Paris, Tenn.–Meeting Tuesday evening, the Paris Special Schools District released its school reopening plan for the district for 2020-2021, with the first day of school still set for August 3.
However, Director of Schools Dr. Norma Gerrell noted that with the continually changing COVID-19 situation in the state and area, changes in guidelines and protocols may take place at any time.
Additionally, the board approved:
- A 1% raise for all employees
- A $500 bonus for full-time employees & A $250 bonus for part-time employees
- All students in PSSD will receive breakfast and lunch at NO COST for this school year 2020-2021.
In the preface to the school reentry handbook, Dr. Gerrell noted, “Considering the ongoing situation with COVID-19, we must remain open-minded and flexible as we begin the school year. As we have learned, change is inevitable. Our experiences in the past few months have proven that working cooperatively and showing care for each other offers the best chance for successful outcomes. We immensely appreciate your partnership and will work to ensure all children are as safe as possible while giving each one the greatest opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive during this unprecedented time.”
While planning for the school year, Dr. Gerrell said, Paris Special School District leaders have been committed to utilizing all available information and gathering feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders. All parents were given the opportunity to provide input through an online survey.
“We have also conducted in-person meetings with several stakeholder groups: parents representing all three PSSD schools, teacher leaders from across the district, many local experts including representatives from our hospital, health department, Henry County Emergency Management, law enforcement, and a smaller working group of teachers, parents, and community members to provide feedback on this handbook. We continue to consult with the Tennessee Department of Education and school systems across the state as well as others throughout the county as we plan for the opening of our schools,” she said.
As reported earlier, the reentry plan is a color-coded four-phase plan that outlines how the district will proceed under the following scenarios: if the COVID-19 threat to the community is low, if the threat is moderate and if the threat is high (with no shelter-in-place order) and if threat is high (with a shelter-in-place order).
The handbook can be accessed here:
https://www.parisssd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx…