Friday Message

Transitioning the high school student body to virtual learning for the last week of the second nine weeks was not how I had hoped to bring the first semester to end. However, as our county continues to reach new highs in coronavirus cases, we too reached the absenteeism threshold (20%) necessitating the shift to virtual learning through December 18.

When we make the decision to close a building and shift to off-site learning, we factor in several variables including our metric of a 20% absenteeism threshold. Other considerations include, but are not limited to, safety, monitoring active cases, the ability to contact trace, ability to perform a deep clean, managing quarantined students and staff, awaiting pending test results, and staffing, among others. To put it simply, the decisions always revolve around what we feel is best for our students in terms of learning.

In other related COVID-19 news, The Centers for Disease Control recently announced that in addition to their 14-day COVID-19 quarantine guidance, they have now added an option to allow for a shorter (7-10 day) quarantine period. It is important to note, however, that this shorter option comes with additional requirements and an accepted greater risk for COVID-19 spread. Read the new guidelines here.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-options-to-reduce-quarantine.html

The Indiana State Department of Health and the Tipton County Health Department continue to recommend the 14-day quarantine period. We, therefore, plan to continue to follow the 14-day guidance as outlined in our Reopening Plan. We believe this is the safest option for our students and staff at this time. With our county at Orange and positive cases on the rise, we do not believe now is the time to reduce protections we have in place. We will continue to work closely with our local and state health partners to monitor ongoing conditions and consider possible changes to our COVID-19 procedures in the future.

I also wanted to share a heads up about potential transportation adjustments that may take place occasionally in the months ahead. At times, we may need to have some of our drivers on double duty driving two routes on some days. It could involve assigning two routes to one bus or it could involve holding students until a driver completes his/her regularly scheduled route then drives the second route with the assigned bus. In any event, we are grateful to our dedicated drivers who are working to help fill in gaps when they arise. We also appreciate the patience and flexibility among our parents as we work to meet the challenges that come our way. We will communicate as early as we can to keep you in the loop regarding transportation changes and/or delays.

Thank you for continuing to remain vigilant in following public health guidelines both at school and in all other areas of your day-to-day life. We’re better together and in for the long haul. #TiptonPride

Monday, December 14-18-THS students in Virtual Learning

Wednesday, December 16-WiFi Hot Spot Pick-up @ TMS Office 7:30-4:00 PM or by appointment

Friday, December 18-End of First Semester

Saturday, December 19-Christmas Break Begins for Students

Monday, January 4-First day of Second Semester