Thursday marked the second day of in-person instruction at Jefferson County Public Schools and the first for students in kindergarten through fifth grades whose last names start with the letters L-Z.

The district’s average participation rate of 90.7% serves as a dividing line of sorts in a trend that has Kentucky’s largest school bracing for a years-long effort to make up months of academic stagnation and decline for some of its poorest students.

From the time Kentucky’s largest school district ceased in-person learning in March 2020 through Jan. 21, records obtained by WDRB News show JCPS teachers have written just 218 referrals for student misbehavior during nontraditional instruction.

JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio had previously suggested reopening elementary classrooms by the third week of March and operating middle and high schools on hybrid learning schedules by the first week of April immediately after spring break.

Board members James Craig, Linda Duncan and Sarah McIntosh said they intend to vote to resume in-person instruction at Jefferson County Public Schools during a special meeting Thursday.

Assistant superintendents and eight principals presented details of reopening strategies during Tuesday’s work session as the board prepares to decide whether to resume in-person instruction.

Vaccinations opened for 1,200 JCPS teachers and staff from 25 elementary schools on Jan. 22 at Louisville Metro's drive-thru site in Broadbent Arena.

The exact timing of the district’s reopening strategy depends greatly on how many doses of COVID-19 vaccines are allocated for JCPS, Pollio told the Jefferson County Board of Education.