learning in the form of digital resources, teacher
training, and instructional television programming.
“In a time of
difficulty, we are working to ensure all Georgia students are safe, fed, and able
to continue learning,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “That is
our priority, full stop. I encourage educators and parents to take advantage of
the resources GaDOE and other partners are providing, and I deeply appreciate
the work they are doing day in and day out to support Georgia’s children.”
Keeping
Students Fed
Food
insecurity for students who rely on school meals is a major concern during
school closures. On March 13, GaDOE received approval of its request for
alternate meal service flexibility from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and,
to date, 184 applications have been approved.
These
districts are serving meals for students using bus routes or at approved sites
within the community. Click
here for a list of school meal information by school district compiled by
Georgia Public Broadcasting, or check your local school district’s website and
social media accounts.
“We have
received many inquiries from Georgians interested in volunteering to support
these efforts,” said Dr. Linette Dodson, GaDOE School Nutrition Director. “We
deeply appreciate this support of Georgia’s children and encourage interested
individuals to reach out to the School Nutrition Director in their local school
district, who will have the most accurate information about local needs and
safety protocols.”
For families
in need of additional food assistance, visit Foodfinder
– a safe, secure mobile and web app that allows families to locate free food
assistance programs quickly. FoodFinder was created and is still run by a 2015
graduate of Gwinnett County Public Schools, and its team is currently
working to add all school-closure meal sites to the app.
Keeping
Students Learning
Faced with an
unprecedented scenario, Georgia’s districts, schools, and teachers are finding
creative ways to stay connected with students through distance and virtual
learning. GaDOE is working to ensure they have the resources available to do
so.
Knowing all
students do not have access to reliable internet or devices at home, GaDOE is
partnering with the Georgia Foundation for Public Education and Verizon to
donate digital devices to children around the state who don’t currently have
access. These devices will be preloaded with educational software and books and
can be used to support school districts’ existing distance learning plans.
GaDOE and
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) have partnered to launch the Georgia Home
Classroom initiative, which includes instructional TV broadcasts aligned to
Georgia’s state standards, along with a library of digital learning resources. Click here to access the digital
resources along with the TV broadcast schedule.
GaDOE has also
curated extensive training opportunities and resources for educators, including
free online courses for teachers new to virtual learning and instructional
resources organized by content area. Click
here to access resources.
