03/17/2020 School Update Video Transcript

Good evening members of the Hamblen County School Family.  I am Jeff Perry, superintendent of schools.  Thank you for joining us for this next segment of our school district’s update. We encourage parents to monitor this broadcast because it is too much information to send home through our School Messenger System.   We have several quick announcements in this presentation.  We will post additional information concerning on-line curriculum options that parents can use at home in tomorrow’s video.     

1.         We will continue with daycare or Extended School Program at Hillcrest Elementary.  We are providing free daycare for all health care and safety providers as long as we are out of school.  We will also help working parents by keeping ESP open. We will open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m.   Please contact Stacy Gibson at 423-273-0068 if you need this service.   

2.         We will continue with the teacher recruitment fair scheduled for March 31 at East High School Cafeteria.  We still need to plan for the future, and we want to be able to hire the best teachers for next year.  However, we will change the time.  We will start at 10:00 a.m. and go until noon.  We will ask some of the best candidates to come back after lunch for actual interviews.  We will provide principals with the opportunity to offer contracts that day if necessary.  We strongly encourage all teaching candidates to attend this recruitment fair.  

3.         We made the decision to close schools because we were concerned about the safety and availability of staff.  In addition, the Governor declared that all schools should be close through March 31.  We will observe this declaration and remain closed through March 31. I spoke to the Hamblen County Health Department this morning and there are still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the community.   

4.         The Central office will remain open this week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  We will be closed over spring break.  Contact us if you need anything. 

5.         We have ceased athletic practices, competition, and all other extracurricular activities during the closure of schools.  We will re-evaluate the continuation of these activities when we return to school.  

6.         Several individuals have asked about graduation ceremonies and the prom.  At this point, we still hope to have these programs but nothing is for certain.  It is extremely important to note that we may have to reschedule both of these programs.  We would strongly recommend that parents not purchase prom dresses at this point if you had not already done so.  We would also strongly recommend that distance relatives not commit to flights or other travel arrangements in which they can’t change dates or cancel if necessary.  These programs are too far away for us to make any firm decisions about at this point.  We know that individuals need to make plans soon but we simply don’t have the ability to predict the next several weeks to give you a clear answer.

7.         We will continue to take preschool applications through April 17.  You can email, mail, fax, or hand-deliver this application to Dr. Janet Dalton.  Her email address is daltonj@hcboe.net or fax to 423-586-7760.  Our mailing address is 210 East Morris Blvd. Morristown, TN 37813.  We will notify parents about admission by May 1.

8.         We will start a school feeding program during the week for all children in Hamblen County.  We will start the program after spring break if we are still out of school at that point.  We will serve a free breakfast and lunch to all children in Hamblen County, ages 18 and younger.  We will set up a feeding station at five locations in the county.  We will have a drive-by pickup at the front entrance of West High School, Fairview Elementary School, the parking lot of the Girls/Boys Club, Cerritos West Apartments, and the College Square Mall.  We will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.   We can only give meals to the number of children in the vehicle so it is important you bring your children to these stations.  We apologize for the inconvenience but it is federal law which requires the child to be in the car.  We can feed only children, 18 years old or younger. The child doesn’t have to reside in Hamblen County.   No identification is needed to verify the age of the child.   You can contact Kellie Smith if you need these meals but can’t arrange transportation.  We have limited resources but we will get the food to you if needed. 

9.         We will open on-line registration for next year on April 6.  Parents who know their log-on identification and passwords can complete the on-line registration any time after April 6.  It would be of great benefit to us if you complete this on-line registration as soon as possible.  We will provide assistance later for those unable to complete the process online. Parents can access the parent portal for registration on the district’s webpage.  It will be very similar to the process you used last year.

10.       We have several families traveling over spring break.  We are asking students to remain home for at least 2 weeks if you have traveled out of the state for spring break.  This self-quarantine would be for two weeks when you return home from travel.  Students must bring some type of proof of travel and the days will be excused.   Students and parents must expect to complete makeup work to receive credit while at home.

11.       We have not received any directions about makeups for ACT at this time.  It is still a requirement for graduation but Department of Education has not given us any direction on makeups at this point. We will rely this information as soon as we get something.