Hello Knoxville Christian School Families,
I trust you are having a wonderful summer. We are looking forward and planning for the upcoming school year. Following are updates that should give you some insight about plans for Knoxville Christian School amid the COVID-19 situation. As you read the information, Knoxville Christian School is blessed to be a private Christian school in the community and also being able to support smaller class sizes.
School Calendar
We will be going by our current 2020-2021 school year calendar which is both attached and also on our website at KCSKnights.org. This is our normal calendar. We currently do not plan to shorten the calendar, delete holidays or breaks as this would be a definite hardship on working families. The only potential changes at this time could be the postponement or cancellation of activities that could aid in the potential spreading of COVID-19 in an expedited manner. Some of these activities are noted on the calendar. This means our first day of school is Monday, August 10 (full day). We currently plan to have an Open House on Thursday, August 6 in the late afternoon/early evening. More details will be coming.
School Operations
The following guidelines will give you an idea of procedures that will be in place at the beginning of the school year. These procedures are not yet in their entirety but should give you a general understanding of how Knoxville Christian School will operate. Knoxville Christian School will continue to monitor state guidelines, and government policies/recommendations in order to determine which of the following School Operations Levels best reflects where Knoxville Christian School will be. Also, please note that some of the items could be reflective of Middle School/High School only, or Elementary only. More information will be coming.
Level 0
This level is for school as normal with all standard operating procedures in place. You can reference this as the way things used to be before COVID-19.
Level 1
Key aspects (but not the total list) include:
- All students on campus daily.
- All students will have their temperature taken via touchless head scan thermometer or temperature imaging prior to entering the building daily as they arrive.
- Students with a temperature will be asked to return home until the fever is gone; see Doctor if deemed necessary by parent/guardians.
- Social Distancing (6 feet) is preferred in all situations when possible. When not possible, students will be required to wear face covering/mask. Each class (age-group appropriate) will be monitored as to the best ways to be socially distanced and/or requiring the use of face covering/mask. Again, age of students will be considered.
- Face covering/mask for all faculty are required when social distancing is not possible. Administration will also use masks when in the presence of students and social distancing is not possible.
- KCS will implement daily deep cleaning protocols in all classrooms, restrooms, and common areas.
- All desks will face the same direction with no students facing each other.
- Guests/Visitors on campus – if allowed on campus, guests and visitors will only be allowed in the office area, with appropriate face covering/mask and social distancing in taking place.
Level 2
Includes Level 1 plus modified student times on campus (could be different for elementary and MS/HS)
- As an effort to be better embrace social distancing, students would be divided into 2 groups – Group A and Group B. Students would then attend classes on campus in the following manner:
- Group A – on Week 1 (determine start date) would attend classes on campus Monday, Wednesday and Friday at regular times. They would use Tuesday and Thursday to complete work at home and monitor and complete assignments on FACTS.
- Group B – on Week 1 (determine start date) would attend classes on campus Tuesday and Thursday. They would monitor FACTS and complete the assignments to the best of their abilities on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, using their teacher as a resource for help by email as necessary.
- Group A and B would then flip schedules the following week and rotate using this every other week schedule until school resumes normal operations.
- All on campus would wear face covering/masks.
Level 3
Distance Learning – This is the least preferred option available to us. It would be implemented only if Levels 1 and 2 are not a feasible option or closed to us by Government declarations. The following are guidelines for Middle School and High School. Elementary school will have packets for pick up every two weeks along with ongoing educational instruction by teachers, using teacher-directed methods.
- Families will need reliable internet, the faster the speed the better. A wi-fi hotspot may assist with this. Students will receive this remote education Monday-Friday from 8 AM-12:30 PM on their computer.
- The primary method of Distance Learning will be accomplished using the Google Classroom suite for education. This will include using Google Meet for video classes.
- MS/HS Students may use other platforms such as NoRedInk, Accelerated Reader, and other online educational resources used by the individual teachers.
- Parents are encouraged to stay abreast of student work, by using the FACTS (formerly RENWEB) system. Lesson plans/assignments will be posted on that site by the teachers. This is also where you can follow-up and check on your students’ grades.
- Teachers will contact parents and students by email in the following situations: a student drops to below 60%, or the student is not participating in class or not turning in assigned work.
- Students are encouraged to stay in regular contact with their teachers; particularly if they need additional assistance.
- Teachers will be available to help students needing assistance via email, computer applications Monday-Friday from 12:30-2:00 PM. This is considered to be tutoring time.
- As soon as practical and allowed, we will return to on-campus education.
Also, please note that it is the intention of Knoxville Christian School to keep open its Early Learning Center (18 months – PK4) as essential in order to allow essential-classified working families functioning.
Again, this is a brief overview to give a better understanding of how Knoxville Christian School will operate in the fall. This communication is not intended to answer every question but rather designed to give a feeling of peace regarding the future. Knoxville Christian will make every attempt to remain educating on campus.
For the Kids!
Robert W. “Bobby” Simpson
President/Principal
