Hello Franklin-Simpson Wildcats,
As we continue to navigate through the 2020-2021 school year we are now approaching another change in the year. On March 8, 2021 Simpson Co. Schools will be transitioning to full in person instruction 4 days a week Monday through Thursday with Friday being a virtual day for all K-12 students. Simpson Co. Schools will continue to offer a virtual option for any student that wants to stay virtual or go into our virtual platform. We are asking that if you want to make a change in your placement that you contact your school by Friday February 26, 2021 and inform them of your decision. If you are currently hybrid we will assume that you are planning to come in 4 days a week in person. However, if that is changing you will need to contact the school.
Simpson Co. Schools are committed to ensuring the safety of our students and staff. We have used the Healthy at School Guidelines from KDE and the newly released guidelines from the CDC to guide these decisions. We will continue to utilize the mitigation strategies already in place. Masks will still be required, physical distancing, handwashing procedures, cleaning and contact tracing. I realize there have been many questions about the physical distancing of students. The CDC and KDE guidelines state it should be maximized to the greatest extent possible. Simpson Co Schools has purchased clear dividers for all K-5 classrooms and where needed in the middle and high school for desks. Without going into a lot of detail, SCS has purchased individual air filtration systems for every classroom space in the district. All of these will be in place before we return to school on March 8th.
I want to be upfront and clear on the process of quarantining. The policies for quarantining have not changed and there is always the possibility that your student could have to quarantine if they were to be exposed to a positive case. The number of cases in Simpson County have continued to decrease over the past two weeks which is a good sign. However, we have to remain vigilant in our processes to continue to combat the spread of the virus.
There is too much information/talking points for me to be able to put in this one email to explain all the reasons for this decision. However, we believe that it is important to get our students back to in person learning and we feel that with the guidance of the CDC and KDE it can be done safely.
I am going to include links to several documents in this email that could potentially answer any questions that you may have. However, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your students' school or the central office.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/operation-strategy.html
https://govstatus.egov.com/ky-healthy-at-school
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i0eonY5IXqaad5uhb4JC_eRdsnUgR7XyIphE0Opvn74/edit?usp=sharing
Take Care and Be Safe!!! #1FS
Tim Schlosser- Superintendent