04/22/2020 School System Transcript
Good evening Hamblen County School Family. Please take a moment to review the following information and contact Kellie Smith if you have any questions or concerns and we will address in a future broadcast.
1. The construction and renovation on West High School has begun. The project will include a new front entryway and main office, expanded restrooms, additional restrooms at the gym/auditorium, expanded dining area, repair to existing waste water lines, and new heating and air conditioning units for the vast majority of the building. This construction process is scheduled to be completed by the fall of next year. Currently the construction company is demolishing the old canopy section near the front entryway. They are also conducting some work in the restrooms. Traffic near the large circle near the canopy will be diverted so be careful if you are driving to the school.
2. High School students will need to use their school-issued laptops through May 11 to work on assignments and course work. However, we will need to recover those laptops after that date to repair and update them. In addition, we allow our seniors to keep their laptops but we need to connect them to the school server to clear district controls and firewalls. Failure to clear these laptops at the end of the year will prevent our seniors from making full use of the laptops. School officials will contact all high school students after May 11 and notify them of the date, time, and process to turn in these laptops. School officials will also notify seniors how we will clear their computers so they will operate like a normal laptop at home.
3. During the student demographic update or enrollment, (what we have called registration in the past), we will not require proof of residency to enroll. However, we will verify proof of residency in the fall, so it is extremely important parents are truthful about residency when they enroll. Students who enroll out of zone will be forced to attend their assigned school and this creates multiple issues for students who have to leave a school mid-year and transfer to another school. Please do not place your child in this situation and enroll in your attendance zone. You can follow the appropriate procedures and request an out-of-zone exemption but please do not record a false address to enroll in the school of your choice. This simply leads to hard decisions during the school year. School staff will be back in the office in May and school staff will begin called parents to help enroll students. Please move forward with the online enrollment and update your child’s demographic information if you remember your passwords and logins. We will call you in May to assist you in this process if you have forgotten your password.
4. Because of various federal regulations and reimbursement procedures, the last day we can provide normal school meals will be May 20. However, we are requesting an extension at this time and we are hopeful we can continue the program throughout the summer. Even if the request is denied, we can begin our summer feeding program on June 1 and we can continue this program through late July. Regardless, we are committed to feeding our students and will do everything within our power to keep our students from going hungry. It is important to note that our cafeteria workers have worked as hard as any individuals in the school district during this time. Please recognize their service if you get an opportunity.
5. Several of our spring student athletes still have uniforms, equipment, and other sports-related supplies at home. School officials and coaches will contact you soon about how and when to return those items. For the time being, just keep those items and we will contact you soon.
6. Many of our students have expressed a desire to pick up the school yearbooks. We will distribute those yearbooks soon. We will create a curbside pickup in the near future so students can get their yearbooks. Again, we will contact you soon.
7. Several of our students were involved in summer internship programs. These summer internship programs can be an extremely valuable experience for both the employer and our students. We will still continue to offer these summer internship programs, but it will be strictly voluntary. Parents and students will need to have a clear understanding of what they are expected to do during these internships and make a determination if the appropriate safety measures are in place to make this a viable option for your child. Clearly, we would not advocate an internship if we thought there were safety issues, but we also understand that parents possess a wide range of tolerance levels when it comes to safety. We will still offer these opportunities, but parents should take considerable time reviewing these internships before enrolling their child.