School officials answer questions about what to expect when a JCPS student has to quarantine

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools says quarantines are inevitable as students return to classes full time during the pandemic.

The district ended its first day of school Wednesday with 190 students in quarantine. On Thursday, another 114 students were quarantined.

If you've learned your child has tested positive for COVID-19 or is a close contact that needs to quarantine, what should you do first? JCPS says to notify your child's school right away.

"As soon as they let them know that, yes, we will be quarantined and we do want to continue with school, they will receive a code to a Google classroom for their child's grade level," said JCPS Chief Academic Officer Carmen Coleman.

Once a student is in quarantine, what will learning look like?

"It could be NTI-like in some ways, but it is not NTI," said Coleman. "This is truly just an option to support our students when they are quarantined."

Coleman said quarantine instruction is a mix of self-paced lessons and live sessions with a resource teacher.

How much live instruction can families expect?

"We are prepared to provide about three hours a week, and that's an estimate," said Coleman. "But we want to try to support our students in whatever ways they need and do what they can."

What's the expected workload for students?

"What the state regulation says is they should have the equivalent of six hours of instruction daily," said Coleman. "We are trying to use our best judgment to think about how long things will take, but most importantly, that it's meaningful learning every day."

Should families mentally prepare to quarantine more than once this year?

"I think that is probably a really likely scenario," said Coleman. "One thing we've all learned during this time is we have to be flexible and we have to be willing to adapt."

And as the pandemic has taught everyone, things can change — and that includes possible modifications to at-home learning as the school year unfolds.

"We'll see how this goes, and if we need to adjust, we certainly will," said Coleman.

For more information on what happens if a JCPS student quarantines, click here.

JCPS will release its weekly COVID numbers every Friday, here.

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