Pendleton County will return to in-person on hybrid schedule
Last week, Governor Andy Beshear called for schools to consider cancelling their fall break as Covid-19 cases in Kentucky are spiking.
“I hope they would consider using that fall break time, if they are able to do in-person classes, to do in-person classes,” the governor said during his Tuesday press briefing. “I’m incredibly worried about where families could travel. One of the reasons that we made the recommendation to push back to Sept. 28 was so people would stop going to the beach.”
Pendleton County Schools has been on virtual learning throughout the first semester. They are scheduled to return to in-person learning on Monday, October 19.
Supertindent Joe Buerkley addressed the governor’s request. “We did not feel it was necessary to remove fall break. We approve our calendar a year in advance, so we wanted to do our best to honor the original calendar that was created. We also started school August 24 versus late September as other districts, so we feel our students and staff are ready for a break.”
According to a letter posted on the district’s Facebook page, “Pendleton County Schools will begin providing in-person learning while utilizing a hybrid schedule or what some refer to as an ‘A/B’ schedule. Based on the number of students requesting the in-person option, this plan is necessary in order to meet the stringent health and safety measures outlined in Kentucky’s Healthy at School document.”
Students on “A” day schedule will attend in-person school on Monday and Tuesday with remote learning on Wednesday through Friday.
Students on “B” day schedule will attend in-person school on Thursday and Friday with remote learning on Monday through Wednesday.
Students who have chosen to remain as PC CARES students will continue to be educated remotely and will not be impacted by the future in-person learning schedule through December 18, 2020.
Students in transition grades can become acquainted with their new school prior to the week of October 19. In-person learners in preschool, kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades will be invited to attend school on Tuesday, October 13 (“A” schedule) and Friday, October 16 (“B” schedule) for an opportunity to get acquainted with their new building and teachers before the full start of the hybrid schedule on October 19.