Update From NHS Principal Dr. Chase Puckett

April 14, 2021

Dear NHS parents, students, and community members, 

We know this has been a very challenging year for everyone! I hope you were able to enjoy a bit of rest over the spring break. While we work to finish out this year and begin to look to next year, I want to take a few minutes to update you on where we are right now in our tornado recovery efforts, and keep you updated on our plans to be back on campus. 

Currently our insurance partners, district personnel, and safety and engineering experts are completing detailed assessments of the damage to our campus from the March 26 tornado. They have made great headway in cleaning up debris in order to provide safe access to the campus. They are also working closely with our staff in inventorying all that was lost or damaged on our campus. While we know this can feel like a slow process, I do want you to know that we are all working as hard as we can to get our school back up and running as quickly and as efficiently as we can. 

Last night CCSS Superintendent Dr. Evan Horton updated our board members that we anticipate getting an official assessment of the damages to our campus by mid-May. The results of this will allow us to share a more detailed timeline and plan for our recovery before we wrap up this school year. For now, we are currently finishing out this semester with our students attending classes virtually. Our staff members are hard at work doing everything we can to minimize the academic disruption for our students. 

We have heard from many of our parents about the need to return to face to face instruction as soon as possible. While we do know there will be some students who may opt to have virtual classes as an option next year, the overwhelming majority will be in classes face to face next year. Please know, we will have face to face instruction, with our Newnan High School teachers, for Newnan High School students next year. We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that all our students can have as close to a normal learning experience as possible throughout this year and going forward. 

Once we get a final assessment, we will be able to share out more specific information with you about the path going forward. Know that we are looking at several options, while we keep in mind that the best model of instruction is face to face with our students and teachers on our campus. This remains a constant guiding priority as we make this journey together. While there is a lot of speculation, know that nothing has been decided at this time. 

While the damage to some of our buildings on campus is significant, there appear to be several buildings that have the potential to be up and running much sooner than others. This may even include the possibility of going forward with some end-of-year activities on campu as well. We will know more, soon.

For now, know that we will continue to update you on our progress and what next year may look like. Newnan High School will continue to be the school on the hill that draws our Newnan community together. We are Newnan Strong and we are still here! Let’s finish out this year and we look forward to seeing you back on our campus soon! 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Chase Puckett, 

NHS Principal