Junction City High School students will move to remote learning effective Wednesday, Dec. 2nd through the remainder of the month. There will be no class for students Monday, Nov. 30th and Tuesday, Dec. 1st to allow teachers time to prepare for the transition and give students an opportunity to retrieve the necessary equipment supplies from the school.
The change affects only high school students. Middle school and elementary school students who attend classes in brick and mortar buildings will continue with that learning option.
Below is the news release from USD 475.
Throughout this school year, USD 475 has worked very closely with the Geary County Health Department to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is minimized in our schools, through the safety precautions that have been implemented. Those efforts have allowed the district to keep schools open for the last 3 months. Over the past few weeks, there has been an increasing number of USD 475 teachers quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure. While students and staff were out during the Thanksgiving break, that number increased significantly.
GCHD is concerned with the rising number of cases within Geary County, especially over the past few weeks. On Friday, November 27, 2020, GCHD has issued the recommendation to USD 475 that all of JCHS students move to a remote learning platform for the month of December, to assist with slowing the spread of COVID-19 within our community. In an effort to keep the community safe and slow the spread, USD 475 has agreed to follow this recommendation.
JCHS will move all students to a remote learning platform for the month of December. JCHS students will not have class on Monday, November 30, or on Tuesday December 1, 2020. This will allow students time to retrieve any items from school that students may need to facilitate remote learning, and it will allow teachers to have two days to prepare for the transition. Parents and students will receive item pick up and remote learning schedules from JCHS, via email. Students will be allowed to enter the building briefly to retrieve any items, such as laptops or textbooks, to ensure that they are able to effectively participate in remote learning. Students without adequate access to internet at home can contact the USD 475 help desk, and they will be issued a wireless hotspot device. The help desk can be contacted at [email protected], or by calling 785-717-HELP(4357).
This change will only affect students at JCHS. All other USD 475 schools will operate normally, and all other students will attend classes on November 30 and December 1, 2020. At this time, there are no discussions about moving any other schools to an all remote learning environment.
JCHS staff will still report to school on Monday, November 30, 2020. Teachers will teach remotely from their regular classrooms for the month of December. Kitchen staff will report to the Central Kitchen on Monday to assist in preparing meals for students to pick up. Students will still be able to receive meals from school, even on November 30 and December 1. JCHS students will be able to pick up meals at the HD Karns Building at 300 W 9th St., in Junction City. Students that live on Fort Riley will be able to pick up meals at any USD 475 school closest to them. All school meals are provided free of charge to USD 475 students for this school year. Lunch pickup schedules are being developed, and will be communicated to parents and students soon.
Winter sports practices will continue to take place, for now. Students should expect to attend practices at the normal times. However, no transportation services will be provided to JCHS students during the month of December, so students should seek alternative means of transportation to and from practices. Parents and students are encouraged to communicate directly with coaches for questions or concerns about practices.
These changes will not affect those JCHS students attending the Innovations program at the HD Karns building. Those students will continue to attend classes in person, and will receive more information soon, via email.
USD 475 will continue to work with GCHD to monitor the spread of COVID-19 within the community. District and JCHS administrators will assess the situation again over the winter break and determine if it is safe for students to return to in-person classes when school resumes, on January 4, 2021.