Updated April 1, 2021
After Spring Break temperature screenings will occur only for symptomatic students. It is important for our families to continue screening at home and students and staff should stay home if any of the following symptoms occur:
-Fever or chills
-Cough
-Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
-Fatigue
-Muscle or body aches
-Headache
-New loss of taste or smell
-Sore throat
-Congestion or runny nose
-Nausea or vomiting
-Diarrhea
This list does not include all possible COVID-19 symptoms. Children and adolescents with the virus that causes COVID-19 may experience any, all, or none of these symptoms.
Updated March 30, 2021
March 22nd was a day of celebration in Henderson County Schools as we brought all of our students back together again. We have been resilient this year and adapted to new ways of learning, communicating, and working with one another.
After recently meeting with our school principals and our certified, classified, parent, and student advisory groups and receiving valuable insight and feedback, the decision has been made that all Henderson County Schools will continue to be on a 4-day per week schedule for the remainder of this school year. Our goal is to maximize instruction for all students during our 4 days at school as well as on Wednesdays.
Updated March 5, 2021
Dear Parents and Families,
First, I would like to say thank you to our students, families, and staff for being resilient throughout this school year. This has been a challenging year that has required us all to be flexible, patient, and understanding. We have worked together successfully through this pandemic as one team utilizing the tools and technology we are blessed to have.
We are very fortunate to be a 1:1 district with all of our students K-12th grade equipped with Chromebooks. With rigor, grit, and determination we have adapted and utilized NTI days and a Hybrid schedule throughout this school year. However, we know the best method of teaching is in-person instruction. With all of this in mind, we are making plans for all of our students to return to in-person classes four days per week, with Wednesday set aside for deep cleaning, starting on Monday, March 22nd.
There are several factors and steps that we will take as we move to the new schedule:
On February 23rd, Governor Andy Beshear issued a new executive order that recommends all school districts offer or expand some form of in-person instructional opportunities beginning March 1st or seven days after staff have received their second vaccination.
By March 22nd, all of our staff who chose to take the vaccine will have received both shots.
Cases through our district dashboard.
We will continue to collaborate with the Green River District Health Department and Deaconess Henderson Hospital.
We will continue frequent cleaning of high-touch areas throughout the school day.
Students and staff will continue to wear masks all day except when eating and drinking.
We will continue with daily temperature checks and health screenings.
Wednesday will continue to be an NTI day of virtual learning from home.
All students in both Group 1 and Group 2 will be attending in-person together four days per week with this new schedule. This will present challenges in social distancing. Using guidance from the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Department of Public Health we will re-evaluate our current plans for social distancing and make necessary adjustments. Please visit the following websites for more information:
Additionally, our transportation department is adjusting bus schedules and will be communicating with families any changes for pick-up and drop-off times. More students will be riding the buses and sitting together which means wearing a mask, handwashing, and daily health assessment prior to leaving home is vital for our families to practice daily.
Why are we choosing four days per week instead of five days per week? As we begin the transition, we will continue to set Wednesdays aside for deep cleaning and a day dedicated to teacher planning. If it is determined after the initial two weeks that we can go to school five days per week, that decision will be made after our spring break.
For families that would like to select a virtual learning option for their students, the Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) open enrollment will begin on March 1st.
This learning option provides the opportunity for our students to receive synchronous instruction in real time with the student’s teachers and peers.
VLA open enrollment for the fourth marking period will begin on March 1st and will close at 6:00 p.m. on March 5th. Families need to complete Open Enrollment only if the student is currently on VLA and wants to return to school
OR the student is currently attending school in person (HYBRID OR NTI) and wants to move to 100% Virtual Learning.
All students who complete Open Enrollment will start their new placement on March 15th, 2021.
Thank you again for your resilience and flexibility this year.
Dr. Bob Lawson
Superintendent
Updated January 20, 2021
Starting Monday, January 25th, all Henderson County Schools will continue to be on a Hybrid Mode of Instruction.
Our goal is to continue in this mode for at least two weeks through February 5th with our next mode of instruction announced on Wednesday, February 3rd.
We will continue to utilize the Hybrid schedule until it is deemed safe to return to school 5 days a week for In-Person instruction. I would like to also make you aware that there is a possibility we might have to revert to a NTI mode of instruction based on a school by school case if we do not have enough staff or transportation to provide in-person instruction due to positive cases and/or staff having to quarantine based on exposure. We will provide as much advance notice as possible in the case that this occurs.
