Solar Eclipse: Cherokee Schools To Delay Dismissal For Students

CANTON, GA -- As the historic 2017 coast-to-coast solar eclipse draws closer, the Cherokee County School District has modified its plans related to student dismissal. The district will delay bus dismissal for all students by 30 minutes on Monday, Aug. 21.

Additionally, bus routes for kindergarten through 12th-grade special education students will be delayed by 45 minutes. Car riders’ release to the line also will be delayed by 30 minutes; parents who do not want to wait may park and come into the front office to check their children out.

"Middle school/high school dismissal is affected because bus drivers must first complete elementary school routes," the system added.

Dismissal for the district's preschool centers will not be affected, as they are dismissed earlier in the afternoon (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

The school system initially said there were no plans to delay dismissal of its students. Monday's news comes on the heels of surrounding systems -- Bartow, Cartersville, Cobb, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett -- all announcing plans to delay dismissing their respective students. To the north, the Pickens County School System said it will cancel classes for the entire day.

CCSD notes many of its parents have asked about student absences and early check outs so they can experience this one-in-a-lifetime event as a family. As such, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower has allowed absences and early check-outs related to the eclipse to be unexcused, but make-up work will be accepted without academic penalty.

"Schools will not treat this absence as truancy," CCSD notes.

Students will participate in a related educational activity at school at the time of eclipse’s passage, which is expected to occur around 2:35 p.m. Specific school plans will be communicated Aug. 7-11.

Please note that activities will vary by class, and not all activities will be conducted outside. If your child’s class activity is outside, the teacher will provide a permission slip for you to sign and return. If the child is not given permission to take part in any outside events, they will watch streaming video of the eclipse indoors.

The Elementary School After School Program for participating students will begin following dismissal and end at the usual time, which is 6 p.m. Parents are encourage to direct additional questions to the principal of their child's school.

The last coast-to-coast solar eclipse in the U.S. occurred in 1918, according to NASA. If you are in the path of totality, you will be able to witness a total solar eclipse, which involves the moon completely covering the sun. The path of totality will stretch from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina.

"Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk," NASA states on its website.

Here are some community solar eclipse resources you can peruse at your leisure to learn more about this historic day.

• An interactive eclipse map that allows to select your location and see the calculated eclipse times and duration of annularity for that location.
• The American Astronomical Society has created How to Safely Watch a Solar Eclipse and has posted eclipse glasses and social viewer information.
• NASA will post a 4-hour, 30-minute live webcast of the total solar eclipse.
• For more information and resources visit the NASA site on the eclipse.

Image via Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images News/Getty Images