Paducah Public Schools are considering moving to all-virtual instruction with McCracken County’s incidence rate for COVID-19 spread is at a “critical” level, according to the state.
Gov. Andy Beshear advised “red zone” counties with critical COVID-19 spread, with an average 25 cases per 100,000 people or more, to take more precautions against the virus earlier this week. The state has recommended for months that school districts in “red zone” counties move to all-virtual learning.
According to the press release Wednesday, the school district states it might have to suspend in-person learning and are asking parents to prepare for their children to temporarily return to an all-virtual schedule. Parents have also been asked to make sure their children are equipped with devices that are in “good working order” and their child has access to virtual instruction content. Tutorials can be found by clicking here.
Tornado Takeout, a meal delivery service for students, will also continue to deliver meals once a week on Thursdays. Children ages 0-18 can receive six days of meals. For more information on delivery times and locations, see the district's Facebook pageand website.
The release also states the Purchase District Health Department is working closely with Paducah Public Schools to monitor the situation. The district will make a decision regarding virtual learning on Friday, Oct. 30.
“Our goal is to continue to offer in-person learning to our students who want that, but we have to consider the guidance from the Kentucky Department of Health and the Kentucky Department of Education and the increased risk that continuing in-person learning will have for students, faculty, and staff as long as we remain in the red zone. Many of us are parents and we are sensitive to the hardships this causes such as childcare, for example,” said Healthy at School officer Amie Tooley in a statement. “If we must go to all-virtual learning, we will make every effort to provide the resources and tools that our students need to continue learning.”
Read the full press release below.