HCS Childcare and Wednesday Grab and Go meal pick up will remain on schedule.
Thank you for your patience, understanding, and flexibility as we face these challenges together.
Updated January 6, 2021
Good afternoon, this is Henderson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob Lawson.
Starting on Monday, January 11th, all Henderson County Schools will be on a Hybrid Mode of Instruction.
Group 1 will attend school in person on Monday and Tuesday.
Group 2 will attend school in person on Thursday and Friday.
Both Group 1 and Group 2 will receive online instruction at home on Wednesday.
Our goal is to continue in this model for at least two weeks through January 22nd.
ALL Henderson County Schools, School Based Childcare Centers, and Offices will be CLOSED on Monday, January 18th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. day so there will be no online instruction on Monday, January 18th.
Our next mode of instruction will be announced on Wednesday, January 20th.
Our teachers and our staff have been working diligently to deliver the best instruction and services to our students, and we thank you for your continued support of their work. Please know that, together with the support of our families and our community, we can all work together to ensure a successful and safe transition for all.
Updated December 21, 2020
UpdatedNovember 20,2020
Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases we are seeing both in Kentucky and nationally, an executive order was issued by Governor Beshear on November 18th that requires entities throughout the Commonwealth to take additional steps to mitigate further spread of COVID-19. This includes, but is not limited to, local school districts.
New requirements for schools will begin Monday, Nov. 23. See the executive order here.
All public and private schools (K -12) are to cease in-person instruction:
What are our next steps?
Our Child Nutrition Department will continue to offer the grab and go meal program. Meals will be available to pick up at all elementary school locations on Wednesdays only between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
The Board of Education office and our school offices will remain open.
We encourage you to make an appointment to be seen either in-person or virtually. School buildings will be limited to ONLY the foyer (or front entrance).
In order to bring our students back to school, we must all work together as a community to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Let’s all practice social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand sanitization. Because we know in-person instruction is the best mode of instruction for our students, we are hopeful that we can resume in-person instruction quickly once cases decline.
We appreciate your support and understanding as we continue to navigate a steady course through these unprecedented times.
Dr. Bob Lawson
Transitional District Director
Update October 22nd
We will now determine our mode of instruction on Wednesdays in order to allow for more time for our staff and our families to prepare and plan for the upcoming week.
We will continue to use multiple points of data, analyze the data on our district COVID-19 dashboard, and collaborate with the Green River District Health Department in order to make a determination for mode of instruction, athletics, etc. for a two week time period.
The Parent Link communicating our mode of instruction will go out at 4:00 p.m. every other Wednesday and will be posted to our district Facebook page.
We will continue to evaluate and respond to changing conditions as the school year progresses.
Beginning on October 26th, we will start requiring all students K-12th grade to wear a mask on the bus and while at school. This is a change from what we previously communicated to our families and the community about our kindergarten students; however, this is an important change to make for the health and safety of all of our students and staff.
Why are we doing this? There are three mitigation strategies we can use to help reduce the spread of COVID-19: wearing masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing. It is important that we keep following all three strategies.
Advice for Kindergarten Families
Families should allow their children to pick out a mask in a favorite color or design that they like. Most kids can feel comfortable seeing people in masks and wearing a mask, as long as adults:
Use simple words to explain why people are wearing masks.
Give kids time to look, watch, and get accustomed to what's new.
Answer kids' questions.
Give support.
Frame the mask as a big kid thing. There’s nothing that littles like better than being big.
Practice: First, help your kids practice putting a mask on a doll or stuffed animal. Then, teach them how to put a mask on (and take it off) their own faces – all by themselves.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your child’s school.
If your family needs assistance with purchasing masks, please contact the Family Resource Coordinator at your school.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28th
On September 14th the state released a framework providing metric-directed guidance to assist school officials in determining the mode of instruction (i.e., in person, virtual, or hybrid) during the COVID-19 pandemic when statewide test positivity is <6 and healthcare resources are adequate to meet community needs.
KY COVID-19 Mode of Instruction Metrics for K-12 Education
The framework empowers local leadership to make decisions based upon current community incidence rates at the county level as regularly published by KDPH. Specified mitigation measures are described for different levels of disease present within a county.
The county Incidence Map found at www.kycovid19.ky.gov
Every Thursday as we check the County Incidence map and review our school COVID-19 dashboard, we will provide our families and our staff with an update on the determination of school opening/closure for the following week.
