Huntsville City Schools April 04, 2020

Good Morning HCS Family, I wanted to reach out to you to provide some clarity in light of the Governor’s Shelter In Place Order. Last night, the Governor issued her Order, and it is scheduled to take effect this evening at 5:00 pm. I have already received a considerable number of questions from our HCS family asking what the Order means for our parents, students, teachers, and staff as we begin implementation of our Blended Learning Plan next week. Let me assure you that in creating the Blended Learning Plan, my team was tasked with minimizing the amount of in-person activity that would be necessary to provide distance learning for our students. This means that our Blended Learning Plan is in compliance with the Governor’s Order. I want to share the parts of the Governor’s Order that are most critical for our District. To avoid any confusion, I have included the main takeaway points below, and I explain the reason for each in the rest of the letter. Key Points: 1. The Governor’s Shelter in Place Order does not change our Blended Learning Plan. 2. Our employees, students, and families are allowed to leave their home as necessary to receive or to provide educational services. 3. For any work site or school, we will strictly comply with the following rules: no more than 10 people at a work site or school, and all people must maintain a consistent six-foot distance between each other. 4. All school buildings will be closed on Monday, April 6th to allow our cleaning teams to perform an additional enhanced cleaning. *Curbside Wi-Fi and Bus Wi-Fi will be available. Please be mindful of the social distancing guidelines when arriving on campus. Additional Explanation: First, there is an exception to the requirement for sheltering in place “To obtain or provide necessary services.” The Order states that “A person may leave his or her place of residence to obtain or provide the following services for himself or herself, for other household members . . . (v) Services related to any public or private distance learning activities and education continuity, including all services under education continuity plans approved by the State Superintendent of Education.” The State Superintendent’s Office has approved our Blended Learning Plan, so this means that our students and parents may leave their homes to obtain services that are part of our Blended Leaning Plan, and faculty and staff can leave their homes to provide services related to the Blended Learning Plan. Second, there is an exception to the requirement for sheltering in place “To work.” The Order states that “A person may leave his or her place of residence to perform work at ‘essential businesses and operations.’” The Order includes “Education operations” as an essential operation and includes the following examples related to our Blended Learning Plan: “educators supporting public and private K-12 schools . . . for purposes of facilitating distance learning and education continuity plans approved by the State Superintendent of Education, performing critical research or other essential functions, including public schools preparing and transporting distance-learning materials and meals to eligible students.” This means that the Governor’s Order does not prohibit our faculty and staff from leaving their home as is necessary to implement our Distance Learning Plan. Lastly, the Order requires all “essential businesses and operations,” which includes Huntsville City Schools, to continue complying with the social distancing requirements including avoiding gatherings of 10 persons or more and maintaining a consistent six-foot distance between persons. On top of this, I have received guidance from the State Superintendent explaining that students, families, faculty, administrators, and staff should only report to schools if their physical presence is absolutely essential to carrying out our Blended Learning Plan. I understand that our faculty and staff provide critical services to our students and take seriously the safety and welfare of all faculty and staff members – as well as our students and their families. Although we have significantly limited in person and on campus activities in the Blended Learning Plan, there will still be some who need to come to campus to pick up items or assignments. This is why I have decided that no one will be allowed in school buildings on Monday, April 6th to give our cleaning teams a chance to perform one more enhanced cleaning. Parents please reach out to your school principals if you have any questions or need materials from the school. Let me reiterate that we absolutely want everyone to stay safe. If anyone (families, faculty, or staff) has any questions about how to implement this new process, please reach out to your school principal or your supervisor. We must all work with each other to navigate this. Stay safe and healthy, Christie Finley

read more

Huntsville City Schools April 04, 2020 read more

Huntsville City Schools April 04, 2020

Please make plans to join us on Monday, April 6 for Weatherly Heights Elementary School's Virtual Open House!

read more

Huntsville City Schools April 04, 2020 read more

Huntsville City Schools April 04, 2020

Huntsville City Schools is implementing a Blended Learning Plan to facilitate student learning for the remainder of the school year. Students will have academic opportunities and connect with their teachers as they progress through the most critical state standards. For more information about specif...

read more