MARIETTA, Ga. — Nearly 9,000 students will head back to school in Marietta next week, and they will notice some changes.
Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell spoke with Marietta City School Superintendent Dr. Grant Rivera about what he is prioritizing this school year.
Weapons detection systems and vape detectors are new this school year.
The district is also rolling out a pilot program in high school classrooms that bans cell phones, earbuds, personal laptops, or smart watches during class.
“As a superintendent, I’ll welcome back almost 9,000 kids, as a father, I send my two back to school as well, so I think everybody is excited,” Rivera said.
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Aside from the excitement, safety will be a visible priority when students return to school on August 1.
“Our sixth-grade academy and our middle school and at our two high school campuses, there will be pass-through weapons detection,” Rivera said.
After speaking with school resource officers about a growing problem among teens, Rivera says vape detectors are now in some of the schools.
“All of our bathrooms across middle school and high school, we have installed vape detectors and those detect the chemicals emitted from vapes. We as administrators will respond quickly,” Rivera said.
In an effort to eliminate distractions in high school classrooms, Rivera said his team will test out a new pilot program this fall.
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“No cellphone out in class. Two, no earbuds, no AirPods, no headphones. Three, no smartwatches,” he said.
The pilot program will also ban personal computers in class.
“There may be medical exceptions, but what we are saying to teachers is: we want phone-free classrooms, we want smart watch-free classrooms. We don’t want kids distracted. We want them to focus on building relationships and learning,” he said.
If a student is using their cell phones or other devices in class, an administrator will step in to address the issue, so the teacher can focus on teaching.
If it is safe to do so, students can use their cell phones in the event of an emergency.
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