ALCOA, Tenn. — Alcoa City Schools opened their doors Wednesday morning and welcomed some students back to school.
Getting back to school is looking very different this year, and for the Alcoa school district, one of the first changes is that not every student went back to school on Wednesday.
The district is implementing a staggered reopening with new health and safety policies for the first month to limit the number of kids in schools. The schedule for returning back to school is below:
- Wednesdays, July 22 - Sept. 2: Only those students with last names A-C
- Thursdays, July 23 - Sept. 3: Last names D-H
- Fridays, July 24 - Sept. 4: Last names I-P
- Mondays, July 27 - August 31: Last names Q-S
- Tuesday, July 28 - Sept.1: Last names T-Z
Safety measures:
- Temperature checks for everyone entering the building
- Staff: face coverings will now be required in common areas, large gatherings, class changes, anytime outside their classrooms, and in the classroom when a social distance of 6 feet cannot be maintained.
- Grades PreK-5: Face coverings encouraged
- Grades 6-12: Face coverings expected
Students were also given the option of in-person learning or enrolling in the Virtual Learning Academy.
According to the school's plan, if the Virtual Learning Academy option is chosen, students may not participate in extracurricular activities, attend games or play sports.
All assessments, including state assessments, are still required.
Virtual Learning Academy activities must continue for at least a 9-week grading period. Students may not go back and forth from face-to-face and virtual learning, except at 9-week grading period breaks.