The Lincoln County Health Department has advised Lincoln County Schools to return to Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) on October 12th, when school resumes from Fall Break. The recommendation from LCHD and the Kentucky Department of Public Health (KDPH) is for the district to use NTI days from October 12th through October 23rd. This means all students, Option 1 and Option 2, will be working virtually as they did to begin the school year.
The decision to resort to NTI was based off of an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in Lincoln County in recent days, and as a precaution because of the amount of families traveling for Fall Break. “We met with the health department and a representative from the department of public health today and discussed the amount of staff and students we have quarantined, and the rise in positive cases in our county,” said Superintendent Michael Rowe. “Health officials have recommended for us to go back to virtual instruction for two weeks after fall break to allow the contact tracing to work and help slow the spread in Lincoln County.”
As of today, Lincoln County Schools is still an orange county per the COVID-19 Mode of Instruction Metrics for K-12 Education guidance issued by Kentucky Department for Public Health and the Kentucky Department of Education. Per the metrics, local officials, school administrators and public health leaders should collaborate to implement aggressive mitigation measures both in schools and in communities. “We took a look at this guidance and followed it,” said Rowe. “We met today and decided to help mitigate the current increase in positivity in our county by returning to virtual learning.”
The plan is to resume in-person instruction on October 26th. This plan will be revisited by school administrators, LCHD and the KDPH as the date draws closer. “We will meet with the health officials and see where the numbers are at within the school district and the county and base the decision off of that going forward. We had 14 staff members asked to be quarantined by the health department after one week of instruction. This obviously is not sustainable for us as a district,” added Superintendent Rowe.
Extracurricular activities and athletics will follow the same protocols they’ve followed since school started on August 26th. Athletics will continue to adhere to KHSAA Guidance unless otherwise advised by the school and athletic director. There will be meal deliveries again during these NTI days for COVID-19. The meal delivery process will resume on Tuesday, October 13th.
For more information please contact the Student Support Center at 606.365.2124.