GRAVES COUNTY - Students in Graves County will return to classes a little later than originally thought.

At a special called meeting Monday night, the Graves County School Board voted unanimously to start classes on Aug. 26. Earlier this month, board members approved an Aug. 6 start date. Superintendent Matt Madding says there are several reasons for moving the start date back.

"COVID cases in Graves County are on the rise," Madding said. "We're growing faster with positive cases in our county than any of the surrounding counties"

Madding said starting later in August will allow teachers to be as prepared as they possibly can be to deliver the best instruction that they can deliver to students.

"Knowing that instruction is going to be completely different this year than what it has been in years past, we wanted to be able to provide more opportunities for our teachers to come in and prepare lesson plans, so they can deliver quality instruction in a way they've never had to before."

Madding said the later start date will also allow teachers to prepare for a possible non-traditional instruction break, if that should happen. Graves County students have the choice of in-person or virtual instruction this year.