Carter County Schools allow in-person learning at 100 percent beginning Sept. 28

Published 4:43 pm Friday, September 18, 2020

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Carter County Schools will be offering in-person learning at 100 percent capacity beginning Sept. 28. 
The decision was made during the monthly school board meeting on Thursday evening. Students who have chosen Option 1, or in-person learning, will attend school at full capacity Monday-Thursday. Friday will continue to be a virtual learning day. 
Other options for students have been to go completely virtual or do remote learning. 
Students who have chosen to do in-person learning will be required to wear a mask. 
Tracy McAbee addressed the board prior to their decision. He presented data and discussed trending down. McAbee meets with the Department of Health weekly to go over the current number of COVID-19 cases. 
This decision by the board to operate at full capacity is subject to change by the director should circumstances change with the virus. Commitments to Option 1 will be in place until Thanksgiving break.
Along with data presentation and school decisions, there was also time to displace rumors regarding teachers. It has been speculated that teachers use Friday as an “off day.” In reality, teachers use this day to catch up, and many teachers work past school hours on a regular basis. 
In addition to school operation recommendations, McAbee also discussed ELA textbooks. He motioned for grades 2-6 to use Benchmark and 7-12 to use Pearson. The motion was passed. 
In the attendance report, McAbee explained that attendance is based on logging in and attempting with assignments.
Lindsey Feathers spoke about the nutrition department providing meals under the USDA SSO Program, which since Sept. 1 has allowed free breakfast and lunch to children under the age of 18. This is available Monday-Thursday as a drive-thru meal pick-up at schools from 11 a.m. to noon. Friday meal pick-up is at five schools from 11 a.m. to noon, as well as by bus delivery. This lasts until Dec. 31. The registration link for delivery can be found on the Carter County Schools Facebook page. 
The full meeting can be viewed on the Carter County School Facebook page. 
The next school board meeting will be Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. 
“During a challenging year for our community, I hope that offering three options for our families helps to alleviate some hardships, and allow for our students who want and need face to face instruction to come to a school campus,” said McAbee. 

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox