1/4/21 CCSD Message: Return to School

Dear CCSD Families, 
 
Four days ago, we welcomed a new year and new hopes for an end to COVID-19.  The hope I feel is very real, but it is not yet reality, which is why we all must continue to take COVID-19’s impact on our community, including our schools, very seriously.  We know that cases are rising, and we are closely monitoring cases among our students and staff.

We will continue our previously announced plan of starting this semester with a Digital Learning Day for all students on Tuesday, Jan. 5, due to the use of many of our schools as polling sites for the General Election runoff.  All CCSD teachers and school-based staff will also work from home Tuesday, Jan. 5; teachers will be online during regular school hours to respond to emails from students and parents.  School Nutrition’s distribution of to-go meals bags will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 5, as planned. 

We still plan to reopen schools for in-person learning on Wednesday, Jan. 6, but that decision is subject to change based on case levels among our students and staff.  We are committed to giving families as much notice as possible whenever school closure decisions are made.  We expect all in-person students to wear a mask at school; stay home if they are sick and/or if anyone in their household has COVID-19; get tested if symptomatic or if they have had close contact with someone who is positive; and to follow quarantine rules if they are quarantined.  

If we, as a community, want in-person school to continue, we must all do our part, as a community, to reduce the rising case levels.
 
Thank you,
 
Dr. Brian V. Hightower
Superintendent of Schools