LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Greater Clark County Schools will transition to virtual learning from Sept. 7 through Sept. 10, the school corporation announced Monday.
The district cited COVID-19 cases and quarantines as the causes of the decision.
"The likelihood of positive cases increasing in the days following the Labor Day holiday weekend will require an increased number of quarantined students," Superintendent Mark Laughner said in an email to families. "Going into eLearning for the week will decrease the potential spread and the potential number of students forced to quarantine as well."
As of last week, GCCS reported 57 positive coronavirus cases and 523 quarantined after exposure.
"I wasn't super shocked," said parent Allison Miller, whose son is in preschool at Franklin Square Elementary. "I wasn't super excited about it, because it just means a change for our family."
But it's a sacrifice that Miller is willing to make.
"I would much rather miss a couple of days next week, and not have to do two full weeks of quarantine the week after," she said.
"September 7th was already scheduled for eLearning as a professional development day," Laughner said. "The three-day extension of eLearning will allow all schools to recoup professional development time affected by close contact tracing procedures, catch up on deep cleaning issues affected by staff shortages, and maintain regular academic progress while scheduling support time with students who have been quarantined to provide catchup sessions."
Below is more information sent to parents Monday:
- Teachers will be available daily from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. for immediate feedback and communication. They will check email intermittently the remainder of the school day.
- Attendance will be taken via a Google Form. Students will be marked as absent if they do not complete the form on each eLearning day.
- All assigned work and lessons will be communicated through Google Classroom.
- Assigned work will align to the district sequencing guides. Students will work at their own pace to complete the assigned work. Completed work should be submitted by the third school day after an eLearning window or by the last day of the grading period if the eLearning window occurs the last week of the grading period. Work not submitted by the deadline may not receive full credit. The work complete deadline for this series of eLearning days will be Sept. 15.
GCCS said food service will be available for pickup that week. Preschools will be closed, and parents won't be charged. Middle and high schools will still operate their evening athletic schedules.
Clark County's health officer Dr. Eric Yazel said the school district's decision is a preventative measure, as it can take five to seven days for an infected person to start showing symptoms.
"My kids just came off quarantine, too, and logistically, it was a huge challenge for us, just like it is for families all across our county," he said.
Yazel said it's a good idea for parents to have backup plans around this year's holidays. With cases expected to spike after each holiday, some schools may have to adjust.
"When those events are coming up, and you know that might be the case, at least make sure you have a plan if that does happen," he said.
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