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Nolin

Nolin discusses past year and year ahead

By Michael Butler

Dr. Brock Nolin now has a full year under his belt as superintendent of Tallassee City Schools. In all, he has 16 years in the system.

"It's been really good considering the circumstances," Nolin said of the past 12 months despite dealing with the COVID pandemic. "Luckily we have really good faculty members here in a supportive community. They really help. I have my fingers crossed that we can have a more normal year for our kids."

Nolin implemented a virtual/in-classroom mix for portions of the the 2020-21 school year. Some chose the virtual-only option initially. Several of those shifted to the on-campus model as the year progressed.

"A lot of the parents came to the realization that virtual school is not for everybody. There's no better education than to be in front of a highly-qualified teacher in a classroom. Learning has a social dynamic."

Construction on a new school is ongoing on the THS campus. Students will utilize mobile classrooms during the 2021-22 school year. Photo by Kyle Thornton.

As for the next school year that begins on Aug. 18, Nolin says he has no crystal ball but hopes for less restrictions.

"The safe thing to do is follow CDC guidelines. Right now I'd say no masks, but it's a fluid situation."

Although COVID changed up the school calendar quite a bit last year, parents can expect a more traditional experience this year.

"We've got a really good calendar from a teacher, student and parent standpoint. We do have four virtual days built in. We still want to keep the pencils sharp on that because we may have to go to it at some point. Funtioning in modulars at the high school, I'm not going to be scared to pull the trigger early on a virtual day because of weather."

Colt and Saige Baker returning to classes at Tallassee Elementary School last year.