Christian County School System Superintendent Chris Bentzel appeared Tuesday morning on WHOP to explain the options available to the district as school is set to begin late next month during a worldwide pandemic.
The first day of school in Christian County is set for August 27 and the school board recently voted to reopen buildings to students at 100 percent capacity—though Bentzel notes there will be social distancing and sanitation guidelines in place to prevent spread of COVID-19.
Christian County, like every other district in the state, will have an unlimited number of non-traditional instruction days available should there become a need to close schools due to an outbreak of the virus. Bentzel says NTI this year will look very different from the at-home instruction students participated in to finish the last school year and there will be more resources available for those students.
Approximately 20 percent of students—about 1,100—have already made it known they’ll be staying home and learning online through the new Virtual Learning Academy for at least the beginning of the school year. Bentzel says that number has been growing and those students will also have access to the same resources students in buildings are offered.
A virtual learning academy handbook has been published and posted to the Christian County Public School System Facebook page.
Listen to the entire interview below: