Let me begin by saying how proud I am of our students, both virtual and in-person, who are doing their best to keep up with their school work in these trying times.  We have been back for two full weeks of in-person instruction and students are doing an outstanding job with their classwork, as well as complying with all of our required protocols to be able to attend in-person. 

As of the writing of this update, if things do not drastically change and I am not directed otherwise, I have no plans to cancel in-person learning for the remainder of this school year.  Our district continues to fare well in light of COVID and state numbers, thanks to our students, staff and community for doing their part to stay healthy and safe. I hope that you continue to refer to our district COVID Decision Tree to understand our health protocols for positive cases and quarantine situations. 

Families, I ask that you do your best to provide an appropriate face covering for your in-person students.  We will always provide a student with a mask if they do not have one; however, the district is running low on available masks, and I ask for your help in this area. 

Anna Lusk, the Director of School Nutrition Services for Henry County Public Schools, was recently recognized by the Kentucky Department of Education’s School and Community Nutrition division in its monthly “Sponsor Spotlight.”

Lusk holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health with a minor in nutrition, and a Master’s in Public Health Nutrition, both from Eastern Kentucky University. She was most recently employed by Community Action Council Head Start as a Health and Nutrition Manager. She also served as the Assistant Food Service Director for Perry County Public Schools and Nutrition Council Supervisor for Breathitt County Public Schools.

Lusk began working at HCPS just one week before the 2019 coronavirus shutdown and had to quickly adapt to the situation. She credits her school cafeteria staffs with being flexible and working well together for successfully navigating the ever-changing conditions brought on by school closures and COVID-19 guidelines.

There may not be enough snow on the ground today to build a big snowman, but it does present the perfect opportunity to remind our families of our snow day policy for this school year.

This winter we will use Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) days when school is cancelled for weather. On any day that in-person school is canceled for weather, all students - in-person and Online Academy learners - will continue their classwork at home. As teachers foresee issues of severe winter weather, they will prepare their students for the possibility of working from home. If the district experiences a surprise weather event, all students will function much as they currently do on Fridays.

Families will receive notifications regarding school closures through a one-call, our website and social media sites and local TV and radio outlets. News channels will likely say “Henry County – Remote Learning” or “Henry County – NTI” to indicate closure of our physical buildings but continued learning at home. Even if the television announcement only says that HCPS is closed, student attendance will be recorded through participation on snow days.

If you have any questions regarding this policy, feel free to contact HCPS at 502-845-8600.

For the 2021-22 school year, there are two calendar options being considered. Along with the traditional calendar, a second variable calendar was created for possible adoption if COVID conditions continue into the 21-22 school year and require calendar flexibility.

The proposed opening day for students on our traditional calendar is August 11 with a projected last day for students on May 19, subject to the number of makeup days required. For the variable calendar, the opening day is August 23 with a projected last day of May 26. The days students are not in attendance (breaks, teacher work days, holidays, etc.) are the same in both calendars; the only differences between the two are the start and end dates.

The Board of Education will make a decision in the spring as to which calendar best suits our district and students’ needs. Until that time, please make plans for your students to be in school beginning August 11, 2021 through the start of Memorial Day weekend 2022. We will let our families know which calendar the board has adopted as soon as possible.

Beginning Tuesday, December 9, Henry County Public Schools will suspend its practice of publishing a Daily Health Report, which provides data regarding our staff and student COVID positive and quarantine cases.

With delays in receiving timely information from our local health department, coupled with inconsistent self-reporting from our families, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data we have been providing with this report. 

We will reinstate the Daily Health Report only when we have confidence that the data we can provide to our families and communities is more accurate. We apologize for any inconvenience this may create for our families.

We will continue to monitor COVID cases and exposures as information is received, and report COVID cases to the state as required based on the information we receive. That data can be viewed at kycovid19.ky.gov.

If you have questions regarding our student and staff health policies related to COVID-19 or need to report positive cases, please contact Health Services Coordinator Melissa Jeffries, RN, at melissa.jeffries@henry.kyschools.us or 502-845-8621.