While elementary students in Henry County Public Schools have been attending in-person classes Monday through Thursday, middle and high school students have been on an A/B hybrid schedule, attending in-person classes two days each week.

Beginning March 22, all hybrid in-person middle and high school students will attend classes Monday through Thursday. Students enrolled in our Online Academy will continue to receive instruction through that platform. Friday will continue to be a virtual learning day for all students – elementary, middle and high.

Our decision to bring all students back to a four-day school week is based on guidance from the Center for Disease Control and supported by the recent announcement by Governor Andy Beshear. HCPS personnel who chose to receive the COVID vaccine will have had their second dose over 14 days prior to March 22, as is recommended by the CDC. The CDC also acknowledges that younger children benefit more from in-person instruction, and the same argument can be applied to older students. We have many middle and high school students who would also benefit from more in-person instructional time, providing for observation, evaluation, feedback, social interaction, emotional support, student voice, etc. We also believe that bringing back our middle and high school students for four days a week will reduce the number of possible failures and summer school referrals.

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.