Robinson details new reopening guidance, says district will provide ‘honest, factual, and accurate flow of information’

doug-robinson-03-16
doug-robinson-03-16

Grayson County Schools Superintendent Doug Robinson on Thursday released a statement to the district’s parents/guardians detailing new state guidance regarding implementation of in-person instruction, as well as the district’s commitment to transparency.

In the statement, Robinson says about two-thirds of the county’s students will attend classes beginning September 28. Limiting most class sizes to 15 or fewer students, he said. Additionally, Robinson said less than 40 percent of any schools’ student population will be in the school building at any given time.

The entirety of Robinson’s statement can be found below:

The Kentucky Department for Public Health released earlier this week a color-coded system to guide school districts in making local decisions on school reopenings, as well as possible short- or longer-term closures, or periods of NTI.  

The system provides recommendations from the state DPH, as a tool when making local decisions based on school and community factors. Grayson County Schools is adhering to all guidance provided by both KDE and KDPH to stay Healthy at School. This system has been provided to districts as a ​recommendation and is one “piece of the puzzle,” that will factor into our decision-making process.  

Here are some additional factors to be aware of as we look to enter this process on Sept. 28. 

In-Person and Virtual Numbers: 

  • Approximately one-third of our families made the choice for their student(s) to attend through the virtual option offered for the 2020-21 school year. This means that ​two-thirds​ of our students have chosen to attend ​in person​.
  • On the current A/B schedule, ​fewer than 40 percent​ of any school’s student population will be in the building on any given day. That puts most – if not all — class sizes at 15 students or fewer​.

School-Related Positives and/or Quarantines: 

  • The number of positive student and staff diagnoses and/or quarantines may be unrelated to school, even when Grayson County overall is in a Red Zone (the county dropped out of the “red” on Thursday, but just barely). We look to provide some of that context as we share those numbers each day with our families and community, while also protecting the privacy of those involved.
  • Parent and staff​ immediate​ reporting (24 hours or less) of a positive diagnosis will provide the real-time data imperative in decision making throughout this school year. In return, ​GCS has been and will continue to provide​ a daily update of these numbers by school and district at graysoncountyschools.com.
  • Both parent and school reporting are by ​regulation​.
  • The number of quarantines within a specific grade level, school, or department such as transportation or food services may at times factor into our ability to be open during a given time frame.

Our Commitment:

  • GCS will share ​facts​ as quickly as possible with families, staff and our community.
  • Districtwide updates will be shared via phone call/text message, the district website and social media channels. Updates related to a specific school will flow from that school to its families.
  • All information related to school openings, closures, potential for closure and COVID-19 will always be found on the ​Relaunch 2020 page at graysoncountyschools.com​. If it’s not there, it’s either not factual or we have not yet obtained enough facts of our own to be able to share the information accurately.

We ARE in this together. An honest, factual, and accurate flow of information between our families and our schools will give all of us a degree of certainty that’s so missing in all areas of our lives these days.

We have amazing families partnering with us. We have the BEST students and staff anywhere. We are also SO incredibly fortunate to have a community that supports us at every turn.

Let’s all keep working – together – to be and stay Healthy at School. We know there is still change ahead. As partners – armed with facts – we are united not only for our community’s children, but our entire community, where We ARE GC connected.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com