By next month, our students will have been away from school for nearly five months. The research about the impact of this loss of learning and instruction by a teacher is in many ways as devastating as the virus is across this country, especially when the majority of our students live at or below the poverty index. However, as hard as it was to close schools in March, sending students and staff back to them this fall is even more complicated.
We are faced with conflicting priorities as leaders entrusted with the safety of 100,000 children and 15,000 employees because lives and futures are at stake. As of today, there are more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County - a 9.3% positivity rate and growing, with more than 250 deaths. I am told our hospital beds are at 90% capacity. Science tells us that by September, our community will reach the same trajectory as New York City, and this figure does not account for the students returning to school.
Therefore, we will begin our school year FULLY VIRTUAL on August 31. Teachers will have options to teach remotely or in classrooms, but all students will learn virtually at home until further notice.