Bulloch County Schools will host a free Summer Nutrition Program for any child, ages birth to 18 years of age beginning June 1 through July 12. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.
The seven-week program offers once-per-week pick up times on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at five central locations.
Each week families may receive one box of perishable and non-perishable food for each child. A box contains five breakfasts and five lunches for a child for the week. Children do not have to be present for the family to pick up a box. Due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 31, the first week will include four days of meals.
Families may drive through and pick up meal boxes from these locations: Brooklet Elementary, Sallie Zetterower Elementary, Julia P. Bryant Elementary, Portal Middle High School, and Mattie Lively Elementary. The pick-up days are June 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28, and then July 5 and 12.
The program will also provide free breakfasts and lunches for children who are participating in the school district’s daily Summer Learning Opportunities sessions.
Bulloch County Schools and its School Nutrition Program do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age or gender. For additional information about the Summer Feeding Program, contact the school nutrition director, Megan Blanchard, at 912.212.8620 or by email.
Updated Editor's Note on June 2
Bulloch County Schools apologizes for the inconvenience on the first day of our Summer Nutrition Program on June 1. We recognize that adjustments are needed to make it more successful, and we are making changes to ensure we are better prepared on June 7 and thereafter through July 12.
Our staff originally prepared 2,406 meals to serve our Summer Nutrition Program and our Summer Learning Opportunities families, but demand for the Summer Nutrition Program was greater than we anticipated.
This resulted in long wait times as we prepared an additional 1,960 meals. We also understand that some families were unable to pick up meals.
We are pleased to be able to offer this value-added service to our community as we know food insecurity and childhood hunger are barriers to quality of life. In this spirit we are committed to improving our services.
The United States Department of Agriculture's COVID-19 waivers remain in place. As a result, children do not have to be on site for a family to receive meals.
Thank you again for your understanding. We hope to see you again on June 7, 14, 21, 28 and July 5 and 12 at our five, central weekly meal pick up sites. To help us plan, please use this survey link each week by Thursday evening to let us know you need meals for the coming week.
Registration is now open online for new students for grades Kindergarten through twelfth-grade.
Registration is now open online for new students for 2021-2022. Children who will be new to Bulloch County Schools for the upcoming school year, in any grade, especially Kindergarten, can now be registered online on the school district's website.
Registration can be done anytime, anywhere via any internet-enabled device. Families who do not have access to an internet-enabled device, may make an appointment to use a computer kiosk at their zoned school. If they have more than one child, they may make an appointment to register all of their children at their oldest child's zoned school.
If a child is already enrolled in a Bulloch County Schools Pre-Kindergarten classroom this year, the family does not need to register the child for Kindergarten unless the child will attend a different school than where he or she attended Pre-kindergarten.
In accordance with state guidelines, a child is eligible to attend Kindergarten in Bulloch County for the 2021-2022 school year if he or she will be five-years-old by September 1, 2021, and the legal, custodial parents or guardians are residents of Bulloch County.
Registration is not for currently enrolled students unless a family plans to move a child to a different school zone within the Bulloch County School District. If a child is already a student in the district, and the family has simply moved residences within their same school zone, or if a family needs to update information about their child, they do not need to register for school. They may update information online in their Campus Parent Portal or contact their child's school.
If a child is advancing from elementary to middle school or middle to high school within their current school zone's feeder pattern schools, registration is not required. The child's records will automatically be forwarded to their new feeder-pattern school.
On the Registration website, families can find a convenient checklist of documents they will need to register their child as well as answers to other frequently asked questions.
Editor's Note: Updated May 6, 2021
The deadline (May 5) to register for Bulloch County's 2021-2022 Virtual Learning Program has now passed. Families may still Register for Virtual Learning for 2021-2022; however, placement is not guaranteed. Students will be placed on a waiting list for available spaces by grade level.
All families who are interested in their child being in Bulloch County School's Virtual Learning Program for the new school year must apply, even if their child was a virtual learner for the 2020-2021 school year. Families must submit an application online for each child they wish to enroll in the Virtual Program. Students are not automatically re-enrolled in virtual learning.
To have been included in the lottery drawing for available slots, online applications had to be received by 11:59 p.m., on Wednesday, May 5. A process is in place to consider prioritizing applications for hardship situations and for children of our virtual learning program employees.
Who is eligible to apply?
The Virtual Learning Program will be for students in grades Kindergarten through Twelfth-grade. The Pre-Kindergarten program is administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Bulloch County Schools does not intend to provide a virtual option for Pre-Kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year.
Required Pre-Application Overview Session
To be eligible to apply, parents must have attended one of four available pre-application overview sessions that were held in early April. If you were unable to attend one of the pre-application overview sessions, you may watch a recorded version of the Pre-Application Overview Session and verify that you have done so. Simply select the "I will watch the recorded orientation session," option when you access this link to begin.
After completing this process, you will receive a unique code to complete the registration process. This is to ensure that all interested parents receive important orientation information and are fully aware of the structure and requirements of the program before submitting an application. Students are not required to attend tor watch the overview session.
Access to Watch the Overview Session Again
If you have already completed an orientation and received a unique code, but wish to access the presentation to review, you may view it here for direct access to a recording of the presentation."
Parents who submitted an interest survey earlier this year must still apply for the Virtual Program. High school students intending to be fully enrolled in dual enrollment classes (no classes taken at high school) should not submit a virtual program application.
Lottery Drawing for the Virtual Learning Program
In the event that more applications are received than spaces available in the program, lottery drawings will be conducted via a live stream event on Friday, May 7. Those not selected for the Virtual Learning Program will be placed on the waiting list in the order drawn.
Virtual Program Open House and Orientation
All students who are selected for placement in the 2021-2022 Bulloch County Schools Virtual Program and their parents will also be required to participate in a 2021-2022 Virtual Program Open House and Orientation. Dates and location for the open house and orientation will be announced this summer.
During this orientation, the parents and students will meet their teachers, participate in break-out sessions where they will receive grade level-specific expectations, receive instruction on the digital platforms used, and get help setting up Campus Student and Campus Parent accounts. In addition, technology staff will be available to check out technology devices (Chromebooks) to families.
Is Virtual Learning the best option?
The Virtual Program is not an appropriate instructional model for all students. Parents should carefully read the school district’s Virtual Learning Program Handbook for Parents and Students and consider whether the Virtual Program is an appropriate environment for their child. If your student was not successful in the virtual program in 2020-2021, the district strongly discourages you from applying for the 2021-2022 virtual program.
Placement will be for the full school year
Parents of students enrolling in the Virtual Program will be required to commit to their choice for the full academic year, which for 2021-2022, is Monday, August 2 through Wednesday, May 25. This is critical to avoid staffing moves throughout the school year, which cause disruptions for both traditional (face-to-face) and virtual learners.
