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Marlene Helm
Read the acting superintendent's March 2 letter to families (click photo); see translations archived below
March 2, 2021
Dear Fayette County Public Schools families:
We are excited to welcome our third, fourth, and fifth graders whose families chose in-person learning back to campus in the morning. After a week with our primary-aged students, we have refined our health and safety procedures, and our elementary schools are ready for the next step in our return to face-to-face instruction.
We are grateful to our entire community for efforts to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Today’s 7-day average of new cases is 67 – solidly in the orange range. Each Tuesday, we also review multiple data points as part of our FCPS In-Person Learning Matrix, and we are pleased to report that all indicators continue to support our return to campus.
We are still working to solve the transportation challenge for middle and high school students who attend Carter G. Woodson Academy, Eastside Technical Center, Family Care Center, Locust Trace AgriScience Center, Martin Luther King Academy, Opportunity Middle College, Southside Technical Center, STEAM Academy, Success Academy, The Learning Center, and The Stables.
Yesterday, the Fayette County Board of Education approved an incentive pay package to help us retain our bus drivers and monitors and attract additional substitute drivers. Transportation hubs, schedule changes, and the use of nine-passenger vans may also play a role in the solution. As we said last week, we will update our families on next steps no later than March 15.
In the meantime, on Monday, March 8, the sixth, ninth and 12th graders whose families chose in-person instruction will go back to school at Beaumont, Bryan Station, Crawford, Edythe J. Hayes, Jessie Clark, Leestown, LTMS, Morton, SCAPA, Southern, Tates Creek, and Winburn middle schools and Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Tates Creek high schools. On Monday, March 15, students in preschool, and grades 7, 8, 10, and 11, will return at those same schools.
In closing, I would like to take a moment to explain how we use the practice of quarantines as a precaution. You may have seen media reports that since last Monday, seven students and two employees on our campuses tested positive for COVID-19. None of these cases are related to school exposures.
Out of an abundance of caution, for our youngest students, a single positive student or staff member may lead to placing a class into quarantine. This is a preventative measure because our elementary students share the same space for several hours, with multiple interactions, including eating lunch and having recess together. At the middle and high school levels, where students are not together all day, the approach will be different.
Our goal is to keep everyone well, and we work hand-in-hand with our partners at the health department to review each situation. The quarantine process is just one of the precautions we use, along with mask wearing, hand washing, physical distancing, health screenings, and more. Thank you for your understanding and your continued support.
Sincerely,
Marlene Helm,
acting superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools
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About the matrix
When conditions warrant, Fayette County Public Schools will offer traditional, on-campus, in-person instruction for all students whose families choose that option. We will implement significant health and safety procedures to meet guidelines set by federal, state, and local health officials to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread. Since the number of students in the building is determined by family preference, social distancing will be implemented as much as possible, but will not be possible in all situations. To determine the appropriate mode of instruction, district leaders have developed a COVID-19 In-Person Learning Matrix. This tool, which builds on the state’s color-coded incidence rate map, includes five stages based on the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Fayette County.
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133 cases or more: Stage 5, purple, substantial risk: All schools are closed. Students are not physically attending school and are completing coursework through Non-Traditional Instruction/ Differentiated Distance Learning (NTI/2DL).
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83 to 132 cases: Stage 4, red, significant risk: FCPS will consider moving to remote learning with targeted services provided for students who need extra support. Based on FCPS transition factors and the COVID-19 In-Person Learning MATRIX, a graduated in-person learning model will be considered.
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34 to 82 cases: Stage 3, orange, moderate, but increasing risk: Schools are open for graduated in-person learning. Short-term closures may occur for virus-affected classrooms or buildings because of transition factors. These closures will be communicated by the school and district.
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3.3 to 33 cases: Stage 2, yellow, minimal risk: Schools are open for in-person learning. However, short-term closures may occur for virus-affected classrooms or buildings. These short-term closures may be affected by one or more transition factors and will be communicated to families by the school and the district.
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3.3 cases or less: Stage 1, green, low risk: All schools are open. Curriculum delivered on campus via face-to-face instruction, with blended learning strategies that integrate digital resources. FCPS will monitor and be prepared to respond to identification of COVID-19 positive tests that affect staff members or students. We might enact additional health and safety guidelines in consultation with the county’s health department.
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Download a two-page PDF explaining the COVID-19 Matrix:
English | Spanish | Arabic | Chinese |
Japanese | Nepali
In addition, district leaders will consider orders from the governor, student and staff absences, isolations and quarantines, operations and support considerations, community vs. institutional spread, community trends, and vaccine uptake when determining the appropriate mode of instruction. Data will be tracked daily, and decisions for the next two-week period will be announced each Tuesday. Regardless of the in-person learning stage, we will provide remote learning five days a week for students whose families prefer that option.
Archive of COVID-19 Matrix letters to families
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For questions about the matrix or content on this webpage, please email district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall.
