Learning Options

In this model, students will receive face-to-face instruction at school in an environment designed with safety as our first priority. Educational opportunities will include many of the activities that our students are accustomed to, including art, music, physical education, science labs, field trips, clubs, athletics, and extracurricular activities. K-8 students will come to school the regular 5 days a week. High School in person students will only come Mondays and Wednesdays.

In order to protect the health and well-being of our students and staff and resume in-person instruction, we will follow the Healthy at School guidelines from the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Those families selecting the in-person option should understand that the school day, starting with your child’s bus ride, will look different.

In order to keep our students and staff safe, the expectations for the in-person option include the following:
● Students and staff will receive temperature checks and health assessments before entering our buildings.
●Students riding our buses will be expected to wear a mask while being transported.
● Students and staff will wear masks when moving throughout the building/classroom and when unable to maintain appropriate distance from others.
● Masks will be required for students in grades 1-12, except for those with medical exemptions.
● If classroom space allows for students to maintain appropriate social distance, they may remove their masks while at their desks.
● We’re excited to resume JCS athletics, extracurricular programs, and other events. Participating students will be provided with additional program-specific guidelines.

Here are some additional steps that we’re talking to ensure the health and safety of everyone on our campuses:
● We’ll arrange classrooms to allow for social distancing whenever possible, to enable students to take off their masks for a large portion of the day while they are at their desks.
● Our schools will conduct temperature checks for anyone entering the building.
● We will avoid assemblies and large gatherings of students whenever possible.
● We’ll encourage frequent handwashing and make hand sanitizer available.
● Students will eat meals in their classrooms or in larger spaces that allow for social distancing.
● We will greatly enhance our cleaning protocol, with commonly touched surfaces disinfected frequently.
● Buses will load from back to front and will unload from front to back to reduce student contact with others while in the aisle.
● Our Transportation staff will disinfect buses after each bus run.
● We’re developing safe solutions for many more everyday situations, including use of water fountains, shared classroom materials and students passing in the hallways.

For families that have a concern related to COVID-19, students may attend our Virtual Learning Academy. While nothing can fully replace the in-person learning experience, the Virtual Academy will offer high-quality instruction and virtual classroom support from a member of our JCS teaching staff. Students will be assigned to a classroom and will work with their teacher, who will be dedicated to that group of students, just as they would in an in-person classroom. Grade-level appropriate curriculum and content will be aligned with in-person instruction, making any transitions between in-person and virtual learning more seamless. We heard from JCS families that your kids miss the routine of school when they’re not with us in-person, and the Virtual Academy will provide structure as students attend classes virtually on a daily class schedule and communicate regularly with classroom teachers. Meals will be available to students in the VLA, in a manner similar to our meal distribution sites at the end of last school year.

In order to ensure high-quality online instruction, the expectations for participation in the Virtual Learning Academy include the following:

● Technology is a critical component for online instruction and students must have reliable internet service to participate (ie: ability to stream a video without buffering.) Devices will be provided for those students who need them. We are working on a solution for those who do not currently have internet access and hope to have more information on that soon.

● In order for our teachers to better plan for and serve Virtual Academy students, we ask that all students registering for the VLA commit to attend the Academy for a nine week grading period. Students will be eligible to enroll in the VLA or transfer to in-person instruction at the grading period transition points. Those dates are below. (Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.)

○ July 24, 2020 (for August 26th start date)

○ October 22, 2020

○ January 4, 2021

○ March 11, 2021

● Attendance in the VLA is just as important as in-person attendance and students will be expected to meet all requirements to be considered present. Requirements are similar to what is expected of students during in-person instruction and include participation in regularly scheduled virtual face-to-face meetings with teachers and timely completion of assignments and assessments. Again, similar to in person instruction, excused absences will be handled per the Student Code of Conduct.