We hope Hamilton County Schools staff, students, and families have enjoyed a restful and safe holiday break. With the spring semester starting Wednesday, Jan. 6, the district wanted to share our schedule for next week using the latest local COVID-19 data.
Due to recent data trends and the support for a gradual re-entry plan, all schools will follow a remote learning schedule Jan. 6 through Jan. 8.
Please note the following:
- Staff will also follow a remote schedule, but they can request access to their school building through their administrators if needed.
- School-Age Child Care (SACC) will operate a limited number of school sites. Visit our website for more information.
- Athletics can resume practices as of Wednesday, Jan. 6, pending notification from relevant coaching staff and in accordance with Governor Lee’s most recent Executive Order. All other activities, after school programs, and extracurriculars will remain remote/virtual for now.
As noted in updates to our Reopening Plan announced on Dec. 18, we will begin our weekly cadence of communicating the Phase Tracker every Tuesday, which will determine the school schedule for the following week.
We will share the schedule for the week of Jan. 11-15 next Tuesday, Jan. 5, and continue to communicate for the following week every Tuesday. To view the latest Phase Tracker, visit www.hcde.org/reentryplan.
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Updates
Hamilton County Schools is excited to share an update on our progress supporting employees who wish to be vaccinated. See below to learn more about our process so far, and the phased plan for vaccine distribution in our community.
Timeline of Events
- 12/22-12/26: HCS received 75 allotment cards for the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine to distribute to employees within Phase 1a1 group, which included student health providers who provide patient care including exceptional education (EXED) and nursing staff.
- 12/26-12/29: Nearly all of the allotment cards were distributed between 9 and 10 a.m. to staff in the high priority subpopulation.
- The Health Department sent HCS virtual allotment cards, which HCS immediately shared via email with all Phase 1a1 employees (386 EXED and 108 Nurses)
- The Health Department issued a press release stating they would discontinue the use of the allotment card system and a work ID or proof of employment as outlined in the State’s Plan would be sufficient. They also shared that Phase 1a2 would begin on 12/30.
- 12/30: The State of Tennessee updated the phase rollout schedule to include all HCS staff for the COVID-19 vaccination in Phase 1b.
All staff members who have received vaccines so far volunteered to do so. Vaccines are not mandatory.
To date, HCS has approximately 700 employees eligible to receive the vaccine and all HCS employees will be eligible to receive the vaccine once the Health Department announces the start of Phase 1b.
HCS will update employees once notified by the Health Department of a start date for Phase 1b.
HCS will request all employees receiving the vaccine to self-report and once reported, that information will be protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Next Steps
The Health Department will provide updates on subsequent phase rollouts.
Additional Information
Click here for more information on the phases for vaccine allocation.
Click here for the Reopening 2.0 Updates
Click here for research on COVID-19.
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